A Blessing of Unicorns: Edinburgh’s Entrepreneurial

Ecosystem

Ben Spigel, PhD Chancellor’s Fellow

University of Edinburgh Business School

Entrepreneurial ecosystems are the environments

— good or bad — surrounding the

entrepreneurship process

Success of new venture

Idea Drive Skills

Entrepreneur Market

Timing Demand

Competition

EcosystemResources Opportunities Support

Culture is the most important thing Everything else depends on it

Dealmakers use their own social capital

to support their community’s ecosystem

they need to know how to work at startups

Ecosystems need more than smart workers;

Ecosystems should be led by entrepreneurs

Government should support the issues

they identify

Ecosystems mean more than lots of

startups

They are a community that support high-quality

entrepreneurship

Edinburgh has a lot of Unicorns!

Uni

corn

s pe

r 100

,000

resi

dent

s

0.4

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1.1

1.4Sa

n Fr

anci

sco

Prov

o, U

TEd

inbu

rgh

Luxe

mbo

ugN

ew Y

ork

City

Bost

onSt

ockh

olm

Berli

nBe

jing

Tel A

viv

Sing

apor

eH

ong

Kong

Amst

erda

mVa

ncou

ver

Lond

onBa

ngal

ore

Los

Ange

las

Sydn

eySh

engh

aiW

ashi

ngto

nH

angz

hou

New

Del

hiM

osco

wSe

oul

Mum

bai

San

Paul

o

source: Forbes

And a lot of successful startups in many sectors

This is deeply weird

Edinburgh has a highly effective

entrepreneurial ecosystem

Why is Edinburgh’s ecosystem so strong?

Strong research universities

Entrepreneurs who give back

Thick social networks

High quality of life

Growing investmentsTo

tal I

nves

ted

(USD

)

$75,000,000.00

$150,000,000.00

$225,000,000.00

$300,000,000.00

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015source: Crunchbase

Lots of support organizations

Just the right size

How did we get here?1940s & 50s 1960s & 70s 1980s & 90s Today

Successful Ventures

Failed Ventures

New

Startup

Cultural confidence

Mentors

Upskilled workers

Global connectionsNew investors

and managers

Entrepreneurial

Knowledge

Intellectual

Property

Skilled

workers

But Edinburgh isn’t on the map

startup compass 2015 report

Issues facing Edinburgh

• Few big exits

• Creating an international brand

• Lots of angels but few venture capitalists and even fewer series B investors

• Attracting and keeping top talent

• Sustaining an entrepreneurial culture

Strengthening the ecosystem

• Celebrate the successes and the failures

• Work to build Edinburgh’s reputation on the international scene

• Create new connections within the ecosystem

• Build the organizations you need