Identity & Ideation: The many faces of entrepreneurship in Scotland (Part 1)

At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global narrative shifted with a sense of outrage and urgency following the murder of George Floyd on 25 May 2020. This event sparked protests around the world and brought issues of racism, equality and civil rights into the public arena in a way that hadn’t been seen in decades.

People from all walks of life were challenged to listen, learn and examine their own privilege, position and responsibilities in regard to diversity and inclusion in modern society.

Startup Grind Scotland is excited to announce a series of events looking at diversity in business through the lens of different lived experiences, cultures, challenges, barriers and sensitivities. We want to examine how ‘identity’ shapes the motivation and professional journey of startup founders in Scotland.

How do personal circumstances, culture, race, gender, disability, family life, socio-economic background and external factors shape how people approach starting and growing a business within the Scottish entrepreneurial ecosystem?

In our first event, we will be joined by an incredible panel to discuss issues of race, creativity, immigration and neurodiversity and how these experiences have frustrated and fueled their careers as Founders.

Zoi Kantounatou is the Co-Founder and CFO at FutureX, a company that exists to enable the greatest community of purpose-driven leaders on earth. FutureX empowers the purposeful to create impact at scale, using business as a force for good. Having a background in Finance, Zoi moved to Scotland from Greece in 2011 for a Master’s degree in International Business and Socio-Economic development at the University of Stirling. Zoi has spent the last 8 years working with purpose-driven entrepreneurs all over the world, helping them run and grow their businesses.

Chris Hughes is the founder & CEO of Estendio, creators of the Present Pal software.

Created out of his own experience with dyslexia, Present Pal now supports disabled students in over 100 universities in the UK & Ireland and is now expanding into North America. Chris has a passion for accessibility, where he is also the co-chair for Skills Development Scotland's Neurodiversity in Tech group. He has also delivered keynote presentations at Microsoft's Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), MIT's Assistive Technology Hackathon and Harvard Business School.

After 28 years of living in London, Sophie Amono fell in love with the spirit of Scotland after a mistimed hiking trip to Ben Nevis left her and her pals stranded in Glasgow. Five years later and her experience working with some of the biggest media publications like Dazed Digital, The Times and FT led her to launch a social media creative agency called Stuffs.

Based in Scotland and having launched a social enterprise that helps empower homeless women in Edinburgh, business that gives back to the community is something that she has worked hard to ensure stays at the core of all she does. Sophie also sits on BIMA’s Diversity + Inclusion Council and is an outspoken advocate for inclusion on Tech. As her motto states; we are family.

Who: Zoi Kantounatou (FutureX), Chris Hughes (Estendio) and Sophie Amono (STUFFS)

When: Wed 23rd September 202

Time: 6.30-8.30pm

Where: Virtual event via Bevy

Bonus extras: Community shout-outs, Slido Q&A and Twitter competition!