The latest cyber innovation clinic which was part of Cyber Scotland Week saw 3 amazing cyber security companies pitch to our panel of friendly experts.
Our experts this time were:
- Federico Charosky, Managing Director of Quorum Cyber (Host for session)
- Jamie Graves, Managing director of L-Point, Entrepreneur in Residence for Napier University
- Malcolm McPhedran, Senior Security Manager at Capgemini
- Saj Huq, Director at LORCA
- Paula Douglas, Account Manager for early stage tech businesses
- Professor Bill Buchanan, Professor of Cryptography, Napier University
The companies participating were:
Azacus.io – an offensive focussed cyber security consultancy based in Edinburgh, specialising in pentesting. They are keen to raise awareness of the role of offensive security, strip back the scare tactics and provide unparalleled account management.
Zortrex – who specialise in data security using their own innovative tokenisation product.
Polydigi Tech – who offer a full range of solutions including mobile multi-factor authentication (MFA) solutions, biometric authentication solutions and authentication solutions for IoT devices and networks.
The panel gave a range of feedback and advice on the following areas:
- The importance of being clear on what problem was being addressed and how your product can help. Also being clear on how you stand out from the competition.
- Promoting who your team are and detailing the expertise they bring is also really important to achieve credibility, and be clear on the USP that the team creates.
- Show your passion and what drove you to set up your company – your story is a key part of your brand and messaging!
- Having a punch to your pitch – really sell your vision and product!
We also discussed the challenges of remote pitching and grappling with technology with clear advice given on not letting your powerpoint get in your way….it is simply eye candy for you to talk about.
The session was hosted by Federico Charosky who, as always, kept it running smoothly and got everyone engaged, giving ample time for questions and discussions after each presentation.
At the end we had a discussion on other ways that we, as part of the cyber cluster, can support the Scottish start-up community with a networking session and a workshop on navigating Innovate UK funding applications both discussed – watch this space!