Scottish public to cast their votes in country’s largest business competition

Scottish EDGE is being opened up to the public vote for the very first time 

Members of the public are to be given the opportunity to judge start-up businesses in Scotland’s largest business competition for the very first time.

They’re invited to get involved in the Scottish EDGE Wild Card public vote, in which three Scottish business are in the running to land the chance to pitch for an extra £100k in funding at the Scottish EDGE final on 20 June.

The three businesses shortlisted are Blusho, Estendio, which are both based in Glasgow, and Perthshire-based Pio Design, which have already won up to £10,000 and now have until 27 May to convince the public that their product or service is deserving of extra funding and business support.

The three start-up businesses taking part in the Scottish EDGE Wild Card public vote were selected from a pool of twelve Wild Card EDGE winners by a panel of expert judges, and represent the broad spectrum of businesses who apply for and win the support of Scottish EDGE twice a year.

Allan Watt, director of the Prince’s Trust Scotland and chairman of the judges, said: “Blusho, Estendio and Pio Design are perfect examples of pushing the boundaries and creating an exciting new business with huge potential. They all capture your imagination and make it easy for the public to see how Scottish Edge might well be the kickstart to Scotland’s next great success story.”

Announcing the public vote, Evelyn McDonald, CEO of the Scottish EDGE, said: “For the first time ever, we’re inviting the general public to participate in the Scottish EDGE process which looks to identify and support Scotland’s innovative, high-growth potential entrepreneurial talent.

“We’re really excited to offer one of our Wild Card EDGE winners the chance to pitch for additional funding of up to £100,000, on top of the funding of up to £10,000 which they have already won, and believe that the public — and entrepreneurship supporters in particular — will be keen to get involved.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the winner of our public vote, as it offers an invaluable learning experience regardless of whether or not the start-up business wins money as a result of their pitch. Many applicants to the Scottish EDGE process who are unsuccessful return to pitch successfully in future rounds and we hope this will be the case for some of our Wild Card EDGE winners.

Click here to vote and for more information on each of the finalists.