Climate change has been a core interest for Chris for a very long time. Not only did it guide his educational choices, he later pursued a London-based career in sustainable finance. During that time, he invested in companies working with environmental technologies and became increasingly convinced that this was a meaningful direction for his next venture – and that what he really wanted was to build a company of his own.
‘To start making that a reality, I decided to retrain as a software engineer and found myself a bootcamp in Barcelona to enrol in. This part of the process was really important to me, as I wanted to have the capability to build and test prototypes myself.’
Once he was confident he had the necessary skills and had developed a vision for his startup, Chris launched PropEco in 2021.
The startup provides data and analytics that enable a wide range of organisations to understand how trends such as climate change will impact property. This, in turn, facilitates better decision making, streamlines reporting and creates new opportunities for customer engagement. What led Chris to this model? He explains:
‘When I was looking at the effects of climate change, I kept coming back to property as the most pressing vulnerability to tackle. When people buy property, it is potentially the biggest financial decision they will ever make but very few are factoring in the likely impacts of trends such as climate change.’
This realisation provided the starting point for Chris, who wanted to democratise access to information that could help anyone future proof their property decisions. Chris moved back to Scotland in 2021 and immediately started exploring the local ecosystem in search of support for his business idea.
One of his first ports of call was Geovation Scotland, an accelerator programme and community which exists to support new technology startups innovating with property, land and location data, an initiative supported by Registers of Scotland and Ordnance Survey (OS).
The bespoke accelerator programme offers technology entrepreneurs who’re looking to accelerate the growth of their businesses a range of business coaching, including financial coaching, sales development, marketing, pitching and much more. The startups also benefit from office space in the Geovation hub in Edinburgh, supported access to data from Ordnance Survey (OS) and Registers of Scotland, as well as office space and up to £15k of programme funding.
The early stage support and validation he received through the programme played an important role in PropEco reaching several subsequent milestones, including securing an InnovateUK grant and then, in 2024, a first round of institutional funding.
‘Geovation Scotland was a natural fit when we moved back. I wasn’t aware of many other programmes that offered both funding and support.’
Chris was also gratified to see the breadth of resources on offer. In the early days of PropEco, he knew he was looking for a little bit of everything, from advice on marketing and development to product strategy, fundraising and putting together a pitch deck. However, he always knew how important it was to get support from people who understood the industry he was working in.
‘Geovation Scotland provided a huge amount of valuable guidance. The programme also offered a great mix of support for things like founder welfare, building resilience and understanding your own strengths and weaknesses. The fact that they provided dedicated one-to-one mentorship and coaching was amazing.’
Chris also started working with Techscaler in mid-2023 and he comments that it does feel as though there’s a lot going on when it comes to startup assistance north of the border. For Chris, a real highlight of the assistance from both Geovation Scotland and Techscaler is the fact that they provide specific and specialised support for your company.
‘For example, the two mentors I worked with through Techscaler allowed me to talk to people who’d gone through the same kind of entrepreneurial journey. Likewise, the sales and marketing sessions I had with Geovation Scotland were really targeted.’
Geovation Scotland also provided access to a tech team, which Chris found particularly valuable. Being able to book a consultation with geospatial specialists helped him develop solutions to problems far more quickly and efficiently. He says:
‘As a startup, there’s no way you’d have the resources to bring in people of that skill level. Being able to tap into it when needed was incredibly helpful. The system, where you have a designated team member and an allocation of half an hour per week, meant we could get the help when we needed it most.’
Chris first heard of Techscaler, via Scottish Enterprise. A contact he’d been working with pointed him in the direction of the MVP Grant, an early stage R&D grant to support the funding requirements of creating new products, services or processes with a minimum award of £5k and a maximum of £50k. While that wasn’t something PropEco progressed with at the time, it was an introduction to the broader support on offer. He began working with two different mentors through Techscaler, both of whom offered valuable insights.
‘I feel like I can reach out to them for advice and be given the kind of information it’d be hard to come across, otherwise. Likewise, it’s been very useful to be able to talk about leadership strategies and how to deal with the unexpected with people who’d been there and have experienced similar situations.’
PropEco is now focusing on scaling-up its early successes, something that may require it to expand its existing investor base. Chris explains that in some ways, this is an area that can feel a little more challenging in Scotland where there are fewer investment firms actively looking for opportunities.
‘In London there are so many more investors on your doorstep. Scotland still feels quite disconnected from the key startup hubs in Europe and the US.’
Overall, Chris found that receiving personal introductions to investors made a huge difference during the fundraising process. He’s also noticed that some investors can be surprised by the strengths of Scotland’s education and startup ecosystem.
‘Culturally, Scotland isn’t always the best at marketing itself. I think we can do more to promote the great things that are already happening here, while continuing to provide targeted support to promising startups will hopefully lead to more success stories.'
For Chris, there are some other great benefits to base his startup in Scotland. For example, the costs of growing a business in Glasgow are far lower than they would be in London. There’s also a wealth of talent to choose from, which is benefitting PropEco as it expands its team.
Keen to find out more as the startup moves onto its next phase of growth, customer acquisition and fundraising? Be sure to check out the PropEco website.
Sign up to the Geovation Scotland newsletter for updates from the community and news on their programme. or check out the various upcoming Techscaler initiatives.
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