£100,000 Startup Race - 52 Weeks of Data Replaces 10-Minute Pitches

Edinburgh-Developed £100,000 Startup Race Opens to UK-Wide Angel Investors.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UY8FavKyyz5_pz6iR3QgEAhT...

james@thestartuprace.com
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Competition model born in Scotland's startup capital (inspired by Ian Ritchie CBE, Par Equity, and LINC Scotland veterans) launches national registration.

Edinburgh/London, UK - The Startup Race, a competition model developed over a decade with Edinburgh's founder and investor community, today opened UK-wide registration for angel investors to participate in its £100,000 prize competition.

The model (which replaces pitch-based evaluation with 52 weeks of visible, real-time revenue performance) was conceived in 2015 at a founder/investor event in Quartermile 1, the building where Skyscanner (acquired for £1.4bn) was headquartered.

"We asked a simple question that evening: could we gamify the startup process?" said James Shoemark, founder of The Startup Race, who met his co-founders at that event. "Ten years later, we've discovered we didn't just fix fundraising for founders - we fixed it for investors too."

Developed With Scotland's Investment Leaders

The £100,000 Startup Race was shaped by feedback from key figures in Scotland's startup ecosystem:

- Ian Ritchie CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to enterprise and education) - one of the first angels to observe Startup Race competitions
- Paul Atkinson: a Founding Partner at Par Equity, one of Scotland's most active VCs
- Nick Lyth: founder and president of Green Angel Syndicate
- Michiel Smith: Gatekeeper, Apollo Informal Investment
- Mary Jane Brouwers: Formerly Old College Capital, now EiR at Edinburgh Napier University
- Alan Donald: Formerly LINC Scotland (national association for business angels)
- Jonathan Harris: formerly at Young Company Finance

Co-founder Michael Clouser, formerly a VC at Cornell, was instrumental in founding Edinburgh University's E-Club - where the founders of FanDuel first met and Skyscanner spoke.

Origin Story: Crowdfunded Below Edinburgh Castle.

The first Startup Race emerged spontaneously in 2020 when James Varga, Canadian founder of Edinburgh fintech miiCard, instigated impromptu crowdfunding at a League of Entrepreneurs event in Whitespace, below Edinburgh Castle. Attendees pledged £1,000 on the spot. The winner achieved 12X revenue growth.

Subsequent races produced 44X and 17X growth from winners and runners-up respectively.

The Model: Watch Before You Invest

Founders enter with £5,000+ ARR. For 52 weeks, their position updates weekly based on revenue - like pieces on a board game. Investors observe the entire competition before committing capital.

"Traditional angel investing has a 91% underperformance rate because you're betting on a 10-minute pitch," said Shoemark. "The Startup Race lets you watch founders execute for a full year. By the time you invest, you've already seen them perform under competitive pressure."

The £100,000 Startup Race is the angel investor tier of a progression. Winners who scale further will have first access to the £1,000,000 Startup Race - a VC-level competition requiring £50,000 ARR entry and targeting £10M valuations. Different games for different investors.

Two Participation Options

Investment Prize Providers (£5,000–£10,000) join a syndicate funding the winner with SEIS-eligible equity. Registration of interest opens today.

Race Observers receive full dashboard access with no commitment, free to invest in any founder.

Timeline:
- Investor registration opens 1 January 2025
- Letters of Intent confirmed March 2025
- Race begins 2nd April 2025
- Race concludes / Investment March 2027

A comprehensive account of how the model was developed and why it solves both founder and investor challenges is available at https://thestartuprace.com/game-that-fixed-both-sides-of-fun...

Register interest: https://join.thestartuprace.com/race-investor

About The Startup Race: Born in Edinburgh in 2015, The Startup Race has trained 1,000+ entrepreneurs, run 400+ events, and invested in 7 companies based on watching them perform. The £100,000 Startup Race opens the model to UK-wide participation.

Investors must self-certify as High-Net-Worth Individuals or Sophisticated Investors under FCA regulations. Early-stage investing carries significant risk.