Application Form
Please read the Guidance Notes at the end of this document before completing this form.
Applications for the Scottish EDGE must meet certain eligibility criteria. You must be able to confirm “Yes” to
all of the below points to be permitted entry in to the Scottish EDGE competition.
Company Name
Scottish EDGE Eligibility Criteria
Your company has been Incorporated at Companies House
YES / NO
(Scottish EDGE is open to Ltd Companies and registered Social Enterprises/Charities only)
Your company has been in operation for no more than 5 years, as at Scottish EDGE
application window closing date?
(Evidential proof required through Companies House check to confirm Incorporation Date. If Incorporation Date is
greater than 5 years then HMRC Letter or Accountant’s letter required to confirm trading activity has been less
than 5 years. Evidence must be submitted along with completed application form. Additional checks will be
undertaken to confirm trading period)
Your company is head-quartered in Scotland
With support, your company has the potential to achieve new/increased cumulative sales of
£200,000 over the next 3 years
(The 3 year timeframe does not apply to companies in the specialist sectors of,BioTech, Life Sciences, Technology
and Energy)
With support, your company should be capable of employing up to 5 further employees
within a period of 3 years, part of which should include a commitment to offering
opportunities to young people aged 18-25 in Scotland.
A minimum of 50% of the company ownership is attributed to Directors actively working in
the company on a day-to-day basis.
Your company has an ambitious growth strategy and a commitment to deliver upon it for at
least the next 3 years and has the necessary management and technical expertise to make
the product, service or process a success.
Your company embodies innovation and, where applicable, your IP is en-route to protection
or already there
Your company’s business growth plan includes a future intention to export your service or
product beyond Scotland
Your company must currently have 24 or fewer members of staff
Your company must have an existing business bank account
Your company is not in administration or liquidation
Your company’s Directors or any key principals of the company have never been
prosecuted for fraud or disqualified from becoming a director
If you are able to answer “YES” to all of the above statements, then your company is eligible to submit an
application to this competition. Companies House checks and enhanced Due Diligence Checks (which may
include a Credit Reference Search) will be undertaken on all applicants who make it through the semi-final
and final stages of the Scottish EDGE competition to ensure that information provided is accurate. Any
company where information is deemed to be inaccurate after checking will not be permitted to continue in the
competition.
Are you a previous Scottish EDGE winner? If so, you are permitted to apply for further Scottish EDGE
support, however past winners will only be considered for the loan element of any additional award. No
further Scottish EDGE grant funding will be awarded.
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Young EDGE
We recognise that growing your business can be particularly challenging for younger entrepreneurs. Whilst
Scottish EDGE is open to all who meet the criteria, additional consideration will be given to those Companies
who’s Directors are all aged 18-30, in the form of a Young EDGE category. Awards in this category will see
support of up to £10,000 cash being awarded to some of our younger entrepreneurs. This could be in
addition to a Scottish EDGE award to a maximum grant prize of £50,000. If Young EDGE eligibility is met
then this application form will also enter you in to the Young EDGE competition. A prize pot of £75,000 has
been set aside for Young EDGE Awards in Round 6 and we anticipate supporting up to 10 businesses in this
category.
Young EDGE Eligibility Criteria
Your company meets all of the Scottish EDGE eligibility standards
Your company’s Directors are all aged between 18-30 (ID will be required to confirm)
YES / NO
Wild Card EDGE
Scottish EDGE is keen to see support given to Scotland’s highly innovative, early stage, pre-trading
businesses and the Wild Card EDGE category has been designed to offer this support. Innovation is not only
about your product or service; it can be about you, your approach, your team, or the design or brand which
you have adopted.
Wild Card EDGE will offer awards of up to £10,000 cash to entrepreneurs who are at the early stage of
developing a product or service, with the aim of helping entrepreneurs accelerate their development process
and allow them to get closer to trading. A prize pot of £100,000 has been set aside for Wild Card EDGE
Awards in Round 6 and we anticipate supporting up to10 businesses in this category.
Wild Card EDGE Eligibility Criteria
Your company meets all of the above Scottish EDGE eligibility standards
Your company is currently pre-trading
YES / NO
If you have answered “YES” to the above Wild Card EDGE eligibility questions then this application form will
also qualify you to be considered for Wild Card EDGE. For those businesses who wish to be considered for
Wild Card EDGE, the decision on whether your business will progress in this category of the competition will
be made by the assessment panel of experts during the Scottish EDGE assessment days.
How does Innovative EDGE work? - Following the conclusion of each assessment day, the judging panel will
decide which of applicants who are eligible for Innovative EDGE has the greatest “wow” factor (irrespective
of their Scottish EDGE assessment score) and these businesses will be invited to pitch at the Innovative
EDGE Final, for the chance to win grant funding up to £10,000.
All businesses who complete this Scottish EDGE application form will be assessed for the Scottish EDGE
competition, with those who also meet Young EDGE and/or Wild Card EDGE criteria being assessed
separately for those elements using the same application form.
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a. COMPANY DETAILS
Company Name
Registered Address
Town / City
Postcode
b. CONTACT DETAILS
Applicant Name
Position in Company
Telephone
Email
Address for correspondence
(if different to registered
address)
c. TRADING DETAILS
Are you : Ltd Co / Social Enterprise / Charity
Companies House Registration Number
Date of Incorporation
Date trading commenced
(if Incorporation Date is greater than 5 years HMRC Letter or Accountant’s letter required to
confirm trading activity has been less than 5 years. This must be submitted along with
completed application form)
In which Sector does your company operate?
Is your company supported by Business Gateway or
Scottish Enterprise / Highlands & Islands Enterprise? If so,
who is your Account Manager?
Business Bank Account provider:
How did you hear about Scottish EDGE?
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1. Describe what your company does. Tell us about your product or service and
what is your unique selling point
(max 500 words)
see note 1
2. Who are your customers? Is there a demand for your product or service?
How are you engaging with your target market? Do you have plans to sell
your product or service beyond the local market?
(max 500 words)
see note 2
3. Who is the Team behind the company and what are their key strengths? Tell
us about any key mentors or advisers who add value to your business?
(max
500 words)
see note 3
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4. Business Growth:
(a) provide details of your current financial position & employee numbers and
also provide your projected 3 years cumulative financial position and
expected number of employees - assume that you secure Scottish EDGE
support when calculating your projections.
see note 4 (a)
Current Period actual figures
Projected Position
- cumulative total
over 3 years
Provide date range for Current Period
Turnover
Net profit
Employees (FTE)
(b) provide a detailed summary of the assumptions and reasoning behind
your 3 year projections? (max 500 words)
see note 4 (b)
5. Scottish EDGE amount applied for? (max £100,000)
see note 5
6. Describe how you would use the Scottish EDGE award, providing a cost
breakdown for all specific activities and detail how a Scottish EDGE award
will accelerate growth (max 500 words)
see note 6
7. What have been the key highlights for the company over the last 3 months?
(max 200 words)
see note 7
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8. Has your business had financial support from the public sector during the
previous 3 years? If yes, please list it below and tick any which is de
minimis support.
see note 8
Type of financial support
Value
Date
De Minimis
9. Your 3 minute video pitch
see note 9
Video Link
Video link password (if
required)
Link:
DECLARATION
I confirm that in making this application I have read the eligibility criteria and exclusion, and believe that I
meet the criteria for this competition.
Director Name:
Title:
Date:
The Scottish EDGE team and other bodies supporting the Scottish EDGE, Young EDGE and Wild Card
EDGE, collectively referred to as 'the Scottish EDGE partners' will use the information provided in this
Application to assess your suitability for support. If your application is successful the Scottish EDGE
partners will use the information provided for administration and management purposes, including carrying
out any appropriate checks including credit reviews. Non commercially-confidential information may also be
used for marketing purposes and your details may be passed to auditors for administrative purposes.
You have the right to ask for a copy of information that we hold on you in accordance with the Data
Protection Act 1998 to correct any inaccuracies in your information held by us for which we may make a
small charge. If at any time you wish to request a copy of your details from our database, please email
info@scotedge.com providing your company name and putting ‘Data Protection Request’ in the email
subject line.
If you wish to opt out of marketing activities, please email info@scotedge.com stating ‘Opt Out’ in the email
subject line.
By submitting an application you confirm that you are seeking support in the amount shown in question five
in respect of the project described within section six and that the information given on this form and
elsewhere in support of this Application is correct and complete; that except as otherwise indicated on this
form, the specific activities for which support is sought are not currently legally committed; and that you have
read and understood the guidance notes made available at the end of this Application Form.
Potential applicants for the Scottish EDGE, Young EDGE and Wild Card EDGE competitions should be
aware that there may be the opportunity to protect the innovative concepts, technologies and product ideas
which they may be planning to describe in their application form or video. Many forms of Intellectual Property
or IP can be protected through forms of legal registration (such as trade marks, domain names, some
designs and patents) and through unregistered rights (such as copyright). However, the ability to obtain
some of these types of protection is dependent on the innovation remaining confidential and not being
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disclosed to the public (e.g. once an idea is in the public domain, it is no longer capable of obtaining patent
protection). The sponsors and stakeholders strongly recommend any potential applicant who is uncertain
about potential protection options for their concept, technology, product, service or brand to seek advice from
an IP professional such as a specialist IP lawyer, patent agent or a trade mark agent before submitting their
application form or making their video.
Further information about Intellectual Property can be found at the UK IPO website: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/
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Application Guidance
The application form contains text form fields which will expand as you type, however we have given a
maximum word count for each section that we expect you to adhere to. Anything exceeding this word count
will be disregarded. Appendices are not accepted.
Once fully complete, please email the form including video link and any related passwords to
info@scotedge.com. If you have any questions regarding completion of the form or any other Scottish
EDGE queries please refer to the Contact Us & FAQs section at www.scotedge.com
Please submit your application in Microsoft Word/ PDF format only.
Note 1:
Tell us a little about the nature of your business, what product/service do you offer, are you
currently trading? Does your offering address someone’s pain-point? What is innovative about
your proposal? What evidence do you have to support that belief? Where will you focus your
initial activities? Who are your competitors? What is your unique selling point – is it novel? If not
novel, how are you standing out from competitors? What are the main challenges in making this a
success?
Note 2:
Knowing how to turn your offering into sales is crucial. Who are your customers and what
evidence do you have that there is a real desire for your product/service? Tell us how your
product/process/ service will reach its intended customer? How have you priced your offering?
How adaptable, flexible and scalable is the model? Where will you manufacture and why has that
location been chosen?
Note 3:
It may be just you in the business at the moment, but it is important to recognise your own
strengths and weaknesses, and bring necessary skills on board at the right time to help grow your
business. Tell us about the team and faces behind the business – who are they? Who is the
entrepreneurial leader? What key skills do you have within the team and what new skills are
needed to make it grow? Who is responsible for sales and do they have the skills to convert the
sale and close the deal? Do you have any mentors or business advisers who add value to the
business?
Note 4:
(a) The current period figures should reflect an accurate company position as at time of completion
of Scottish EDGE application form. With support, your company should have the potential to
achieve new/increased sales of £200,000 within 3 years and this should be reflected in your
projected figures. The projected turnover and net profit figures should be a 3 year cumulative
figure i.e. year 1 + year 2 + year 3 = £xxx. Scottish EDGE looks for the creation of up to 5 new
jobs and these should be key to the growth and development of your business.
(b) Assumptions behind your projected figures should be detailed to provide the assessors with an
informed and realistic plan of how your company will achieve your projected figures. Tell us how
will your business generate cash - can you generate a profit – over what time period?
If you are in large capital projects or in turn unlikely to be revenue generating at all within three
years e.g. BioTech/Life Science/Technology/Energy – use question 4(b) to offer an explanation of
assumptions and specifics to your situation which you feel will allow the judging panel to assess
your potential.
Note 5:
The Scottish EDGE will offer prizes of up to £100,000. Put the total value sought in the box
provided. There are only three restrictions on how you can use funding:
(1)
(2)
(3)
it must be legal;
the grant component cannot be used to top-up other public sector funding
awards; and
it has to be spent on something which is going to result in business growth and must
be spent as approved by the Scottish EDGE judging panel and as outlined in the
Scottish EDGE winner’s contract
If you are successful in securing an award the judges will decide whether to give you the full value
sought, or whether to offer a reduced award to focus on specific activities towards the growth of
your company.
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Any given Scottish EDGE award will be 50:50 grant/loan split. An individual repayment plan for
the loan component will be negotiated with each Scottish EDGE winner at the time of an award
being given. Terms and Conditions for the loan element of a Scottish EDGE award can be found
under the FAQ section at www.scotedge.com
The loan element is about creating a sustainable fund for other entrepreneurs; it is not intended to
place undue pressure on your business.
Note 6:
Tell us how you would propose to spend the Scottish EDGE funding you are applying for and why
it would make a difference to your business. What are your major milestones in the next 12
months? What are the intended start and end dates for use of the award and how would you use
the funds and demonstrate that the activity is happening (what could we monitor spend against)?
Some examples could be:


Are you going to use the award to employ people, if so, how many and what to do?
Are you going to use it to get in front of customers, then what does that mean you need ...
travel costs, promotional materials for your offering?
Whatever the requirement is, list the breakdown of expected spend activity and anticipated
respective cost/timescale for each element
Note 7:
To help us understand current areas of focus, please list some of the key activities/ highlights /
achievements for your business over the past 3 months.
Note 8:
As 50% of the award is a de minimis grant it is necessary for you to ensure that you do not breach
EU funding levels. We can help with this assessment if you tell us about any grants or financial
contributions you have received from the public sector, when that funding was awarded, and what
the value was.
Winners of funding support from the Scottish EDGE will be awarded their funds in the form of a
contract which will say 'this Aid is De Minimis support and counts towards your company's De
Minimis level'. You might be familiar with this term if you have had public sector funding in the
past. It is necessary for any business applying for funding from the public sector to disclose
whether previous awards have been given as 'de minimis aid'. All businesses have a public
funding level of 200,000 euro over a rolling 3 year period which is seen by the European
Commission as not being of a high enough level to inappropriately distort the market. When a
public sector body gives you a grant or award which it calls 'de minimis aid', then it has to ensure
that the award, added to previous awards under 'de minimis' does not exceed that total value.
Further details can be found via the following link –
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/State-Aid/if-its-aid/deminimis
Note 9:
Please provide a web link to your 3 minute video pitch. Please take time to read the additional
information on our website on how to create and upload a video. The video should be to a
standard of that taken on a hand held mobile recording device or better – it is not necessary to pay
for an external party to produce a professional video solely for this competition unless you really
wish to do so. The standard does not impact on your selection – so long as it can be viewed,
heard and shows the entrepreneur and any potential product, it is the content of the pitch which
matters. We would encourage applicants to show their product or service in the 3 minute video as
this often helps bring your offering to life for the judging panel during the assessment process
YouTube is the preferred option for uploading video content and we would encourage applicant to
select the unlisted option when uploading a video to YouTube. If you prefer to protect your video
content then please remember to supply the video password. The time limit for videos is 3
minutes maximum. Any video content beyond 3 minutes will not be viewed during assessments.
Upon submission of your application form, you will receive an automated response
confirming receipt. If you do not receive this automated response, please assume that your
application has NOT been received and contact us at info@scotedge.com
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