Dr Fairley held off strong competition from fellow finalists Daniel Winterstein (Good-Loop) and Pasquale Saviano (Photocert), who had been selected from over 100 applicants from across the UK and industries spanning healthcare, advertising and communications.
Judges from Business Gateway, Scottish Investment Bank and STV deliberated on the three leading entrepreneurs before announcing Dr Fairley of Talking Medicines, a Glasgow-based health tech company that brings medicines to life for improved insight into how patients take their medications, as the winner.
Dr Fairley will take home not just the title, but also a fully-funded place on FutureX’s Silicon Valley Accelerate programme and a business support package worth over £220,000 from Johnston Carmichael, AAI EmployAbility, STV, The Herald, Dentsu Aegis Network and IBM.
The Silicon Valley Accelerate programme takes a select group of rising UK tech leaders to Silicon Valley. There, they have the opportunity to connect with leading global players in the tech industry and pitch to potential investors.
Previous cohorts have met with executives from Airbnb, Facebook, SurveyMonkey, RocketSpace, Y Combinator, Waze, and Threshold.
Dr Fairley said of her win: “We are so excited to have won the Startup Summit Competition. It is fantastic timing for us as we raise our profile and mission to capture the voice of the patient and drive the effective use of medicines around the world. We are delighted to be partnering with media companies STV and Dentsu Aegis Network – with their support, we will have a much stronger voice.”
Touching on her upcoming trip to Silicon Valley, Dr Fairley said: “We are excited about our trip to the US as we love the fast pace and can-do attitude there. We look forward to broadening our network, and meeting with investors and potential exit partners.”
Peter Reilly, STV commercial director, said: “Scotland’s entrepreneurs form a vital part of our economy, and STV is pleased to give our continued support to Startup Summit for the third year.
“STV is committed to driving the Scottish economy and this year’s event has been another fantastic opportunity to celebrate the role of innovation and entrepreneurship play in the country’s growth.”
Zoi Kantounatou, FutureX co-founder and CFO, said: “All of the finalists deserved to be on our Silicon Valley Accelerate programme. The judges had an unenviable task of choosing the winner! I am excited to have Elizabeth join the programme and I look forward to seeing where the opportunity takes her and Talking Medicines.”
Bruce Walker, FutureX co-founder and CEO, said: “The introduction of the tech for good criterion this year took the competition to another level. As we become more reliant on tech in our lives, we have to consider the opportunities and risks that dependency creates. Elizabeth, and each of the finalists, epitomise how tech can create a positive impact on the people around us.”
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