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  • Investor Search: Cultured Meat Investors

    The search for Venture Capital has never been so easy with Ship Shape. To show how simple yet specific it can be, we searched for "cultured meat investors". Below are some examples: Vegetarian, pescetarian and vegan diets have become the alternative diets driven by lifestyle, understanding of the human body and environmental reasons. But is there another alternative? For those concerned with the environmental impact of farming and mass fishing, lab grown meat or cultured meat is the next step. First conceptualised in 2000 and a proof of concept showcased in 2013 by frying edible synthetic meat, investors have spotted an opportunity. Lab-grown meat funding and cultured meat investment has totalled $1.2 billion in 2020. Down the chain towards public markets, there is an increasing normalisation of investing in Lab-grown meat ETFs and cultured meat ETFs . 2021’s FAIRR report showed a record level of funding by cultured meat investors. Below is a list of the top ranking individuals at VC firms that have published content or invest in synthetic meat. VC Individual: Sean O'Sullivan Firm: SOSV Location: New York VC Individual: Kamran Adle Firm: Octopus Ventures Location: London VC Individual: Nathan Benaich Firm: Air Street Capital Location: London The above are results directly from the Search Engine for Venture Capital - Ship Shape. Search beyond generic industry verticals like ‘Foodtech’, ‘Fintech’ or ‘Spacetech’. Try Ship Shape today. Join the waitlist today or book a call to skip the queue to start searching with Ship Shape.

  • Investor search: Smart Energy Investors

    Below are examples of evidence from our search engine that will enhance your search for venture capital focused on: "Smart Energy Investors" Smart Energy’ has become prominent as an investment area, with the increased emphasis on reducing emissions and increasing comfort. This has required use of monitoring technology. This enables detailed analysis and control over once was thought to be very stable and constant with minimal consumer visibility. ‘Smart Energy’ is an area of focus for ESG investors, who have expanded their portfolios in recent years. Diversifying into renewable energy investment has become a staple investment focus, supported by international and national commitments to offset natural gas. Below are examples of evidence from our Search Engine that will enhance your search for Venture Capital where there is content focused on: Smart Energy Investors VC Individual: Tiina Tanav Firm: ETF Partners Location: London VC Individual: Mike Sage Firm: Vumela Fund Location: Johannesburg VC Individual: Tiina Tanav Firm: ETF Partners Location: London VC Individual: Christian Giannini Firm: 01Ventures Location: Amsterdam The above are results directly from the Search Engine for Venture Capital - Ship Shape. Need to discover more investors for satellite communication or search beyond other industry verticals? Try Ship Shape today! Book a demo call today and start searching with Ship Shape.

  • Investor search: Satellite Communication Investors

    Below are examples of evidence from our Search Engine that will enhance your search for Venture Capital where there is content focused on: "Satellite Communication" Satellite communication has become the staple of communication technology around the world, as an exceptionally useful byproduct of the Space Race. Communication Satellites utilize a mixture of technology from antenna communication to radio communication (which continues to use the full spectrum of radio waves). A considerable advancement of a number of technologies including miniaturization, chip manufacturing and material development, has contributed to the advancement and utilization of satellites. This presents a large opportunity for Venture Capital (VC) investors to invest. There has been a growth in the number of Antenna communication investors and radio communication investors, but these can be hard to locate. VC Individual: Rob Desborough Firm: Seraphim Capital Location: London VC Individual: John Mcnicol Firm: Kelvin Capital Location: Manchester VC Individual: John Paton Firm: Pembroke VCT Location: United States The above are results directly from the Search Engine for Venture Capital - Ship Shape. Need to discover more investors for satellite communication or search beyond other industry verticals? Try Ship Shape today! Book a demo call today and start searching with Ship Shape.

  • An Investor search: Battery Development Investors

    Below are the results from our venture capital search engine for top matched VC "Battery Development" investors. Battery development and technology is becoming a popular space in Venture Capital (VC). Funding and investment in the area is extremely competitive. This is especially the case with the increased demand for Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the past decade, accelerated by the pandemic. As a natural response, there is an increased incentive to manufacture more solid-state batteries or solid power batteries. Battery development investors and battery manufacturing investors are seeing a great opportunity to provide funding with the potential for a substantial return. As a startup or a VC, battery development is not an opportunity to be missed. Below are examples of evidence from our Search Engine that will enhance your search for Venture Capital where there is content focused on: battery development VC Individual: Laura Marsh Firm: Natrium Capital Location: London VC Individual: Patrick Molyneux Firm: Acceleris Capital Location: Manchester VC Individual: Dr Mark Payton Firm: Mercia Asset Management Location: Henley The above are results directly from the Search Engine for Venture Capital - Ship Shape. Need to discover more investors for battery development or search beyond other industry verticals? Try Ship Shape today! Book a demo call today and start searching with Ship Shape.

  • Ground-breaking Venture Capital search engine receives grant from Welsh Government.

    Economic sustainability and growth is dependent on the success of small growth enterprises, and they need capital. Our present financial world is awash with capital. It is vital that ideas and investment find each other. Welsh Fintech Ship Shape has built a Venture Capital search engine which identifies highly relevant investors in seconds. It is currently available to Universities, Venture Capital firms, Corporate Finance firms and Governmental organisations for the entrepreneurs they support. The Welsh Government has awarded a SMART Cymru grant, which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, to Welsh Fintech Ship Shape to collaborate with Cardiff University to further develop their transformative software. The project intends to create a new benchmark for investment financial data, driven by data science. Venture Capital is a growing industry. In 2020, the global Venture Capital industry was estimated at £220bn. For 2021, £310bn had already been invested by August. However, it is an industry plagued by entrepreneurs spending months trying to identify the right individuals at VC firms to speak with. “Financial data on investment is not targeted enough. We need to cut out the noise and give decision-makers exactly and precisely what they need to know. We are delighted to lead this disruption, and to have the support of both Cardiff University and the Welsh Government’s SMART Cymru funding.” - Alistair Baillie, co-founder of Ship Shape “We are delighted to be partnering with Ship Shape in their quest to match backers with businesses. Text mining and data science will play a key role in gaining knowledge for financial investments in the context of big data. We are happy to have an opportunity to translate our research into disruptive innovation.” - Professor Irena Spasic, School of Computer Science “The partnership offers a wonderful opportunity to match academic expertise with industry need. Throughout the project we will aim to ensure there is flawless interaction between the systems and their end-users to deliver explainable AI and an enhanced user experience.” - Colleague Dr Fernando Loizides, Deputy Director of Cardiff’s Data Science Academy added: Cardiff University press release can be found here Ship Shape note to editors Ship Shape was founded by Daniel Sawko and Alistair Baillie and is currently based in Cardiff, Wales. To discover Ship Shape please visit our website: https://www.shipshape.vc/ Alistair Baillie: alistair@shipshape.vc Daniel Sawko: daniel@shipshape.vc For more information about this press release please contact: info@shipshape.vc This press release was in collaboration with Cardiff University and The Welsh Government as part of SMART Cymru. Ship Shape is the search engine for VC. Ship Shape is a unique search engine that finds the right individual at the right VC firm in seconds, not months. Deep artificial intelligence drives accurate searching and detailed evidence of investments and theses. When combined with cross-checks against professional networks, this decreases the time spent searching and increases the chance of that initial meeting. "Ship Shape are building a unique AI-powered search platform that answers a genuine need that no one else is solving." Adam Baron, Associate Director, M&A Growth Advisory, BDO. Ship Shape’s search can be used by individuals,VC firms looking to find investors relevant to their portfolio, intermediates seeking to broker more deals, and universities supporting spin-outs and commercialisation. Ship Shape is proudly Welsh and is Wales Fintech Start-up of the Year 2021, and is a member of Praxis Auril, the professional association for Knowledge Exchange. Ship Shape has received grants from Innovate UK and SMART Cymru and was selected for the Fintech Wales Foundry Accelerator. Ship Shape’s vision is to unleash world-changing ideas by bringing together data and human networks. Welsh Government note to editors The Welsh Government is committed to building a stronger, greener economy for Wales, based on the principles of fair work, sustainability and the industries and services of the future. This includes supporting demand-driven Research, Development and Innovation in Wales, and facilitating effective collaborations which drive prosperity and deliver real benefits for Wales’ people and its environment. Our Economic Action Plan has building stronger foundations for growth, supercharging the industries of the future and empowering Wales’ regions at its heart. It includes our Economic Contract which frames a new relationship with business based on the principle of public investment with a social purpose as we help businesses respond to the challenges of the future. We support businesses to innovate and introduce new products and services, to trade with the UK and the rest of the world, to improve our skills base and to ensure that Wales remains competitive in the fourth industrial age. We are also working to enable more Welsh businesses to become carbon-light or carbon-free. Through our suite of support called SMART, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the Welsh Government helps to create jobs and improve people’s lives by driving cutting-edge research and innovation. SMARTInnovation – Investing in Research & Development SMARTCymru – Funding to Innovate SMARTExpertise – Academic Collaboration for Business For more information on how Welsh Government innovation support can benefit your business call 03000 6 03000, or visit SMART Innovation | Innovation (gov.wales)

  • Global Entrepreneurship Week: search engine of Venture Capital receives investment from University

    Ship Shape, a Welsh start-up, and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David have announced a strategic partnership during Global Entrepreneurship week. Innovation and entrepreneurship are increasingly recognised as key to solving many of the world’s challenges, from climate change to relieving poverty. Ship Shape has built a search engine that identifies highly relevant investors in seconds. It is currently available to Universities, Venture Capital firms, Corporate Finance firms and Governmental organisations for the entrepreneurs they support. Venture Capital is an increasingly important source of funding to enable brilliant start-ups to achieve these ambitions, but finding the right investors with knowledge is difficult. Venture Capital also has gained in importance for Universities, that have significant IP that requires private, long-term focused sources of funding to commercialise. Venture Capital is a growing industry. In 2020, the global Venture Capital industry was estimated at £220bn. For 2021, £310bn had already been invested by August. However, it is an industry plagued by entrepreneurs spending months trying to identify the right individuals at VC firms to speak with. The idea was born in South Wales and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) is now making a strategic investment into Ship Shape to help the team accelerate growth globally, in addition to utilising the academic, technical and network expertise of UWTSD. Dr Kathryn Penaluna, Associate Professor in Enterprise Education at UWTSD quickly recognised the potential of the idea and has supported Ship Shape from infancy: Associate Professor in Enterprise Education at UWTSD, Dr Kathryn Penaluna said: “We’re delighted to announce our partnership with Ship Shape to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week. Many great ideas are generated within our educational institutions and we’re ambitious that Wales becomes an engine of Innovation centred around UWTSD.” Co-founder and CEO of Ship Shape, Daniel Sawko agrees: “The strategic partnership with UWTSD is a real statement of intent from both of us. Empowering innovation has never been more important to our future and yet many potentially ground-breaking innovations still can’t find the right people in Venture Capital to help them grow. We’re ambitious about unlocking and commercialising brilliant ideas around the world, which could go much further with better access to the relevant Venture Capital investors.” The strategic partnership follows other exciting announcements in the Swansea Bay City Deal area, that have highlighted the burgeoning high-tech ecosystem developing in South and West Wales and the tremendous potential of human-capital rich areas outside of London and the South East. Read the press release from UWTSD here Contact Persons University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) Website LinkedIn Twitter Rebecca Davies - Executive Press and Media Relations Officer (Swyddog Gweithredol Cysylltiadau â’r Wasg a’r Cyfryngau) Email: Rebecca.Davies@uwtsd.ac.uk LinkedIn Ship Shape Ship Shape Search LinkedIn Twitter Daniel Sawko - Co-founder and CEO Email: daniel@shipshape.vc LinkedIn

  • Ship Shape completes Fintech Wales Foundry Accelerator Programme

    “The Foundry was created with great ideas and teams like Ship Shape in mind and I’m delighted that we could help accelerate them in every sense of the word. Our cohort are all fantastically talented and have mature propositions that are both innovative and well executed, they just needed the access and the opportunity that comes with throwing the weight of an entire ecosystem behind them for 12 weeks” - Johnny Mayo - Fintech Wales Foundry General Manager The program was built around three core themes: Access, Investment and Opportunity. These themes drove the program and we have seen tremendous growth in all areas. Firstly, our access to customers enabled us to grow our commercial pipeline substantially. Secondly, we have been able to secure investment through the support and recognition (we now joke that we should have built an Angel search engine first!). Finally, the Foundry has enabled us to realise the scale of the opportunity in front of us and be brave enough to take the steps needed to unlock it. We have grown our team and our technical capabilities, leading us to accelerate our timelines. Each week, the Foundry organised workshops with partners and supporting businesses that aimed to expand our knowledge in all areas of business; from growing and setting expectations to managing and presenting to clients. "Being part of the Fintech Wales Foundry has enabled us to forge a new path for our business and enabled us to be recognised as Fintech Start-up of the Year. Our trajectory has been elevated, we've secured investment, we're approaching £1m in commercial pipeline. We've been unshackled from numerous inhibiting factors. We've leveraged the brilliant networks and we've taken inspiration from some of the most influential technology business leaders, such as Louise O'Shea, CEO of Confused.com" - Daniel Sawko - CEO and Co-founder of Ship Shape Winner of the Fintech Awards Wales Start-up of the Year 2021 Read about the announcements here and our post about Winning Fintech Start-up of the Year 2021!

  • Talking Tech Transfer with Ian Tracey

    In early September, we were joined by Anchored In’s Ian Tracey to discuss the exciting changes happening in the UK Technology Transfer sector. We put a few questions to Ian to get his expert view on what we’ve seen happen and what we might see coming over the horizon. 1. What have been the big changes in the last 10 years? Change has happened on several levels. Early on, Technology Transfer was seen as just a means of augmenting lack of academic funding - and it was expected that Tech Transfer teams could quickly become self-financing. But IP protection is quite expensive and that was seen as the route to go down in all instances. The teams were building up portfolios that they could licence out later. I think we’re now seeing a much more pragmatic approach, where Universities try to be more demand led by the market as to the problems they try and solve. I think the way that impact is now measured has helped - there is a framework in place that enables Universities to more easily identify the broader societal problems. 2. Are we seeing a more patient approach to capital returns too? More established Technology Transfer teams have found a number of ways to bring more money into the Universities. Through better grant applications, better consultancy, to better job opportunities for the graduates and the growth of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships. Universities are thinking about Technology Transfer not as a cost centre, but as a strategic force multiplier across a number of metrics that they are measured against. And so look at the differences over time. You get some big research-centric universities like Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial. They've gone from three or four people to tens, if not a few hundred people tackling each of these different areas. They have raised their own seed funds that gives them a level of independence in the early stages of the project. 3. How do you see careers in Technology Transfer evolving? Well, there are formal qualifications and bodies. You have ASTP, Praxis Auril and others who give you a formal training programme to become chartered in Technology Transfer. For many decades we have had formal qualifications for other trades. Now you can formally train at Knowledge Transfer. That is a “Good Thing” - it shows that Knowledge Transfer has become a career choice. It’s a discipline that needs to be built to manage the effectiveness of technology transfer. KT is an extremely promising area to be involved in, I see it growing in importance not just to Universities, but to the economy and society at large. 4. What’s your view on the infrastructure and frameworks that Government is putting in place? Is it encouraging the right behaviour? Academia has historically been a government-funded or in other words, a heavily subsidised industry. And so when you change the rules around government money, the behaviour of the academic industry will change too. I do believe in the trinity of REF, TEF and KEF. And we're still getting changes around the third pillar (KEF), but it’s interesting because it is arguably the most important because it’s has a lot of potential for growth, whereas Teaching and ‘pure’ Research are more established disciplines. Like every formal metric system, it's going to have a few oddities that come out of the wash, but that’s the way formal metrics often function. And I'm confident those metrics will improve over time. It’s easy to be unfair to a sector purely because of imperfect metrics - but this is such a young industry, with so much potential. Let’s take a look at the IT industry - which came out of defence and manufacturing, it took ~40 years to see big societal dividends pay off, but we’re now living in the digital age as a result. The car of today has completely different mileage, safety systems etc. We are talking about self-driving because of IT. Well, you can make the same things about Knowledge Exchange. Carrying on with the car example, there's plenty of research, for example in behaviour analysis coming out in the social sciences that has big implications with regards to cars. That innovation is enabled because of an effective Knowledge Exchange programme. 5. With the REF, TEF and KEF framework, what would your suggestions be for those Universities that are now heavily investing in expanding the area of the triangle? One of the reasons I like REF, TEF and KEF is that it's an area of a triangle problem. It has formalised the idea that you're better off trying to improve your weak area because you make much bigger improvements than trying to perfect what you are already very good at. Humans tend to enjoy working where they are strongest. For example, you've got some really, really good teaching universities. Now many Universities today are teaching-focused universities, but there are ways they can make tremendous improvements to their impact, for example, collaborating on courses with local industry, creating the workers that they need in six to thirty-six months time or doing it as part of a modern apprenticeship. On the spin-out side, I think the universities are looking to become more professional in the way that they manage their access to startup capital.I think breaking down the opacity of where the long tail of investor interests lie is a very important first step. Tools like Ship Shape are game-changing in that because first and foremost they're making the names visible. But more importantly, they're providing an insight into what smart money is thinking about problems, and that is another way of creating demand-pull dynamics in a space that is quickly adapting to just that. What this then helps with is the ability to identify the individuals that can move the needle for spin-outs developing long-tail technologies. If you can layer onto that the ability to connect these spin-outs with the right advisors - because Technology Transfer teams don’t need to have deep relationships in every sector - and then you start to really move the needle for UK Universities that have spin-outs and Technologies that suffer from a lack of scalability in today’s setup. That then breeds the success that can see the organisations reach the scale of others that have been in this sector for decades already. We want to extend a personal thank you to Ian for talking with us and Anchored In for letting us borrow his time. We continued talking about a whole host of changes, regulations and exciting prospects, but that will have to wait till next time so stayed tuned! Contact Persons Daniel Sawko, CEO Email: daniel@shipshape.vc Ian Tracey, Co-founder of Anchored In LinkedIn Twitter Anchored In LinkedIn Twitter

  • Fintech Start-up of the Year 2021!

    Ship Shape is proud to announce that we have been recognised as Fintech Start-up of the Year 2021! This award is a testament to all the hard work we have put in throughout the last year and that would not be possible without Our Team. In that time we have Ship Shape from a ‘no-code’ solution to an independent search engine that already has paying customers (with some very exciting names about to be) continues to grow and most importantly, is already having positive impacts on the VC investment landscape. The award also reflects that despite being remote and with a number of the team yet to meet, you can still achieve great things. For any business leaders - a transformative book on the importance of devolving control for us was ‘Turn the Ship Around’. Devolving control and responsibility truly empowers individuals within teams to seize the initiative. Ship Shape would like to thank our customers, investors, advisors and key stakeholders as your input, advice, guidance and feedback has been invaluable. You’ve allowed Ship Shape to grow and learn which has ultimately led us to where we are today. We look forward to continuing these relationships far into the future. Further and deepest thanks are in order! Fintech Wales, the Fintech Wales Foundry Accelerator, Cardiff Capital Region, the Wales start-up community and our numerous University partners have been instrumental in providing support and daring us to take on ever greater challenges as we deliver on being the search engine for Venture Capital. Ship Shape are currently raising an EIS round. If would like to help us reach new heights, please contact either Daniel Sawko or Alistair Baillie below: Contact Persons Daniel Sawko , CEO Email: daniel@shipshape.vc Alistair Baillie, COO Email: alistair@shishape.vc Ship Shape Search: https://app.shipshape.vc Ship Shape Search Twitter https://twitter.com/VcShip Ship Shape Search LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ship-shape-vc/

  • Taking stock at half-time: The journey of DSA students at Ship Shape

    We’re at the mid-way point of our journey with three talented students from Cardiff’s Data Science Academy. The past 2 months have been a period of learning for all three students. Working together with the data science team at Ship Shape, the collaborative project has two core aims: Collate and produce a well-trusted, complete, and immediately available source of financial history in the UK. Use primary source data to show themes within financial services Last week, I caught up with Juhi, Can and Elisavet about their experience to date: How are you finding the project so far? Juhi - It has been good so far. It has given me an outlook on how operations work in real companies. In University, we get theoretical knowledge, but going to the outside world, there are practical applications that are implemented a little bit differently. So far the project is going well and I am learning a lot. Can - University teaches us how to solve supervised problems, but the project I am doing now is unsupervised learning, which has helped me improve my overall knowledge of NLP. Very happy to be part of the project. Elisavet - I like the project a lot - the fact that we are working with a real company and working on an industry facing project helps us fully utilise our skills and knowledge in the real world. “ I have been taught a lot about NLTK thanks to this project, I have used a lot of different libraries that I hadn't before” - Hasan Can Uzuner, Msc Data Science and Analytics at Cardiff University 2. What has surprised you most about working in a professional environment compared to a university? Difference or similarities? Juhi - I think when we were working on a group project in university, we usually don't have the supervision that we have here, usually, it's about the marks and we'll get feedback later on. But in a professional case, if something is wrong, we find a solution straight away. It is a nice surprise that we learn to work while addressing our mistakes at the same time. Can - For me, it is the meeting each day. It actually pushed and motivated me to work on this project every day as you want to show something new each time. Also, using new tools compared to our local computers has helped follow the progress of the work better. It is great to learn new tools which I am still learning myself. Elisavet - I find a lot of differences, firstly, the tools we have to use and learn. Secondly, it is different as you have to be responsible for your part of the project and your team waits to hear your concerns each day, and then work together, Lastly, in my Masters, I dedicated a lot of my time to my coding skills, but here I understand that it is crucial to fully understand the business problem first. 3. What have you achieved/submitted or overcome that you are most proud of? Juhi - For me, it was the tools and overall scope that I had to overcome. In university, a project is given with the outlines and you have to stick and not question these, but working here has given us the edge to understand how the business scenario works and question the outcome of what we are doing. I found it difficult at first to understand how this will affect a business operation and I was not prepared for it but through asking questions and learning myself, I overcame this and now I have gained a developing skill of understanding business objectives better. Can - When I started to study data science, I had no idea about NLP and I didn't expect to work in NLP fields, I have been taught a lot about NLTK thanks to this project, I have used a lot of different libraries that I hadn't before and understand a little more about each library and now further understanding how NLP works. Elisavet - I am proud of a lot of things, even though we have not finished yet. I have learnt about new tools like Can mentioned, but also I have learnt about how the business environment operates, like communication and collaboration between us and the Ship Shape team. “Working here has given us the edge to understand how the business scenario works and question the outcome of what we are doing” - Juhi Negi, MSc in Data Science & Analytics at Cardiff University 4. What soft skills have you developed or taken up that you did not expect when starting this project? Juhi - I have learnt more about the collaborative spirit with your colleagues and also seniors. It feels less like a competition which sometimes comes across in university with our marks. So I think working with different people, communicating with them, learning from them, and implementing all that in a project, I think something that I have learnt a lot about. Can - It has definitely improved my communication skills. I remember when I first came to the U.K and had a job interview and my communication wasn't too good, but this project has really improved my communication skills and how to get my ideas across. I also feel as we are working remotely, this is even more important now. Elisavet - I learnt how to present my findings and to suggest improvements and feedback to the rest of the team. I also feel I am more of a team player, and feel more comfortable working together. As mentioned by others, my communication skills have improved which has, in turn, improved my understanding of time management, “I would say go for it, definitely. If someone is eager to learn data science and analytics then I think it is a very powerful start” - Elisavet Mourouzidou, MSc Data Science and Analytics at Cardiff University 5. What is the hardest challenge/task you have faced thus far and how did you overcome it? Juhi - We have had some engineering issues that we have dealt with in the project. Even though we have not yet solved it, I feel confident that we will by the end of this month. Can - For me, I have faced two main challenges. At first, I felt I lacked knowledge about my topic when first looking at it, but Gareth was great in helping me by guiding me to new libraries which I explored which I then used and that really helped me to understand my topic more. Secondly, I didn't know which library to use and which model would be best suited. I have overcome this now by trying all libraries and slowly evaluating which would be best from the elements of each library. I still don't know but I will by the end of the project. Elisavet - I would agree with Juhi on the engineering side. Personally, I struggled initially with my communication skills and trying to adjust my working habits to the business environment to show how I am a valuable member of the team. I feel with time I have improved this and received positive feedback which has boosted my overall confidence. 6. Upon reflection of a certain task/issue, what could you have done differently and how may you implement that into a similar task into the future? Juhi - Upon reflection, I did not know how many tools techniques there would be available to solve a business problem, so I would probably want to research more about tools so I have a better idea and understanding of how I can tackle a problem. I think also keeping up to date and tracking what is available is the best for me. Can - I think I should have set my aims and goals more clearly. I have found myself focusing on a task but forgetting about another. Be more specific or have an overarching goal with smaller aims that accumulate to the main goal will help me keep more focus and be better overall. 7. Would you express interest in doing a similar project in the earlier years of university? Juhi - Definitely recommend it, those that are in the first year of university don't always understand how business works, which is really different actually. It is valuable to have that basic knowledge of many different aspects, operations, financial etc. This project has opened my eyes to this and when other students get into it, they will learn about these areas too and apply it back into their university learning with a distinct advantage. Can - I agree with Juhi, and to add that understating and getting used to unsupervised learning in business is something that universities miss and I believe that students who take this project will benefit from this project greatly. Elisavet - I would say go for it, definitely. If someone is eager to learn data science and analytics then I think it is a very powerful start. And now as I search for a job, I can say that the opportunity provided by the university to expand my knowledge has made me understand that my skills are in demand and essential to business operations. Thanks to Juhi, Can and Elisavet for taking the time out of your day to catch up and share how you are getting on. Whilst only at the mid-way point, the project has illustrated how the collaborative effort between Ship Shape and the Data Science Academy has already started to achieve business aims and refined students knowledge and understanding of business acumen while improving their personal communication, presentation and collaborative skills. We are excited to see how the students continue to flourish and we are excited to showcase how their contributions to data science at Ship Ship. Contact Persons Cardiff University School of Computer Science and Informatics DSA website Cardiff University Website Linkedin Group Twitter Facebook Elisavet Mourouzidou, MSc Data Science and Analytics Linkedin Hasan Can Uzuner, Msc Data Science and Analytics Linkedin Juhi Negi, MSc in Data Science & Analytics Linkedin Alistair Baillie, COO Email: alistair@shishape.vc Gareth Williams, Senior Data Scientist Email: gareth@shipshape.vc Oliver Tobin, Data Coordinator Email: olly@shipshape.vc Ship Shape Search: https://app.shipshape.vc/search Ship Shape Search Twitter https://twitter.com/VcShip Ship Shape Search LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ship-shape-vc/

  • Ship Shape’s Happy Business Birthday

    2021 has been an extremely positive year for Ship Shape. Incorporating in July 2020 amidst a pandemic, founders Daniel Sawko and Alistair Baille had an idea to democratise funding in the U.K. Along with pulling together a great team working remotely from day 1, Ship Shape has grown and naturally evolved as challenges and opportunities presented themselves. In November 2020, Ship Shape was recognised by Innovate UK’s Sustainable Innovation Fund for our technology and the vision we strive to achieve. This grant enabled us to develop and scale technology that is now the backbone behind our unique investor recommendation engine. Fast-forwarding 5 months, we have now been recognised as the finalist in two separately respected awards. Within Fintech Awards Wales, Ship Shape is the finalist for FinTech Start-up of the Year sponsored by Confused.com alongside Monva, Wagonex, Coincover and Yimba. The process involved an application followed by an interview to demonstrate the core IP technology developed by Ship Shape that is powered by AI and NLP. Our CEO Daniel Sawko, was asked various questions regarding how the technology has developed over the past 6 months, how it is currently being applied and the impact it has on the VC industry. With progress stemming from a no-code solution to a fully standalone code with an in-house API, Ship Shape made fast but careful progress before going live in March of 2021. As the code is developed, new features are richening the code which translates to better, faster and more accurate results. “I’m hugely impressed by the vision of Daniel and his team – and the commitment they have shown in bringing this vital service and unique competitive edge to our fintech ecosystem here in Wales” -Sarah Williams-Gardener, CEO of Fintech Wales and judge of Fintech Awards Wales The criteria also questioned why Ship Shape is a unique company. Distinctively, Ship Shape was founded amongst a global pandemic. This positions Ship Shape as one of the first of remote companies where staff work at home and collaborate fully online. Fintech Wales was taken aback by the progress such a young company had made despite never meeting each other in person. This progress was and still is driven by the synergy and harmonious skills that the team at Ship Shape have formed. You can read more about the Fintech Awards here Within the same week, Ship Shape was also informed of being selected as the finalist for Wales Start-up Award for Fintech Start-Up of the Year sponsored by Cognis Capital alongside Kuva, Monva, and Yoello. Similarly, the selection process was based on a number of factors and included an interview and questions to Daniel Sawko surrounding Ship Shape, the progress we have made and the vision of the company. Read more about the Wales Start-up award here\ Entrepreneurship remains an important element of economies around the world, and it is clear that companies like our finalists, who perceive an opportunity and take a risk to create a new business, will be critical in ensuring the recovery of the Welsh economy over the next few years:” - Professor Dylan Jones-Evans, assistant Pro-vice Chancellor at the University of South Wales and creator of the awards One common denominator of both awards is the geographical location, Wales. Despite being founded as a remote company, Ship Shape is proud to be Welsh. Daniel had the luxury of freedom of choice between a vast number of locations within the U.K in which to incorporate Ship Shape. Ultimately, he chose Wales. His choice of Wales stems from his time spent in Wales during the U.Ks first major lockdown. It was the local community's welcome and support for Ship Shape from UWTSD, Business Wales and Fintech Wales in the early days of the business that cemented Wales as home. “The blasting bellows of ecosystem support and community welcome are helping Wales to continue to forge ahead with its reputation as a country of Innovation and Fintech.” - Daniel Sawko, the CEO and co-founder of Ship Shape: Ship Shape is becoming a known disrupter of the financial services industry and with the award nominations recognising our efforts, Ship Shape has cemented its position in Wales. We are proud to be finalists in both awards and look forward to the announcement of both awards in the latter half of this year. To further add to the celebrations, Ship Shape joined the Fintech Wales Foundry Accelerator. The programme is a non-profit that encompass serval promising Welsh starts-up with the drive to see them succeed, grow and strive in the Welsh community. You can read more about Ship Shape and Foundry here. Contact Persons Daniel Sawko , CEO Email: daniel@shipshape.vc Alistair Baillie, COO Email: alistair@shishape.vc Ship Shape Search: https://app.shipshape.vc Ship Shape Search Twitter https://twitter.com/VcShip Ship Shape Search LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ship-shape-vc/

  • Happy 1st Birthday Ship Shape

    2021 has been an extremely positive year for Ship Shape. Incorporating in July 2020 amidst a pandemic, founders Daniel Sawko and Alistair Baille and Miguel Neumann had an idea to democratise funding in the U.K. Along with pulling together a great team working remotely from day 1, Ship Shape has grown and naturally evolved as challenges and opportunities presented themselves. In November 2020, Ship Shape was given grant funding by Innovate UK’s Sustainable Innovation Fund. This enabled us to develop and scale technology that is now the backbone of Ship Shape. Within a year we have achieved what might easily take several! Grown a no-code solution to a fully stood up AI and NLP platform Went live! Our first trial customer: October 2020 Our first paid customer: December 2020 Shortlisted as a Fintech and Start-up of the Year 2021 (link) Finally began to meet in person for the first time Joined the amazing Fintech Wales Foundry Accelerator (link) Launched a new website And soon to be opening our new office in Wales at the Cardiff Business Technology Centre! As a company born in the midst of the pandemic, Ship Shape has been an odd-one out from day 1. We have been fortunate enough to work with some amazing people who have helped at every step of the journey so far. From those with us from the start, to those who regularly give up their time to advise us, we are extremely thankful for your contribution and continued support in growing Ship Shape. S hip Shape’s vision is “Unleashing world-changing ideas by bringing together data and human networks”, and the first step towards this is our recommendation engine Fathom. Over the past year, Ship Shape has developed an investor search platform, with some secret sauce that we can’t reveal, but let's say its pretty darn impressive. "Ship Shape does what Crunchbase can't do - find the person that looks for investments in your space. A great service!" - David Putts, Chief Growth Officer at Billon As with milestones like today, it offers the chance to reflect. Our CEO Daniel Sawko and COO Alistair Bailie, answered some questions about the past year and what the year ahead holds. 1) As Ship Shape turns 1 years old, what are your emotions and feelings? DS: I’m really proud and excited. We’ve come from an idea in our minds and no money to a working platform that is making a difference to paying customers (plenty to do still!) and a brilliant team! We’re privileged to be in this position. AB: Pride in the team and our achievements, excitement as we talk to customers as our Product/Market hypothesis is being validated (and refined), relieved that the hypothesis is validated so I haven’t been wasting my time. 5) How have you grown as a person over the past year? DS: Sideways! (Only a bit). On a serious note, I’ve learned the importance of balance, of multiple contingency plans, of measuring prospective investors by deeds not words (though words are important). We try and run a company based on the same principles as ‘turn the ship around’ - that ultimately we each want to be the masters of our own sphere and giving that level of control and initiative ultimately leads to better outcomes and a tighter team and better culture. I’ve grown by trying to get out of the way of other brilliant people doing so. 10) Ship Shape has gained significant traction in the past year and is starting to cement itself in the Welsh community, so why Wales? DS: There’s an amazing ecosystem growing here. There’s talent, there’s excellent support from Fintech Wales, Universities like Cardiff, UWTSD and Swansea. There are people from Welsh Government and Business Wales like Cath Orton, Simon Ripton, Rachael Bayona and others - they want to see you succeed! I was lucky enough to spend lockdown in Swansea, it was great to see how many entrepreneurs there are in Wales, now we just need to open up access to the capital that will see them succeed and grow the next British unicorn! 16) What is your favourite tv character and why? AB: Probably Kerry and Kurten from This Country. It’s exaggerated, but I recognise in them many of the people from the village I grew up with. DS: Sir Humphrey from 'Yes Minister'! To read the full interview click here and discover more about Ship Shape the co-founders behind it. We would like to thank our valued customers who have been with us and advisors who we have built strong relationships with. Finally, we would like to thank our investors who have supported Ship Shape throughout. Your belief and trust in Ship Shape is recognised and greatly appreciated, in more ways than we can express. Your personal commitment through advice and networking is valued just as much as any investment. The first year for Ship Shape has been one of learning and excitement, and we look forward to the journey that lays ahead. Congratulations team, let's drop anchor for a moment to celebrate and then set sail into the next year! “Since joining Ship Shape at the start of November 2020, I have been privileged enough to watch it grow as a company. Reflecting back on how far we have come makes me excited as to what the future may hold!” - - Oliver Tobin “I joined Ship Shape in January of 2021. I was excited to join a young company and I immediately felt like I had been there for years. As a team, we strive on the trust and value that Daniel and Alistair encompass. I think that has really contributed to our growth and I can’t wait to see how we grow over the next year!” - - Bradley Evans Contact Persons Daniel Sawko, CEO Email: daniel@shipshape.vc Alistair Baillie, COO Email: alistair@shishape.vc Ship Shape Search: https://app.shipshape.vc Ship Shape Search Twitter https://twitter.com/VcShip Ship Shape Search LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/ship-shape-vc/

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