You're competing against startups based in major cities like London, Berlin, and San Francisco who appear on investor radars because they're discoverable. They're plugged into sophisticated data platforms that function as the infrastructure of modern capital allocation.

Most founders still believe investment happens primarily through warm introductions and polished pitch decks. Both matter, but increasingly the connection between capital and companies begins on data platforms like those powered by Dealroom. If your startup isn't properly profiled, you're making it harder for the right investors to find you.

As we launch the Scottish Ecosystem Platform, developed through a partnership between the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Government, and Techscaler, we’re solving discovery problems in multiple directions.

The gap in discoverability

According to Dealroom, over 900 deals were completed in the UK in the first half of 2025, worth more than £8.6 billion combined. Capital is flowing, but not to everyone equally.

The challenge is more nuanced than simply visibility. Some companies relocate because accessing growth capital whilst remaining in their region becomes operationally challenging. Others never reach their potential because the right capital can't be found at the right time. Some exceptional businesses succeed in obscurity until they're acquired, never reaching full potential locally.

Companies securing investment consistently share something beyond great products. They're findable by the right investors, and they can find the right investors efficiently. In 2025, your data profile functions as your company's permanent shop window to global capital – and your window into who's actually deploying.

Scotland’s new ecosystem platform provides a blueprint any founder can follow. Here are five immediate actions to transform how you find (and are found by) capital.

1. Claim and optimise your data platform profiles

Founders are juggling a lot. From strategic growth plans and R&D to sales pipelines, HR, and invoicing. Having to update your profile on a data platform feels like another job. While these platforms do detect a lot of information automatedly, either from the trade register, news or social media, your contribution as a founder is invaluable. Investors filtering for your sector, stage and geography won't find you if fields are blank, so it is time well spent to consider all the elements that investors look for. Check your team composition, funding history with named investors, revenue indicators, growth metrics and sector classification carefully. Having a complete profile signals both credibility and trust.

2. Use competitive intelligence strategically

Data platforms allow you to benchmark metrics, funding rounds and valuations against comparable companies. This isn't about copying competitors; it's about positioning yourself intelligently and understanding what investors in your sector actually back.

If comparable companies in your sector and geography typically raise £250k-£500k at seed stage, you know what is a realistic expectation. If they're taking 12-18 months between funding rounds, you've mapped typical timelines. If specific investors appear repeatedly in comparable deals, you've identified your target list.

This intelligence helps you avoid two costly mistakes: underselling yourself by accepting terms below market, or overselling by pitching valuations that the data doesn't support.

3. Track investor activity in real-time

Not all investors are actively deploying capital. An investor completing three deals in your sector over six months is actively interested. One who hasn't deployed in 18 months probably isn't your priority, regardless of their stated ambition. This transforms fundraising into strategic targeting, reducing the ‘100 meetings to cut the first cheque’ problem.

4. Leverage ecosystem connections

Data platforms reveal co-investment patterns that could improve your outcome significantly. For example, if you're backed by Angel Investor A, and data shows they frequently co-invest with VC Firm B, you've not only identified a target but also an introduction path that could make your due diligence hugely worthwhile.

5. Make yourself globally comparable

International investors compare you against startups everywhere. Translate the traction you’ve earned into globally understood terms. Instead of speaking of ‘strong Scottish uptake’, specify your customer numbers, revenue figures or usage metrics in a way that is comparable across geographies.

Your action plan for progress

This week: Audit your profiles on data platforms and complete every field.

This month: Research 20 comparable companies. Understand their funding trajectories and identify target investors.

This quarter: Map the investor landscape actively deploying capital in your space. Build your target list strategically.

From infrastructure to opportunity

Startups must treat data infrastructure as an essential component of a growing business. Your product roadmap has priority, while your hiring plan has structure. Your data profile deserves an equivalent level of attention because, increasingly, it determines whether the right investors find you and whether you can find them.

The Scottish Ecosystem Platform is now live at scotland.dealroom.co. For founders everywhere, the infrastructure of discovery exists. If you use it strategically, you can reshape your approach to growth from hoping the right investor finds you to ensuring you can find each other.

The Scottish Ecosystem Platform is powered by leading data intelligence firm Dealroom.

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