The Net Zero Technology Centre and Startup Grind Aberdeen will mark National Unicorn Day with a lunch and learn session with investor, entrepreneur and author Mark Bjornsgaard. Entrepreneurs in the energy sector are invited to learn from Mark’s experience of scaling his startup Deep Green to secure £200million in funding from Octopus Energy Generation.
The event will explore real startup lessons but also challenge the idea of innovation theatre and the importance of staying close to real customer needs when scaling ventures. The North East of Scotland aspires to be the home to more global scaling energy technologies. In startup terminology, a “unicorn” is a privately held company valued at over $1billion and functions as a shorthand for ventures that have successfully scaled their concept. This session will explore what the region can do to scale more energy innovations to ‘unicorn’ status.
The keynote speaker, Mark Bjornsgaard, is a venture builder and investor who is the CEO and Founder of System Two, Chief Innovation Officer and Founder of Deep Green and author of ‘The Idea Drug’. His approach to entrepreneurship is grounded in practice and the importance of running experiments, testing assumptions, and stopping work that isn’t producing learning. Attendees will have the opportunity to network, ask questions and learn from Mark.
The event takes place at the Net Zero Technology Centre, 20 Queens Road, Aberdeen, with registration open to the region’s business community and the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem.