From June 2nd to 7th, 2025, Shoreditch became the epicentre of creativity and innovation as SXSW made its European debut. The first-ever SXSW London brought together music, film, technology, and culture in a way only South by Southwest can, featuring influential speakers like Erykah Badu, Idris Elba, and Jane Goodall. With artificial intelligence taking centre stage throughout the week, the festival provided the perfect backdrop for forward-thinking founders to explore what's next.
Techscaler was there to ensure our community didn't just observe from the sidelines. We supported eight founders with three-day passes, removing barriers to entry and creating space for the kind of peer-to-peer connection that transforms how entrepreneurs see their own possibilities. Our Entrepreneur in Residence was on hand throughout, delivering office hours and entrepreneurship support, while four CodeBase team members orchestrated meetups, from rooftop bars to breakfast catch-ups, ensuring every moment counted.
What We Did
SXSW London wasn't just about attending sessions, it was about creating a cohort experience that amplified the festival's impact:
- Supported eight founders with full access to one of the world's most influential creative and tech festivals
- Provided continuous mentorship through our Entrepreneur in Residence, offering office hours and real-time guidance
- Facilitated peer connection through evening meetups, including a memorable rooftop bar gathering
- Created touchpoints throughout with breakfast and lunchtime meetups that kept the cohort connected
- Encouraged exploration while providing a supportive framework for founders to maximise their time
The result was something more powerful than individual attendance: a shared learning experience that strengthened both professional networks and personal bonds between founders facing similar challenges.
The Founders
Our Techscaler members brought curiosity, ambition, and fresh perspectives to SXSW London. Each founder represented not just their own company, but Scotland's growing reputation as a hub for innovative, purpose-driven entrepreneurship:
- Aisha Akinola Janki – Founder of Janki Group Ltd, a beautytech startup seeking to leverage technology to make beauty services more accessible and affordable.
- Douglas Barr – Founder of Submix, a real-time, interactive collaboration platform that connects producers to make music.
- Eliza Ralph – Founder of Spectral Wrender, creating games and technology for good through product development and consulting.
- Jose Fajardo – Founder of Alessia, an ai financial assistant that facilitates responsible investing.
- Meg Bartholomew – Founder of Cunnilingo, a sex education app that empowers its users to build positivity in the bedroom.
- Rachael Arnold – Founder of Creative Entrepreneurs Club, a people-powered network that connects, upskills, and empowers creative freelancers and businesses.
- Shuli Yu – Founder of Yush, a mobile-first platform that redefines the way people give feedback.
- Stephen Champion – Founder of YuTU, a platform that empowers the next generation through skill-sharing and connection for students.
Whether they were exploring AI applications, seeking inspiration across disciplines, or building connections that will shape their businesses for years to come, they approached the festival with the kind of openness that makes transformative experiences possible.
Key Insights & Takeaways
SXSW London delivered lessons that extended far beyond any single industry or sector. Here's what emerged from a week of intensive learning:
- Innovation means nothing without trust. It's easy to get caught up in shiny tools and new tech, but the real differentiator is trust. Whether it's a challenger bank or an AI-powered product, people respond to brands that are clear, honest, and built around their needs.
- Community isn't a trend, it's a long-term strategy. From F1 to fintech, the most compelling stories came from brands investing in culture and community. True engagement doesn't come from marketing alone, it's built through values, consistency, and shared experiences.
- AI won't replace creatives, but creatives who understand AI will lead. There's still fear around AI, especially in the creative industries, but the biggest opportunities lie in ethical, open use, not secrecy. The edge will come from using AI as a creative partner, not a shortcut.
- The best ideas often come from outside your industry. A talk about Formula 1 might unlock something in your approach to product design. A banking story might inform how you think about brand loyalty. Curiosity is a multiplier.
- Transparency is a growth engine. Customers don't just want great products, they want to know how and why things are made. Being open about process, tools, even uncertainties, builds deeper, longer-lasting relationships.
Event Highlights
SXSW London proved that generative AI is no longer emerging, it's here, and it's powerful. From keynotes to hands-on demos, AI dominated the conversation, but so did the ethical questions surrounding its use. The festival made clear that transparency and intentional adoption will be key to building trust.
Perhaps most striking was the creative community's relationship with AI: 60% of UK creatives are still afraid to use AI, despite it being their biggest growth opportunity. This tension between fear and potential created space for exactly the kind of open dialogue, education, and support that events like SXSW excel at facilitating.
Community emerged as more than a buzzword, it's a business driver. Whether the topic was banking or F1, a consistent theme was that people and culture are at the heart of every breakthrough. The strongest brands are building community as core strategy, not afterthought.
Founder Perspectives
We asked our founders what stood out. Here's what they said:
Shuli Yu: "Being part of the Techscaler cohort was great - everyone was so supportive of each other. This was the first large-scale festival I attended since starting Yush - I saw everything through a founder's lens. Thanks to Techscaler, I had some of the most useful, idea-sparking conversations I've had in months."
Meg Bartholomew: "The future is decentralisation, disaggregation, direct connection… and a little bit of socially responsible anarchy. What a sensational bunch of Founders, thank you Techscaler for letting us run around London for some amazing talks and solid scaling tips."
Stephen Champion: "Glad to be representing the Scottish contingent down here with the Techscaler accelerator. SXSW London is shaping up to be a much-heralded meeting of culture, content, music, and tech."
When asked to describe their SXSW London experience in one sentence or three words, responses captured both the intensity and impact:
"Exhausting, brilliant, and inspiring" "Thought-provoking, dynamic, and fast-paced" "Boundary-breaking creativity, queuing in the rain, good chats and connections" "I was surprised by the quality of the connections I made and conversations I had" "SXSW London was a momentous whirlwind of inspiration and connections"
What's Next
SXSW London reinforced something we already believed: when you bring founders together in the right environment, magic happens. The connections made between our cohort members, and the wider SXSW community, are already bearing fruit.
Here's what's ahead:
- Following founder impact as we check in with our cohort to see how SXSW London influenced their companies, partnerships, and strategic thinking
- Expanding global connections as attending conferences of this magnitude creates opportunities to connect both ourselves and our founders on an international scale
- Building on interdisciplinary insights by encouraging the kind of cross-industry thinking that sparked new ideas throughout the week
- Championing transparency and community as competitive advantages in an increasingly complex business landscape
SXSW London was more than a festival, it was a glimpse into the future of how creative and tech communities can come together to solve real problems. Scotland's founders didn't just attend, they contributed, and that's exactly the kind of ambitious, community-driven approach that will define the next chapter of our startup ecosystem.
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