Scale Up Scotland, delivered by the Hunter Foundation, operates three distinct programmes designed to support ambitious entrepreneurs at different stages of their growth journey. Each programme combines experiential, business, and peer-to-peer learning, providing participants with the critical skills and insights needed to scale successfully.

Pre-scaler is open to entrepreneurs with a strong ambition to scale, requiring participants to have achieved some customer traction, typically £100k+ in annual revenues. The programme consists of five development events over six months, covering key topics such as fundraising, people planning, leadership, sales and marketing, and effective communication, delivered in collaboration with established Scale Up programme partners. 

The Core programme is aimed at high-potential firms headquartered in Scotland, with a minimum turnover of £1m+ and a strong track record of year-on-year growth. Designed to support businesses in scaling internationally, the programme offers a blend of experiential learning, business development, and peer-to-peer support, with a strong focus on leadership development. 

Scale Up 2.0 supports founders and executive teams of businesses generating £10m+ in revenue or holding a market valuation of £20m+, with a track record of strong year-on-year growth and ambitions to scale significantly within the next five years. The programme is cohort-based and emphasises peer-to-peer learning, with a structured process that includes a deep business assessment to identify key challenges and opportunities. CEOs participate in quarterly residential retreats over 12 months, engaging in masterclasses, focused discussions, and collaboration with global business leaders, including Sir Tom Hunter and other experienced entrepreneurs. Each executive team and their CEO also take part in two residential retreats.

Scale Up Scotland continues to deliver significant impact across all its programmes. 38 founders have completed the Pre-scaler programme, with 13 currently participating in the 2024 cohort; 63 scaleups and 71 scaleup leaders have completed the Core programme, with 14 scaleups and 15 leaders currently taking part in the fifth cohort; and 12 founders have completed the ScaleUp 2.0 programme, with 10 currently participating in the 2024 cohort. As of December 2023, businesses that have participated in the Core programme have increased their revenues by 20% year-on-year to £490m. These businesses have created 384 new jobs in the past year, bringing the total number of new jobs created since the programme began to 2,594. In 2023 alone, they raised £56m in new funding. Scale Up 2.0 has also shown strong results, with participating businesses increasing revenues to £376m, creating 279 new jobs (a 20% increase), and raising £13.3m in new funding. International activity continues to expand across all current cohorts and alumni, particularly in the US market, as supported scaleups continue to establish a global presence.

In the last year, Scale Up Scotland has expanded its ecosystem with new initiatives to support high-growth businesses. The inaugural Scaling Up Scotland Conference at Gleneagles in November 2023 brought together scaleup leaders to share insights and foster collaboration. In July 2024, Scotland’s Changemakers was launched to support social enterprise and impact-driven organisations with a track record of delivering meaningful change, with 13 change leaders currently participating. A formal alumni programme has also been introduced, offering mentoring, curated insights, focused events, and two major annual gatherings—the Scaling Up Scotland Conference and a Spring event—alongside cohort working meetings hosted by senior industry leaders. The programme is run on the VeryConnect platform, founded by one of Scale Up Scotland’s alumni. The network continues to grow, with EY and Evelyn Partners joining as partners and ongoing collaboration with the Scottish National Investment Bank through the 2.0 programme. Additionally, Scale Up 2.0 alumni have committed to supporting the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde Business School through fireside talks and mentorship opportunities, helping to develop Scotland’s next generation of high-growth businesses.

“They say it takes a village to raise a child. After 18 months on the Scale-up Scotland Cohort 3 I can testify how the support from the Scale Up Scotland team, and the network of my fellow CEOs of some great Scottish businesses has helped raise the game at all of our companies. In the last 18months Trojan’s workforce has grown from 16 to over 60 and I am grateful for all I’ve learnt, and the lifelong friends made as part of the programme. My thanks again to the Scale Up team especially Ken Whipp and Ewan Hunter and to Sir Tom Hunter for his vision and passion to support Scottish Businesses.” – Ian McKenzie, CEO Trojan Energy

“….We went into Scale Up in 2018 as a £2m business and by the end of 2.0 will almost have 10x growth. The connections, learning and peer group has absolutely been part of this growth. I love to see success in others and feel so proud when seeing the cohorts doing well and making big moves, it can be lonely and having people that really understand where you are is powerful. There is also something else – the healthy competition that the programme breeds – which is dynamite.” – Laura Davidson, CEO Tag Digital

Scale Up Scotland Leadership Programme website