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Who

Vicky Brock is a five-time founder who built her companies in Scotland then relocated to Estonia after Brexit reshaped her client access. She now has a rare outside-in view of Scotland combined with lived experience of building inside two very different systems.

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What is the core argument?

Scotland is not broken — but it keeps building support on top of unclear intent, then wonders why outcomes do not move. Estonia succeeded by designing infrastructure for a specific founder behaviour and getting out of the way. Scotland spends heavily on people and intermediaries instead of shared infrastructure that lets founders self-serve.

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What are the key themes?

Scotland needs a clear “why” before choosing mechanisms. Copying what worked elsewhere fails when the reason for doing it is not explicit. Without clarity, ecosystems optimise for activity and avoid trade-offs. Estonia built infrastructure then got out of the way. The goal was to attract businesses that could choose anywhere and have them pay tax in Estonia. Ease of doing business and clear rules, not advisors and advocates. A platform approach where the state builds secure pipes for public and private services. Supply-side support without demand-side capability. A repeated failure mode in innovation programmes: startups are funded to build pilots and prove value, then the buyer cannot procure. Vicky gives a concrete example — a successful delivery for a UK Border Force use case through a GovTech programme, followed by no budget or route to buy the solution. The critique is not about piloting. It is about designing the full path from problem to procurement. The UK’s “just enough” domestic market distracts founders. The UK can keep a startup going for years on pilots, grants, and partial demand. That delays the moment where reality hits. Many founders only learn to ask the hard questions after leaving Scotland. Scotland is not well-known internationally for business. Most people think tourism and culture, not commercial proposition. Compare this with Estonia’s focused message around digital export and ease of doing business. The Silicon Valley model is not the default. VC, exits, and private equity are not the best measures of success for every country. Family businesses and profitable firms may better serve goals of meaningful jobs and durable tax base. “Lifestyle business” is dismissive language. The most common form of entrepreneurship in the world is being excluded from the conversation. B&B operators, consultancies, and small firms create jobs and sustain communities. A strategy that ignores most businesses is not a strategy. Scotland protects startups from failing, and that creates zombies. Estonia has a formal resolution trigger — when a company’s bank position falls below a threshold relative to share capital, it forces a decision: recapitalise, restructure, or close. In Scotland, too many parties benefit from keeping struggling companies alive in name only. Advisors keep billing. Programmes keep counting members. The stigma of failure encourages limping rather than closing. Clean endings are healthier for founders, teams, and the ecosystem’s learning loop.

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What ideas were discussed?

  • Start with outcomes, not programmes. Design the full path including who pays at the end.
  • Build infrastructure that reduces dependency on intermediaries.
  • Treat export as a default, not a later stage.
  • Use more inclusive language about entrepreneurs and businesses.
  • Challenge dismissive framing of “lifestyle businesses”.
  • Make it easier to close, learn, and restart.

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Pledge

Vicky Brock committed to using more inclusive language about entrepreneurs and businesses, challenging dismissive framing, and bringing evidence from other small countries — translated into Scotland’s actual goals rather than imported wholesale.

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Published content