The Argyll-based design and ocean literacy company forges stronger bonds and finds new potential revenue streams with a little help from the GlobalScot network.

Jessica Giannotti, founder of Crùbag, was working for a management consultancy company in Berlin when she moved to Scotland to be closer to her partner. She used her relocation as an opportunity to follow another passion and began to study Marine Science at the University of the Highlands and Islands as a mature student.

She soon became entranced by the beauty of the ocean as revealed through a microscope and realised that most people don’t have access to the intricate patterns that form naturally in the ocean.

“I started to think about creativity as a way of communicating marine science. It remained a dream at first, I still intended to pursue science, but by the time I graduated the ideas had grown so big I decided to start the company.”

Creating new narratives

After studying marine science at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), a partner of the University of the Highlands and Islands, Jessica stayed at SAMS and the organisation not only offered to incubate her startup, but offered continued support over the last eight years.

Crùbag collaborates with scientists to communicate their research themes and the unseen beauty of the ocean. It started with a focus on textiles and then branched out into other products, but the common theme is centred around sharing ocean literacy. For example, the most recent series of scarves highlights climate change stories from the ocean perspective, including the ways climate change affects ocean acidification through beautifully printed products accompanied by special Climate Change Collection booklets.

Connecting with GlobalScot at the right time

Jessica first heard of GlobalScot at the British Embassy in Madrid during a Trade Mission visit to Spain back in 2018. Crùbag was still in its early stages, so she filed the name away for a later date. That date came along with a series of fortuitous coincidences that occurred during lockdown in 2021.

GlobalScot and CEO of Intelligent Growth Solutions David Farquhar and Jessica bumped into each other when he tried to access the closed SAMS building to help his bio-oceanographer daughter find an internship. She offered her help in passing his details on and they exchanged email addresses. A few days later, she received a message from David saying he’d Googled her and was blown away by her work. There started a professional relationship that’s had a huge effect on Jessica’s business.

"Previously, I felt a little isolated. I couldn’t quite tap into the kind of entrepreneurial community I’d left behind in Germany. David started making introductions and soon it was a completely different story."

Making the right connections

Up until that point, Jessica had made a huge number of connections, but they tended to be limited to science, research and education institutions. David quickly started helping Jessica connect to people, including potential investors and clients. David also introduced her to GlobalScot Ian Myles, who is based in the Silicon Valley and has a huge amount of experience in Startups, Innovation and FinTech, with the aim of helping Jessica increase commercial activity, potentially raise investments and generally expand globally.

Ian soon became a close collaborator on several ideas and also introduced Jessica to Hong Kong-based GlobalScot Karen Hay, founder of IN-dulge, a company specialising in Interior Design for the luxury hospitality sector. Karen showed Jessica the power of taking practical steps and as well as the benefits of being able to build connections in new locations. For example, Karen contacted the hotel chain Peninsula, and after a positive response she offered to bring some samples in person to see if they would be willing to stock the products, demonstrating a proactive way to grow revenue.

“One of the most amazing things about the GlobalScots I’ve connected with is not only their time and passion, but also their enthusiasm. Their passion for Scotland and genuine friendliness shines through. I’m not Scottish but have chosen to settle here, and to feel so welcomed is a gift.”

Boosting confidence and communication skills

Through her connection with David and the various people he introduced her to, Jessica found herself picking up on key ways to operate and engage when it comes to relating to other businesspeople. She learned about the importance of being straightforward and not being afraid to ask for help and opinions.

The experience changed her views on growing a business, which she’d previously seen as an exercise in marketing. Her connections at GlobalScot showed her it was actually about growing relationships. They also passed on some important lessons about leadership, including the ability to look after yourself and your team.

“On starting a business in Scotland, I quickly saw that the ways of communicating were different to the ones I was used to. You have to be able to read between the lines and I was worried about offending people. This uncertainty made me a little shy, even though I’m not naturally a shy person. But through my engagement with GlobalScot, I became proud of my own business again.”

David’s interest in Crùbag’s products went beyond his desire to help her make connections. In fact, he took Jessica’s work to his business colleagues not long after they connected and they decided to commission a collection to be used as corporate gifts. Jessica collaborated with plant scientists at the James Hutton Institute to create a series of designs inspired by crop science and IGS cutting-edge vertical farms. Following delays and supply chain issues caused by Covid-19, the new textile collection was successfully delivered in February this year from the marketing team at Intelligent Growth Solutions.

What’s next for Crùbag?

Now that supply chain issues are easing off, Crùbag’s lead times are back to normal and Jessica is ready to reconnect and tap into the opportunities that have arisen over the last few years including designing a new tartan collection for a corporate client in the aquaculture sector. The coming months also herald an exciting time for the company, which is about to launch its own spinoff focused on developing natural dyes derived from seaweed.

The move is inspired by the encouragement of her mentors, who showed Jessica that it was a natural next move. Ian has been particularly involved with the future spin out and also helping her develop a plan for sharing equity with her partners and how to raise investment readiness levels of her new technology. Jessica has also been able to access local support. She said, “we were selected to join the first accelerator programme by the Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) and already have clients and potential industry partners lined up and waiting for what is an expansion of Crùbag.”

“The GlobalScot Network has been a gamechanger for me. Very skilled and talented people at the top of their game offer their advice and time with generosity and kindness that shows the true spirit of the Scottish entrepreneurial community. I hope to have the opportunity to do the same someday.”

Photo courtesy of Kevin Mcglynn.

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