Founders Dinner: Scaling & Legal Lessons from the front line
Join the investment team at Anderson Strathern for an intimate, curated approval-only founders dinner bringing together a small group of startup leaders for an open, honest conversation on scaling, regulation and legal decision-making, led through real experience rather than theory.
The evening will feature a fireside-style conversation with Jaime Hunter, Co-Founder & COO of Aveni, sharing candid insights from his journey building and scaling a regulated business, followed by an open discussion with founders around the table.
Aveni is an award-winning AI fintech and RegTech company based in Edinburgh, Scotland that builds industry-specific AI solutions for financial services.
In 2024 Aveni raised a significant £11 million Series A round, one of the largest in Scotland that year, led by Puma Private Equity with participation from Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide and scaled their team to 50+ people.
Max Scharbert, who leads the team at Anderson Strathern, which advises Aveni on its investment rounds, will join Jamie at the fireside style chat.
This dinner is a trusted, off-the-record space to learn from lived experience, ask practical questions, and exchange perspectives with peers facing similar challenges.
Who this dinner is for:
✔️Building venture-backed or venture-scale businesses
✔️Generating revenue or actively scaling
✔️Fundraising or planning to fundraise in the next 3-6 months
✔️Navigating legal, regulatory or governance decisions as they grow
Why attend?
💡Learn from real founder experience - not slides
💡Ask the questions you don’t usually get to ask
💡Meet peers facing similar scaling challenges
💡Build trusted relationships in a private setting
Topics will be guided by the conversation on the night and founders’ interests, but may include:
🤓 Lessons learned while scaling a regulated company
✅ Navigating legal and regulatory complexity as you grow
💸 Fundraising and risk decisions founders wish they’d made earlier
🤝🏼 Working with advisors as your business evolves
⚖️ Common legal pitfalls at different stages of growth
The discussion will be lightly hosted to keep it focused, interactive and relevant with plenty of room for founder questions and peer exchange.
The Details:
📍 Location: Edinburgh City Centre (reveal on approval)
🗓️ When: Thursday 26th February 2026
🕠 Time: 18:30 hrs.
👔 Dress Code: Business casual
Places are limited to keep the conversation high-quality and meaningful.
This is curated, not crowded.
Spaces are limited to keep the conversation high-quality and meaningful and offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Spaces will fill fast.
If you’re serious about building something meaningful, this day is for you.
⚖️ About Anderson Strathern
One of Scotland’s leading law firms with a global outlook, trusted by founders and investors alike.
The team advises some of Scotland’s best-known businesses and most active investors, from institutional investors and funds to angel syndicates, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals to universities and investment arms of large companies.
Exclusive for Foras: 20% off legal fees, a free 30-minute discovery call, and priority access to their corporate law experts on venture, M&A, and scaling internationally.
Read more and have access to the perks here
Future events: Coworking Day and Workshops:
Mon 23rd Feb - Coworking Day (09:00-17:00 hrs)
Mon 23rd Feb - Workshop 'The Deal Process' (12:00 - 13:00 hrs) In-person & Online
Mon 30th March - Coworking Day (09:00-17:00 hrs)
Mon 25th May - Coworking Day (09:00 - 17:00 hrs)
Mon 25th May - Lunch Workshop: 'Term Sheets' (12:00-13:00 hrs) In-person & Online
Mon 22nd Jun - Coworking Day (09:00-17:00 hrs)
🌍 About Foras Ventures ✳️:
We drive investment and talent to the UK, as a launchpad for global growth. With a 15K+ global network of founders, investors, and operators. Foras Ventures creates opportunities for startups, investors, corporates, governments, and academia to connect, expand, and thrive on the international stage.
Follow us on our LinkedIn page and sign up to our newsletter for updates, events and key opportunities 🔥
✈️ Runway Membership
We also opened the waitlist for Runway, our new global membership for startup leaders, investors, venture builders and ecosystem leaders focused on global scale. Still people-first. Still rebellious. Just sharper tools, deeper backing, and a tighter focus on global growth.
👉🏼 Join the Runway Waitlist
We are proudly powered by:
🏦 Wise - Fast, no-hassle, low-cost international payments and multi-currency accounts, helping you manage global finances efficiently. Foras community who register with Wise will receive a £10K free transfer and a dedicated account manager.
🇺🇸 Wilson Sonsini – The go-to experts for founders looking to expand into the US.
💻 Ivy Tech – Ivy 360 by Ivy Tech is a fully managed, co-employment solution that builds and embeds high-quality tech teams into your startup or scaleup, handling everything from hiring to payroll.
First month management fee is free via this link!
⚖️ Anderson Strathern – One of Scotland’s leading law firms with a global outlook, trusted by founders and investors alike.
Exclusive for Foras: 20% off legal fees, a free 30-minute discovery call, and priority access to their corporate law experts on venture, M&A, and scaling internationally.
🧨 Howard Kennedy Ignite Edge – A top-tier London law firm built for founders scaling fast.
Exclusive for Foras: Up to 30% off legal fees for Foras founders & investors, priority access to Ignite events, networks & introductions.
🗣️ Safespace Global
We have zero tolerance for harassment, discrimination, micro-aggressions, intimidation, threats, and violence, and we’re committed to ensuring that Foras events remain inclusive, safe spaces for everyone.
To ensure everyone feels safe and respected at our event, we have partnered with SafeSpace Global and implemented the SafeSpace Plus™ tool. This tool enables you to report any incidents or violations of our Code of Conduct, such as harassment, discrimination, bullying, or offensive behaviour.
If you or someone you know has witnessed or experienced any of these incidents at our events, please submit an Incident Report to let us know.
📸 Important Info
By attending this event you agree to be photographed and filmed, and we may use the footage for marketing purposes. Additionally, we will share the attendee list with our valued sponsors.
If you prefer not to have your photos or footage used, or if you do not wish for your details to be shared with sponsors, kindly let us know. We will be more than happy to accommodate your preferences.
Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to seeing you at the event.
Would you like to get involved in our opportunities? Email us at [email protected] and/or contact Caro on LinkedIn to explore ways to collaborate and discuss further.