There is something different about a room full of founders. Camaraderie and learning exchange are deeper than at investor events or general conferences.
That was the positive atmosphere at The Beyond, home of the Smart Things Accelerator Centre (STAC) in Glasgow, on 4th June, when the Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) brought its UK Tech Founder Showcase to Scotland. GoLLM CEO and founder Daniel Shorr was one of four founders invited to present on the night, alongside Claire Patricia Campbell from Musoplay, Alex Velinov from Plaindr, and Jo Tennant from 20.Photos
Why GoLLM Was in the Room
The global ACT organisation exists to give small and medium-sized technology enterprises a voice with policymakers and each other. That mission overlaps closely with GoLLM's own. Every organisation GoLLM works with, whether an enterprise, a local authority, an association, or an SME, seeks the same goal: to add value to those they serve and work with and thus be successful. To achieve this, they must be responsive to their customers and employees.
Founders in the room understand that gap firsthand. Building a product is one thing. Ensuring it meets the evolving needs in the fast-moving world of 2026 and beyond is another. Getting an organisation and a customer base to adopt something new is another challenge. Those are the sorts of problems GoLLM's research and insights platform is built to address.
What GoLLM Is Already Doing About It
GoLLM's platform, D.A.V.E. (Dynamic Analytics Visualisation Engine), turns complex customer and employee feedback; public consultations – in voice, text, and survey formats; and other data into structured, decision-ready insights and reports. D.A.V.E. exists because of the ongoing challenge organisations confront in trying to make timely, informed decisions based on feedback from their users, communities, and other stakeholders. Failure and missed opportunities arise when organisations cannot see clearly what their own data is telling them or because the analysis takes too long to act on.
More broadly, GoLLM has looked into the AI readiness of organisations. In research led by GoLLM with Dr Luciana Blaha of Heriot-Watt University's Intelligent Automation Systems Lab, covering 208 UK local authorities, findings revealed three foundational pillars were critical: data maturity, AI maturity, and AI culture. This work has already shaped conversations well beyond its original publication. It was cited by Ivan McKee MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform, at the Public Sector Data & AI Summit 2026; was featured as part of an ALARM seminar for risk management and insurance professionals, as well as in a dedicated webinar for 100+ members of the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE); and closed out the 2026 Chartered Institute for Environmental Health AI & Tech Conference in a session on what local authorities need to do to move from experimentation to responsible, practical AI adoption.
For the founders in Glasgow, many of them earlier in that journey than the companies and organisations that GoLLM frequently works with, the message translated directly: readiness is not about having the newest technology. It is about having the data, the insight, and the practical tools to act swiftly.
The Throughline
GoLLM left Glasgow having reinforced a point that runs through all of its work, from the AI readiness research to D.A.V.E. itself: organisations are not short of data or ambition. They are short on ways to turn that data into evidence they can quickly trust and act on. That is the problem GoLLM is built to solve.
Want to see D.A.V.E. in action? Book a demo or sign up to start turning your survey data into insight.