So it goes

A very big thanks to friends and family for their invaluable support. I am graduated! Onwards and upwards.

Yesterday, Edinburgh-based startup Float opened its doors to a select group of alpha testers.

The service, an add-on to popular accounting SaaS and fellow Edinburgh startup FreeAgent, helps users predict future cashflow. It aims to take the guesswork out of everyday business questions like “Can I afford to take on a new employee?” and “If Sarah Palin doesn’t pay her invoice on time, will I have enough cash to pay the VAT man?”

Although only a few users are currently live on the system, the Float team reports that they hope to launch a public beta by the end of August.

Colin Hewitt, Managing Director at IfLooksCouldKill and co-founder of Float, says he’s “really excited about the initial feedback we’ve got from people on the idea. From the beta request forms, we can see there is a real pain point around financial forecasting and we hope our solution will really help that. Also, there are so many ideas of where we can grow in prediction modelling.”

“We’re currently looking at raising seed investment, selling our possessions, and kissing goodbye to evenings and weekends!”

You can apply for the beta on floatapp.com or follow Float on @floatapp.

Insider tip: Make sure you click around the lovely seaside holding page—there’s a few hidden delighters. Also, I have it on good authority that applicants who provide generous, relevant commentary on the application receive priority entrance to the beta. Can you blame them?

More posts about events/entrepreneurship in Edinburgh can be found at Startup Cafe.

I had some fun this week making a custom Twitter background (and finally putting to use that fine raven my talented illustrator friend Tom Hunt drew for me).

(Check it out in vivo: @hilarysinger.)

Also, if you’re in Edinburgh, check out Tom’s work at the Edinburgh College of Art degree show. Obviously, Tom’s the best artist there, but there are loads of other interesting things to see as well.

Where are all the women? Let me paint the scene: it’s Wednesday evening and Edinburgh TechMeetup is in full swing. Because of a projector mishap, we all crowd into a small conference room to see the presentations. I suddenly notice I’m the only woman in the room. When the guy next to me ignores the ten other bodies crammed around him and asks me to hold his beer, I realise I’m in trouble.

In general, I don’t like to talk about gender issues. Highlighting disparities between the achievements of men and women feels unproductive, and like a cop-out. Why were there no other women at TechMeetup that week? Perhaps they just had more demanding social calendars than me and the 50 men who attended.

Then again, maybe there is something more perverse than the release of SATC2 at work. On Friday, Informatics Ventures hosted “New Approaches to Leadership for Aspiring Women Entrepreneurs, Managers & CEOs”, a workshop with an exclusively female guest list, headlined by three powerhouse women from the States.

Two things made this conference different from other “women in business/entrepreneurship/tech/science” events I’ve been to in the past.

First, Fiona Murray, a native Brit who now lectures at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, made a convincing case for addressing womens’ business issues separately from mens’. Namely, successful business people speak a certain type of language, which men tend to speak better than women. It’s easier to talk about these differences—and learn to emulate the more successful behaviours—in the absence of men.

(If you don’t believe me, imagine trying to learn to juggle in the presence of a bunch of acrobats. Now imagine learning to juggle in a class full of juggler-noobs. Isn’t that more palatable?)

Second, this event was strictly no-apologies. Our hosts weren’t offering us counseling for any wrong-doing we might have suffered, or opportunities we may not have been offered. Instead, Fiona and her colleagues told us that successful habits are learned, and improve with practice. We identified a few big targets (for instance, the all-important ability to convey a clear and inspiring vision), and got to work.

Of course, this man-woman dichotomy isn’t the only one that’s relevant to learn from in business. Compared to entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, Scottish entrepreneurs pitch more tentative, less visionary futures for their businesses. In part, that’s a response to differences in the funding climate, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from the bullish confidence of our American peers. Likewise, women experience a different business climate than men, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn to achieve the same level of success.

So let’s get over this “woman thing”. And while we’re at it, this “Scottish thing” as well. With practice and determination, we’re every bit as good as the next guy.

More posts about events/entrepreneurship in Edinburgh can be found at Startup Cafe.

We hopped on the train last weekend and headed for Aberdour, one of the best beaches near Edinburgh.

Everyone else in Scotland and soon joined us at the beach for what was probably the best weather we’ll have all year. Most of them also piled into the queue for ice cream, neglected to apply sufficient sunscreen, and sported some sort of fake tan.

Here’s a few shots from the trip.

My fellow adventurers: Phil, Steve and Craig.

Packing it to the beach.

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I took my last exam yesterday. I am ecstatic. It’s been a six-year haul through two universities, two countries and two degrees, but you’re now looking at a soon-to-be Master of Physics.

I have a lot of people to thank, so watch for a graduation announcement in the mail!

I was struck by a terrible, guilt-inspiring thought today.

There are three companies I’ve come to know and like recently. They are Girl Meets Dress (rent terrifically expensive dresses for cheap!), Spotify (free music, duh), and Graze (healthy snacks delivered to you weekly).

These companies are great. They are tuned into their customers. They offer tangible value, an interesting product, and they’re cheap. In other words, they’re all selling something I think I want, and I think their prices are reasonable. And yet, I’m not willing to pay for a single one of their services.

What are great, innovative companies like these supposed to do if customers aren’t willing to pay for them, regardless of how good their product or service? And why won’t I shell out?

I feel definite guilt about the fact that in this case, I don’t seem to be able to put my money where my mouth is. At the same time, all three of these companies are selling something non-essential. In thin economic times, perhaps it’s no bad thing that I’m not swayed by their attractive, if optional, propositions.

Looking at the bookshelf reminds me that I have an ever-increasing backlog of summer reading. The titles currently on my list:

1. Occupied City. A semi-historical account of a mass-poisoning in Tokyo following the end of WWII. The author also wrote The Damned United.

2. What the Dog Saw. Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book. We saw him speak in Edinburgh last week. It was fabulous. And now that I have a signed and dedicated copy, I definitely have to read it!

3. Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea. All things North Korean are fascinating, and this book was recently acclaimed in the New York Times.

4. American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer This book is too big, but I’m determined to read it if only because “Hoppenheimer” would be a great name for a rabbit.

Finally, for lazy summer days at the beach, I’d better find at least one chirpy novel to add to the list too. Who’s got one?

We’ve been in the new flat for a year now. In the spirit of multilateralism, I’ve made a U.N.-inspired quality of life index for the past 12 months. The highlights are shown graphically below.

Analysis Points:

1. Initially, Quality of Life (QoL) was low because of a significant mess associated with moving in. However, QoL steadily increased steadily throughout the next two months, mostly due to the removal of the television.

2. A brief elimination of all loo roll stocks led to near-dire situation in July, but this was soon remedied, leading to a local peak in the QoL index. The second half of the year saw several important declines, starting with an attempted electrocution of Phil by the mice, followed by a plethora of moths and blown light bulbs.

3. Currently, QoL is at an all-time high due to the recent purchase of an aeropress, though these gains are slowly wearing off as exam revision causes a general decline in tidiness.

Overall, significant advances in QoL have been made in the past 12 months. However, these lack robustness, and were substantially offset by problems with stock management and minor infestations. Recommendations for next year: Buy mouse traps and moth balls, and always invest in high-quality coffee.