Obituary – J. Scot McRae, entrepreneur
Born: April 23rd, 1970
Died: March 17, 2023
SCOT McRae, who has died aged 52, was a Scottish businessman best known as co-founder of Glasgow-based tech start-up Candidate.ID, which he sold to the American software company, iCIMS, in 2022. Outside work he had a wide range of interests and will be remembered by his friends and family as an adventurer who travelled the world in search of memorable experiences, and a loving dad.
Born in Paisley in 1970, he grew up in Uplawmoor with his parents Don and Gilly, and sister Debbie. His scholastic years started in the local primary school, and at age 9 moved to his much-loved Glasgow Academy. It was here where he met many of his lifelong friends. During his time at the Academy, he excelled in his studies and discovered his love for sports, in particular rugby. Scot played in the school 1st XV as a creative but hard tackling inside centre for two very successful years, only losing one game in the 1986/7 season. Never wanting to be held back, he got involved with as many activities as he could including CCF, the School Panto and showed his entrepreneurial instincts in the Young Enterprise Project to set up a business. Outside school, Scot enjoyed socializing and was a frequent visitor to Joe Paparazzi’s on a Saturday night where he enjoyed hitting the dance floor, dressing up in the latest fashions from “Studio” and mixing with the girls from Craigholme school.
This passion for rugby continued after leaving school, turning out for Accies for several years, making his 1st XV debut against West of Scotland at aged 18.
During his school years, Scot picked up many of his lifelong hobbies. He always enjoyed being out on the water, whether that be water-skiing on Loch Lomond or sailing. Sailing was a passion which he loved to do with family and friends, be it the wilds of Scotland or in the warmer shores of the South of France. He was renowned for being an incredibly accomplished sailor.
Scot also loved a game of golf, regularly playing with his family in Elie, Fife. He followed in the footsteps of his dad and joined Prestwick Golf Club and was a keen member for a number of years. He loved the traditions and history associated with the Club. From Prestwick to Elie, Scot’s passion for golf never waned, and he was a steely competitor on the course. His determination was something that everyone who knew him admired.
When finished at The Academy, Scot’s thirst for adventure led him to The University of Edinburgh to study Economics, where he graduated with an Upper Second-Class Honours. It was here where he experienced real freedom away from home for the first time, making new friends, playing rugby, and loving the life of a carefree student.
On leaving University he was offered a position on the highly coveted graduate program at The Procter & Gamble Company. He deferred his start date by two years to fulfil his dream of doing a ski season in Val D’Isere, France, and then undertook an epic adventure with his two closest University friends, travelling from Edinburgh to Cape Town in a Land Rover. Finished off perfectly by crewing on a sailing boat across the Atlantic.
Scot undertook a 4-year masterclass in sales and marketing at P&G, before moving to broaden his experience with Hugo Boss and the wine merchant Bibendum. It was here where he developed a passion for the wine industry and with that, a new chapter opened.
In 2005, he left the UK for New Zealand with one plan; to trade his sales and marketing expertise in exchange for the opportunity to learn wine making. Within a month of arriving down under he had secured himself a role as Marketing Director at Craggy Range Vineyards where, for 2 years, he upgraded the company’s commercial operations and achieved his goal of learning the viniculture process.
Scot returned to the UK in 2007 and discovered another passion, this time for the world of technology start-ups. Adaptable as ever, he applied his sales and marketing expertise to helping fledgling tech companies to develop their brands and customer markets. He spent time working at the Hillington Innovation Centre, as a fractional Marketing Director with numerous tech start-ups and was an early investor in several of Scotland’s successful tech companies.
During this time, he developed world class knowledge on a specialist technique known as marketing automation and set up a consulting firm, McRae & Co, which worked with many of the early-stage tech companies in Scotland in the 2000s and 2010s.
In 2016, Scot co-created Candidate.ID, a recruitment marketing software company and over several years, built the company’s reputation, picking up innovation awards in Las Vegas, Paris and San Francisco and won customers internationally including IBM and Microsoft. In 2021, the start-up caught the attention of a much larger US company, iCIMS, and with their backers, Vista Equity Partners, they acquired Candidate.ID in March 2022, from which point Scot focused on the integration, working closely with colleagues in the US.
Up until his death, Scot continued to follow his love of sport and adventure taking part, in recent years, in the Etape cycling race, swimming the notorious Corryvreckan Whirlpool Swim, sailing to St Kilda and playing rugby.
Inspired by his father’s passion for The Outward Bound Trust, Scot became a Scotland Council member in 2011. He believed that all young people should have the chance to develop their talents through powerful outdoor experiences, arranging funding for some of the pupils at The Glasgow Academy to have the opportunity to attend and experience an Outward Bound centre.
Scot leaves a family who are very proud of him.