Full interview available on the ENRG TV Youtube channel
Danae Shell, Founder and CEO of digital legal platform Valla, visited Edinburgh Napier University’s Merchiston Campus this month to receive the prestigious Purple Plaque Award from Innovate UK to celebrate her work in the tech sector.
Shell received the prestigious Purple Plaque and delivered a speech on entrepreneurship in front of an audience of tech-based undergraduate Napier students.
An alumnae of Edinburgh Napier, Shell said it was “surreal” to be returning to the campus where she once studied back in 2005. She cites Merchiston as an origin point of her interest in entrepreneurship stating that “the seeds started right here.”
Shell created Valla, an AI-powered platform which simplifies the legal process by enabling workers to collect evidence, generate necessary documentation, and get fixed-price expert support without incurring the high costs typically associated with legal processes. More than 13,000 people have already benefitted from Valla’s services since its creation in 2016.
Shell says she’s trying to change the shape of legal accessibility, especially for the groups that can’t afford to fight small cases in court, such as students. Shell’s work has earned her a spot as one of the UK’s Top 50 Female Entrepreneurs for the year of 2025.
“I love that moment when I can help someone go from ‘that wasn’t okay’ to ‘Oh wow, there is something here, I might have some power in this situation to do something’. To be able to give people the information and the power to do that, it’s the best.” Shell said.
“Receiving this purple plaque is incredibly meaningful to me, not just as recognition of Valla’s work in making legal support accessible to everyone, but as an opportunity to give back and inspire the next generation. When I see the statistics showing that girls make up just 27% of physics Higher students and only 17% in computing science, I know we have work to do.”
Innovate UK introduced the Purple Plaques campaign in 2019, to inspire more girls to follow in the footsteps of the Innovate UK Women in Innovation. Since then, 86 Purple Plaques have been unveiled at schools and universities up and down the country.
Karen Souza, Senior Diversity and Inclusion Partner at Innovate UK, presented Shell the award. She said: “Our Purple Plaques recognise the achievements of inspirational women innovators like Danae. These plaques spark conversations about innovation in the schools, colleges and universities where they’re unveiled, fostering pride among students and educators – making each institution a hub for celebrating and championing the contribution of women in innovation.”
Other notable recipients of a purple plaque include Laura Bayliss, the founder of TimeTrove, Charlotte Windebank, managing director and co-founder of FIRST, which empowers enterprise skills for underrepresented communities, and Sam Woodham, co-founder of The Divorce Surgery, whose innovation is enabling separating families to reduce stress, costs and delays.
