Past events
F*CK TAXES. Last miniute SEIS/EIS pitch
10 high-quality startups pitched live to investors actively deploying SEIS / EIS capital before the tax year deadline. Explore the founders, watch the pitches and book meetings directly.
A-Z of Fundraising + Open Mic Pitching and Networking
We returned to The Ministry for another high-energy Open Mic Pitching night, with nearly 200 founders and investors in the room.
Founders (and even sponsors!) had just one minute to pitch. go over time and… 💦 water guns came out.
Huge thanks to our sponsors Revolut Business and OVHcloud for backing the event.
Special guest Jamie Reynolds shared hard-earned fundraising lessons after raising £9M+, giving founders practical, no-fluff advice.
Amazing energy, strong pitches, great people and perfectly captured by Valeria.
Missed it? The recording is coming soon 👀
Open Mic Pitching and Networking - Fundraising 2026
At our latest Rare Founders Open Mic in London, we broke down the real fundraising trends for 2026 with Ken Thomas from Backfuture VC and live pitch feedback from Anthony Rose of SeedLegals, using one-minute pitches enforced by water guns to keep things sharp. The big takeaways: pre-seed now requires real traction, AI wrappers are out in favour of focused vertical solutions, founders can’t wait for funding to start building, and pitches must be instantly clear, problem-led, and human. Honest feedback, real lessons, and no wasted time - watch the full video on YouTube.
Dry Powder Open Mic
This open mic flipped the usual pitch format by putting investors on stage and founders in the audience, with strict one-minute pitches enforced in the most unforgettable way. The conversation cut straight to where capital is really moving in 2026, why fundraising is tougher than ever, and why both founders and VCs must differentiate or disappear — all in a chaotic, high-energy room built for honest insight and real connections.
Open Mic Pitching and Networking
A high-energy open mic night brings founders together for fast pitches, real conversations, and spontaneous networking right after a major business event. Guests can expect rapid one-minute pitches, playful surprises, and a lively space where new ideas and new connections come to life.This Halloween-themed Open Mic Pitch Night blends startup pitching with spooky chaos, where founders are randomly “summoned” to pitch for one minute and face sharp feedback (and possibly water guns). Expect costumes, dark humour, and a networking night where startups meet the supernatural.
Open Mic Pitching & Networking - Halloween Special
This Halloween-themed Open Mic Pitch Night blends startup pitching with spooky chaos, where founders are randomly “summoned” to pitch for one minute and face sharp feedback (and possibly water guns). Expect costumes, dark humour, and a networking night where startups meet the supernatural.
🇧🇪🇬🇧 Embassy Pitch Series: UK x Belgium
🇧🇪🤝🇬🇧 UK–Belgium Startup Showcase
A curated gathering connecting 30 pre-seed and seed-stage founders from the UK and Belgium with investors. Each founder pitched their startup in just 60 seconds, a fast-paced format that revealed the most focused and investor-ready teams. The event highlighted cross-border innovation and meaningful founder–investor matches, hosted at the Embassy of Belgium in London by Rare Founders in collaboration with the Embassy.
Open Mic Pitching & Networking (Manchester)
This week we took the Rare Founders magic up North for a special edition of our legendary Open Mic Pitch Night, teaming up with the brilliant crew at Silicon Mingle Manchester.
It was everything we hoped for and more 1-minute unscripted pitches (with the water guns in full effect 💦), buzzing networking, and conversations that sparked real opportunities. Every 20–30 minutes, founders raising funds were randomly selected to take the mic, keeping the room alive with energy and ideas.
In between rounds? Unfiltered networking, clinking glasses, and genuine connections the kind that make our community so special.
Huge thanks to everyone who came through, pitched, supported, and shared the vibe with us. This definitely won’t be our last trip up North.
Open Mic Pitching and Networking
Rare Founders hosted a lively open mic pitching and networking night, where founders shared one-minute pitches across three rounds. The evening also offered plenty of opportunities for guests to connect and build relationships in a vibrant setting at Blue Marlin Ibiza London.
Open Mic Pitching and Networking - Defence Special
Rare Founders brought back its legendary open mic pitching and networking night, this time with a focus on defence. The evening featured a fireside chat with Logan Torrence and Dan Bowyer, followed by rounds of rapid-fire pitches from defence startups and buzzing networking at Blue Marlin Ibiza London, supported by Safespace Plus.
Open Mic Pitching and Networking
Rare Founders hosted a lively open mic pitching and networking night, where founders shared one-minute pitches across three rounds. The evening also offered plenty of opportunities for guests to connect and build relationships in a vibrant setting at Blue Marlin Ibiza London.
Open Mic Pitching and Networking - AI Special
Rare Founders hosted a high-energy open mic pitching and networking night with an AI spotlight. The evening featured a fireside chat with Chen Wang (Fifth Dimension AI) and Nicolas Klein (Singulate), followed by rapid-fire AI founder pitches and buzzing networking. With Safespace Plus as Safety Partner and BAM Karaoke Box London as the venue, the event blended big ideas, community, and plenty of startup energy.
London’s largest demo day S2E1
Rare Founders’ London’s Largest Demo Day is back for its second season for 2025 and it’s broke new records with 30+ founders ended up raising investments as a result
The Rare Factor
The Rare Factor transformed the Google Cloud Startup Hub into a stage for innovation and entertainment. Eight B2B and B2C SaaS startups delivered live demos, competing to impress a star-studded panel of judges, including tech influencer Ghita El Haitmy, investor Dr. Chris Howard, and Ken Thomas from BackFuture VC.
Hosted by comedian Craig Brown, the event mixed sharp insights with laughs, iconic X-Factor buzzers, and networking fueled by Google Cloud. A true celebration of creativity, connection, and remarkable ideas! 🌟
Founder Pitch Relay. 11 NOV 2024
Rare Founders and Hotbed hosted the second Pitch Relay event, offering fundraising founders at the pre-seed and seed stages a unique opportunity to see how their startup pitch evolves through different perspectives. This innovative event allowed founders to understand how others pitch their startups, identify key points that might be missed, and refine their pitches for maximum impact. Held at the newly opened Google Cloud Startup Hub, the event provided valuable networking opportunities and educational resources for founders in the startup ecosystem.
Open mic pitching and networking
Rare Founders hosted its iconic open mic pitching and networking event at the Google Cloud Startup Hub. Founders pitched their ideas in 1-minute sessions, followed by vibrant networking over drinks and nibbles provided by Google Cloud. The event brought together startups, investors, and innovators in a space designed to empower businesses to scale and succeed in the digital age.
Co-founder matching. 22 Oct 2024
Rare Founders and SeedLegals teamed up to transform the co-founder search with an innovative, in-person matching event inspired by Y Combinator’s tool. Held at Google Cloud’s new Startup Hub, the night was a vibrant mix of networking, collaboration, and inspiration, creating opportunities to spark partnerships and shape the future of entrepreneurship.
London’s largest demo day S1E2
Rare Founders’ London’s Largest Demo Day is back for its second episode for 2024 and it’s broke new records with 30+ founders ended up raising investments as a result
The Dublin Startup Scene
It's Friday and what a week it's been for Rare Founders! From the London Demo Day to the 2nd open-mic pitching event in Dublin, the energy has been electric ⚡
First off, I gotta give it to Vasily and Seven for putting together the London's Largest Demo Day this Monday! - HUUUUGE respect! Got to meet a ton of amazing founders and investors, and get blown away by the quality of the event.
Then, with a quick flying back to Dublin, the 2nd official Dublin Startup Scene open-mic pitching and networking startup event was on for Tuesday! Hosting it for the second time was once again a wonderful experience :)
The attendance was at a new high and we got to see a ton of new faces 🎉🎉🎉
A big thanks goes to the volunteering team for making it possible. Vlada, Klara, Quinn, Joseph, Ronald - the best team in the business! 😝
Another HUGE thanks goes to Moira - one of the highlights of the night. Her live interview and Q&A? FANTASTIC! It was very fulfilling to see founders taking notes and taking in the knowledge bombs.💣
London’s largest demo day S1E1. 22 Apr 2024
Experience the thrill of London's first-ever demo day of this scale where startups, founders, and investors collided in an unforgettable showcase of innovation and opportunity! With over 800 participants, including 200 top investors and 100 of the finest founders pitching, this event was nothing short of EPIC. 🤯
✨ Highlights Include:
🏃♀️ A founder chased down by an eager investor post-pitch.
📈 8 investor conversations sparked from a single pitch – a new record!
🤝 Massive networking success with nearly 800 attendees and 200 more on the waitlist.
🤗 Unmatched community support with 4 sponsors, 40 investor partners, and 25 community allies.
Missed out? Don't let the next one slip by! 🎉 Join the most dynamic gathering of the startup ecosystem in London and be where the magic happens. Be seen, be heard, be funded.