Driving change in the UK startup ecosystem

Rare Founders

Rare Founders

We are on a mission to discover RARE founders with groundbreaking ideas and give them the platform and visibility they deserve to be heard.

Upcoming events

All future events

  • "Raised £500K after pitching at the London's Largest Demo Day in April 2024💥"

    Jean-Philippe M.L. Schepens

    Founder & CEO at AxonJay.ai

  • "We secured £35k on the day, with another £160k in negotiation directly from people we met on the Demo Day in oct 2024. Best event we've ever attended!"

    Chris Leighton

    Founder of AirZones

  • "Rare Founders events have been a game-changer for us, offering fantastic opportunities to connect, network, and raise funds. Thanks to these events, we’ve been able to secure funding not once, but twice!"

    Elaine Harding

    Founder of Augemntaero

  • "What an amazing day at the Rare Founders London demo day. The team pulled off an incredible day featuring some of the most exciting startups in the UK/I and beyond."

    Sebastian Haire

    Head of Strategic Partnerships at Google Cloud

  • "I raised £100K as a result of the hype around me pitching at the demo day in oct 2024"

    Dan Rosenberg

    Founder of LinkyThinks

  • "I pitched at the Fist money-in event post the demo day in Oct 2024 and secured my first ever cheque of £11K"

    Roxanne Preyor

    Founder of Superoom

  • "TOP TOP TOP! Best startup event of the YEAR!!! I negotiated to double my valuation with the lead investor as a result of the hype around the demo day where I pitched in oct 2024"

    Katrien Cruz Grobler

    Founder at AI Kat

  • "🔥"Huge well done for putting together what can easily be named the biggest event so far this year in London's startup scene. "

    Eva Dobrzanska

    Head of Investments at FundIQ + Sixth Wave Ventures

  • "A fantastic event! Demo Day in Oct 2024 was the first event I attended in the UK in over 5 years!

    Richard Hadler

    GP at Founders Capital

  • "Thank you very much for the invite to the demo day. It was by far the best event I’ve been to this past year! Looking forward to the next one and always happy to support on future events."

    Michael Rees

    Investment Manager at Praetura Ventures

  • "I really enjoyed the Demo day. You did an amazing job of pulling it together and I think your event will become one of the destination events in the calendar."

    Johnny McNamara

    Programme Team Lead (Investment) at Innovate UK

  • "Well done on a triumph of demo day. It was exceptionally well run, had a brilliant turn out. You should be very proud. Happy to be more involved at the next one. Well done."

    Sam Merullo

    Venture & PE Investing at Family office

  • "Well, the demo day was fun! Thanks yet again, Rare founders is a rising star on the startup events scene. Big love and what a great event you and your team hosted yesterday. Loved it."

    Chris Howard

    Founder and Angel Investor

  • "What an incredible day and thank you for arranging it all. This could be London’s leading demo day for years to come!"

    Conlan Ainsworth

    CEO and Founder of iReceet

  • "Demo day was brilliant. Congrats to you and team. Everything worked out well. Well done!" 

    Rahul Patil

    Co-Founder & CEO at Tellygence

  • "Demo day was Brilliant - thank you for the huge amount of effort and organisation that went into it."

    Jen Lothian

    Co-Founder at My Ark

  • "What a great event! Thanks for organising the demo day and as one of the startups who had been selected to pitch today, we've made some great connections with prospective investors, so thanks again for having us!"

    Iris Anson

    Founder at Etiq AI

  • "Demo Day was AMAZING and just the best event. We met so many people and have investor interest already. The talks were SO good. Thank you for al your help and support."

    Steven Milne

    CEO at Impro

  • "Having had the opportunity to be a part of this ecosystem since beginning out, I've seen this community grow and mature. As an early stage investor, I've been able to see companies at some of the earliest stages and build relationships with them well before they look to come to market."

    Kenneth Kashif Thomas

    Founding Associate at Backfuture VC

  • "The London Startup Scene is the most authentic and genuine startup/investor event series in the country whose growing importance can be shadowed only by the founder who created it!"

    Ewan Moran

    Founder at The G.E.C.K and BarbackUK

  • “I’m still getting connection requests after my pitch at London's Largest Demo Day in oct - really one of the best I’ve been to in a very long time - congratulations and thank you!”

    Ross Ducat

    Founder at Lulu Light

  • "Many thanks for organising the brunch on Saturday, we really enjoyed it and it was super useful. We ended up making some changes to our pitch deck based on seeing peoples pitches and the questions that people asked so that was really helpful!"

    Brent McNish

    CTO & Co-Founder at Tremr

  • “I'm a new founder, and Rare Founders events have been an invaluable networking experience.”

    Nina Anana

    Founder at Sloan Technologies

  • “it was a great time yesterday at the Startup Scene. Very useful and insightful. Thank you for organizing such an event for founders and investors.”

    Dmitry Lapshin

    CEO & Co-Founder at The Ensamble

  • “Thanks for driving the London start up scene events. I'm building a company solo and it's really impactful to be able to talk to people who are in a similar boat to me.”

    Isar Bhattacharjee

    Founder at Uncover Consulting

  • "Me and my Co-Founder actually met in this Slack group, and decided to team up."

    Sam Bax

    CEO & Co-Founder at Aviva.io

  • "Omg thank you so much for such exposure! Love and support what you are doing for the founders!"

    Natalia Grudina

    CEO & Founder at Redeco

  • "I'm already signed up for the next event! You're building something really exciting!"

    Fergus Leathem

    Co-Founder at FuseCo.

  • "It’s kinda cross between a comedy club / night club but serious business networking. Here you have create a fun 🤩 experience, relaxed , Creative energised and most of all FUN."

    Sophie Pittaway

    Founder at KICK

  • "Congratulations again on a FANTASTIC event last night. You really did something special, it was amazing to be part of it. "

    Toni Schneider

    COO at Ostique Limited

  • "Great event yesterday and crazy turnout, well done! "

    Maxime Kryvian

    CEO & Co-Founder at Celsius Innovations

  • "I had a great time connecting with quite a few incredibly interesting people!"

    Martina Meyer zu Selhausen

    Founder at Viatitude Health

  • "Watching founders and investors pitch, meet and collaborate is really what this event is all about."

    Nikolay Gelovski

    Head of Google Cloud Sales at Cloud Office

  • "I have been attending startup events since 2009 and your event at Canary Wharf was hands down one of the best I have ever attended. Lots of great tips about how to screen pitch decks, which I found useful as an investor."

    Peter Banerjea

    Co-Founder at StartupVoyager, Investor

  • "What you've done for the startup community in London is pretty special. No elitism, inclusive, and everyone there has a genuine desire to help each other succeed. I met somebody at your event who has become an integral part of our business. I suspect there are hundreds of other startups with similar examples!"

    Tom Cullen

    Founder at Zoplo

  • "I closed £300K round with £40K coming from my pitch at the demo day in oct 2024"

    Gareth Hawkins

    Founder of BizCrunch

  • " It was the best pitching event I’ve attended—seamless organization, top sessions, amazing pitches, and unmatched exposure to active angels and VCs!"

    Nevine Coutry

    Founder of Playdate

  • "Congrats on an excellent event! London's Largest Demo Day is a great event where everything runs smoothly—from preparation and communication to engaging panel discussions."

    Kristin Bjelland

    Family Office, CEO at Bjella Investments

newsletter

WHY attend our events

  • EVERYONE GETS A VOICE 🎤

    We shine a spotlight on ideas that deserve to be heard, especially from early-stage founders who are too often overlooked.

  • FOR FOUNDERS, BY FOUNDERS 👨‍🚀👨‍🚀

    We know the journey because we’ve lived it. That’s why we create spaces where you feel understood, supported, and surrounded by people who genuinely get it. Around 30–40% of our attendees are regulars — they keep coming back because they know this is where real relationships start.

  • FUNDING, PARTNERSHIPS & OPPORTUNITIES 💥

    Over 30 founders have raised investment through Rare Founders connections. You’ll meet co-founders, partners, customers, and game-changers who can open doors for you.

  • EXCLUSIVE ACCESS FOR INVESTORS 📈

    Our events give you curated access to top-rated startups, fresh deal flow, and a room full of the most ambitious founders in the UK.

  • NO-EGO CONNECTIONS 🤝

    We break down barriers with fun and unexpected elements — think water guns for overrun pitches, sunset parties, and conversations that matter. Our events are designed to make you smile, relax, and connect without the corporate fluff.

  • INCLUSIVE BY DESIGN 🌈

    Childcare at events. Quiet rooms for neurodivergent founders. A safe space policy so everyone feels welcome. Inclusivity isn’t a checkbox for us — it’s how we’ve built one of the UK’s largest startup communities.

About Us

Our Story

The London startup scene used to bore us to death. Endless panels, awkward networking, and pitching opportunities locked behind paywalls or old boys’ clubs. Founders weren’t connecting. Investors weren’t inspired.

So we tore up the rulebook.

With no budget and zero marketing, our first Rare Founders event pulled in 500 registrations and 250 people through the door. It was scrappy, loud, and unforgettable — and it proved startup events could be fun, provocative, and actually useful.

WHERE WE ARE NOW

Rare Founders has grown into one of the UK’s largest startup communities, with 20,000+ members and events that sell out fast. From monthly Open Mic Pitch Nights to London’s Largest Demo Day with 1,000+ attendees, we’ve created spaces where founders and investors actually connect.

Along the way, we’ve partnered with names like Google, hosted over 50 events in a year, and helped more than 30 founders raise investment through connections made in the room. And our volunteers — often founders themselves — keep the community spirit alive at every event.

Our MISSION

To find the rare founders with groundbreaking ideas and give them the stage, connections, and visibility they deserve. We remove barriers, break biases, and make sure great ideas get heard — no matter who’s behind them.

Our vision

To reshape the UK’s early-stage startup scene into a place where collaboration beats competition, events are worth attending, and founders lead the change. We push boundaries, challenge outdated norms, and build an ecosystem where the right people meet at the right time — without the corporate fluff.