Rare Founders

It was all over in a moment😢 On Monday, we hosted the 2nd episode of London’s Largest Demo Day, and it was epic (not my words—just look at the posts on LinkedIn over the last few days). A lot happened that day. Many things didn’t go according to plan, but even more went way better than expected!😀 I haven’t really had a chance to rest yet, as the show must go on, so it might be my exhaustion talking, but since Monday, every time I speak about the founders who pitched that day and their success stories, it brings me to tears😭. I’m feeling super grateful for the community I’ve built and am still building. But it’s not just me—it’s all of us. All the investors who supported us, founders, businesses, and individuals who helped prepare our top 100 founders to pitch, businesses who filled our goodie bags with amazing things, volunteers who assembled the bags and helped on the day, our sponsors and partners without whom this event wouldn’t have been possible, and our speakers and moderators who added so much value. Everyone played their role, and it simply worked—against all odds. One year ago, I wanted to create an event that would have a real impact on founders—an event that would consider their needs and wouldn’t just be about money and profits. Many were skeptical about my idea when I did it the first time back in April, and many questioned my new approach for the event last month. But a few stayed by me no matter what, supporting me in my craziness, even though I’m sure they sometimes couldn’t understand what I was trying to do. But now, the results speak for themselves: • 920 attendees throughout the day😱 • 120 startups pitched on stage😎 • 1 founder secured £50k on the day, another £5k, and another £100k after the event (this is just what we know, but I’m sure the financial impact is much bigger)🤑 • 150 investors expressed interest in further discussions with startups pitching that day🌟 • 56 people attended the wellness room hosted by EventWell® • Our sponsors secured between 80 and 100 leads in just 1 day, and some have already closed deals as a result💰 • At our evening “First Money In” event, 8 out of 9 pitching companies secured investments (they were so good that I decided to join and support 2 of them myself)🦄 Everyone I spoke to on Monday loved what we created. I might be biased, but our events are the only ones where attendees genuinely feel that the organizers care and are willing to go the extra mile to provide value. A huge thank you to Grantify UK, Google Cloud, Cloud Office, OVHcloud, 1 Wimpole Street, and Startup.Flanders for believing in us and helping us bring change to the UK startup ecosystem. We are already working on the next London’s Largest Demo Day. Season 2, Episode 1 is back in April 2025—more details to follow. Any companies out there that would like to partner with us next year—let’s talk.

Oh Wow! Yesterday Vasily Alekseenko, Fraya Brinkman and the rest of the Rare Founders team (and the wonderful volunteers) pulled off one of the best founder events I’ve ever been to. And I’ve been to loads. So much thought and hard work went into every detail - from the venue, the organisation, the pre-screened founders, the investors, the sponsors, the discussion panels and excellent speakers, the goodies bags, the badges, the t-shirts, the cloakroom powered by Neverleft, the chill-out space, the private areas for investors and founders, the networking opportunities, right through to the evening event featuring the inspirational Chris Howard and his 10 handpicked startups who hadn’t yet raised money. They had the opportunity to pitch in front of investors and get funding commitments on the spot. Something I don’t think has ever been done before. What a day. Anyone looking to do a similar event should take note as this sets the bar and will be a very hard act to follow. And the BlockLock pitch seemed to go down well as we had a surprising amount of interest. Thank you again to everyone at Rare Founders and all the inspirational people I met at the event along with friends old and new: Soma Pirityi Eva Dobrzanska Gareth Hawkins Mladen Kostov 🚀 FRSA Charlie Varley Gordon Dudley Dan Rosenberg Jean Pierre Dumas Ediris Mohamed Oli Bates David Copeland Greg Blin Jasmine L. Dr. Giovannie J. Daniel Robinson Awad Ahmed Niall O Connor Amit Singh Rathore Nevine Coutry Alex Arnot Katrien Cruz Grobler Emilie Svirin Harry Jarman Nick Papaliakos Athanasiou

Yesterday was an absolutely fabulous day for the UK startup community! Diving into this adventure from the inside was a truly interesting experience. I was ready to networking I was ready investing I was eady pitching and yes, even fundraise (who’d say no to offered money?). But honestly, my main goal was to help make the event a success and soak in the energy. It was inspiring to see 100 founders from 14 different sectors. The speakers were on fire, sharing insights that cut right to the heart of what it takes to succeed. We had family offices debating whether to go the LP route or dive straight into startups, angels giving their best tips, and experts talking about how to build a personal brand that catches the eye of VCs. Google Cloud stepped in as a Demo Day sponsor and more I can't tag everyone I got the chance to meet in a single post, but some highlights of the day included but i will try) Dan Bowyer, Dan Rosenberg, Emma Osman, Lottie Unwin (she/her), James Roycroft-Davis, Dale Shephard, Meena Sangar ACIPD C-OKRP™, Aoife Spillane Daniel Robinson, Ayush Sanghavi, Anna Egorova, Rory Southworth, Mike Adams, Nick Adams, Tallulah Israel, Marta Jordan Giovanni Milandri, Yuru Guo, Veronique Goussard, Manasvee Motiwalla, Thea Montgomerie Anderson, Vaibhav Pansuriya [VP], James Thorpe Jane Fisher, Mariam Makhmutova Daria Berman, Göksenin Korkmaz, Anthony Rose Ivan Chebykin, Carla Speight, Tom Lawrence, Nick Papaliakos Athanasiou, Katrien Cruz Grobler, Anmol Goel, and Fraya Brinkman (eventually, I tried) but there is a small catch Without Vasily Alekseenko, we wouldn't have this community. Thank you for community, Rare Founders!

Never a dull moment at Rare Founders 💫 We grafted yet we had fun in the process 🤪 #LondonsLargestDemoDay is tomorrow 🤯 If you’re joining us, make sure you come early as we’ve only got 500 fantastic goodie bags to hand out.. and although some might have a bum print they were made with love! A massive shout out to the team that came and gave us a huge helping hand Olga O., Anzhelika Goncharova, Anna Umanskaia, Haripradha Ramajayam & Priti S. 💫 you’ll see these lovely bunch tomorrow! Again to our goodie bag partners & suppliers who have spoilt you loads with all the offers and goodies 😍 JNCK Bakery, ETA Technologies, Alex Arnot, Startups Magazine, Daniel Priestley, Neverleft, Grantify UK, Fighter Shots, UNLTD. | B Corp™, Nevcap, Innovation Broking, identity.vc I Backing LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs, Djaayz by Cathy GUETTA, Robot Mascot, US Expansion Partners, Living Things Soda, Tison, Scribe Lonkero, Reelhop Vasily Alekseenko & I have certainly been using tigerbalm for our sore backs 😂 #goodiebags #RareFounders #LondonsLargestDemoDay #DemoDay #london #events

1 day!!! 😱😱😱 I can’t believe it’s almost here! Four months of intense work, all building up to just one day. The amount of effort it took is honestly unbelievable. I feel emotional just thinking about it. The first London’s Largest Demo Day was a massive experiment. I risked everything, and it worked. But I’m never really satisfied with what I do—I’m more into the process and the journey, always thinking there’s room for improvement. This time, it will be better! The ideas I had for Monday’s second episode of London’s Largest Demo Day nearly killed me—I even had to say no to some because I just didn’t have the capacity to pull them off properly this time. What we do at Rare Founders is different because it’s born from my own struggles as a founder—whether it’s connecting with investors, pitching, fundraising, or growing a business against all odds. On Monday, everyone will see that we’re not just another event or conference. We’re so much more. We’re a startup community where everyone grows together—it’s not just about something transactional. And we’re not stopping here. We’ll keep getting better, bigger, and offering more value. Give us time, and Rare Founders will be globally recognized for the quality of startups that come through our doors and the strength of our ever-growing community. I’m proud of what my team and I have achieved in such a short time. Keep following our journey! And even though we haven’t finished this event yet, we’re already working on the next one. If you’re an investor, business partner, sponsor, or even someone who wants to volunteer, reach out and join us!

I'm looking forward to doing some epic Cold Reads live on Monday at the Rare Founders demo day. 14th October. Next week. THIS YEAR. 2,472 minutes from right now. It's gonna be one of those events that makes you go "ohhhyyyyeeeaaahh!". A day that blends a networking day, accelerator pitching, rapid MBA for founders *and* investors, and some damn high-energy gasping raw moments from the most challenging/rewarding panel topics I've ever seen at a startup-related event. Friends will be won (and likely lost) on this day! For my part, I'm delighted Vasily Alekseenko and his team invited me to participate. Here's how... 1) 1 Hour of Live cold reads - where I 'unwrap' founders' pitch decks for the very first time, in front of an audience, and speak everything *out loud* I would normally keep to myself. This helps founders (and investors) see where confidence gets won or lost in a pitch deck. It can be brutal. But, touch wood, helpful. 2) A panel on Founder war stories of getting money from bad investors - with the mighty fine superheroes Cliff Fluet, David Willbe, Elaine Harding MIRP CertRP and moderated by Perdie Alder - we intend to lay bare, from both sides of the table, how 'bad' investors manifest in startup land. This panel is *crucial* for a healthy ecosystem. If we aren't prepared to *publicly* speak about our negative experiences for fear of being 'blackballed' by the investment community, then we will never fix the toxic impression that somehow founders work for investors. They don't. Investors are paid passengers to the founders' future success. It is a *privilege* to invest in a great founders' new venture. I digress... grrr.. alot to say, as you can tell. BUT IT DOESN'T END THERE! The evening, I am hosting FIRST MONEY IN - a daring pitch experiment where 10 pre-vetted founders who are *right on the cusp* of being investible will pitch, in classic Rare Founders open-mic format, to 12 pre-vetted investors. ON THE SPOT... an investor will 'auction' their participation to be the first money in to each project. If they raise their green card.... there is no going back. They're investing. There and then. I must absolutely take my hat off to the Lewis Silkin team for creating what is probably the most readable, founder-investor friendly Advanced Subscription Agreement I have ever seen for this event. Signatures will flow on the night thanks to their utterly epic skills. If you want to join me, you send me a DM, okay? PEACE

🚀 𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿—𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼 𝗗𝗮𝘆, taking place on Monday, 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟰𝘁𝗵! This event will showcase 100 top-rated founders pitching their innovative ideas to hundreds of investors, making it a pivotal moment for startups and investors alike. This incredible event wouldn't be possible without the support of our sponsors and partners: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀: Grantify UK Startup.Flanders 1 Wimpole Street Google Cloud Cloud Office 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀: OVHcloud TrinityHawk Djaayz by Cathy GUETTA UNLTD. | B Corp™. Lonkero Edmunds Cocktails These Days Drinks Living Things Soda 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀: Gridaly ETA Technologies Reelhop Startups Magazine EventWell® SafeSpace Plus ™ Pitchflix Neverleft JNCK Bakery Diversity Alliance ® 𝗪𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲!

2 more days! If there’s one thing I learned being a founder over the last few years, it’s that things rarely go according to plan. Yesterday we were supposed to move everything to the venue and set a few things up for London’s Largest Demo Day that will happen on Monday! With packing, moving, unpacking, and setting up 500 goodie bags, I was sure that we would be done by 2 PM at the latest. Oh boy, was I wrong. I was back home by 10 PM. 😱 Sorting out 500 goodie bags wasn’t easy, especially when you have late deliveries that also need to go into the goodie bags. Lucky for us, we had some amazing volunteers! By the end, we were all exhausted, but we did our best to have fun! I even had my Ariana Grande moment drowning in hundreds of goodie bags! Warning for the conference attendees: the goodie bags are heavy! What can I say? We have amazing partners who are happy to support us. ❤️

They said you have to get uncomfortable to experience growth, go outside your comfort zone, yada yada. Well, here we are! This coming Monday, October 14th, I will be pitching Playdate at Rare Founders London's Largest Demo Day where I will only have 1 minute to pitch on stage (with 1 slide). Can I do it? No idea! But if it's not hard, it's not worth doing right? 🤪 ▶️ Pitching Stage 2 @ 12pm, B2C SaaS/Consumer Apps ▶️ Few tickets still up for grabs for those last minute folks: https://lnkd.in/dKfTuPtj Extreme gratitude and respect to the team behind it all Vasily Alekseenko and Fraya Brinkman 🙌 let's do this! #rarefounders #top100startups #demoday #B2C #ConsumerApps

"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!" On Monday next week at 11am, I will have the profound privilege of moderating one of the most interesting discussion panels on the agenda at London's Largest Demo Day, by Rare Founders. I'll have the pleasure of speaking with some of the startup scene's most famous faces, lifting the veil on "𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗩𝗖𝘀" - something you'll find particularly relevant if you're feeling intimidated about using platforms like LinkedIn for engaging with investors. Joining me will be: 🚀 Dan Bowyer, Partner at SuperSeed 🧠 James Roycroft-Davis, Head of Early Stage at Founders Capital & Co-Founder of Baseline 🤯 Lottie Unwin (she/her), Founder & Start-Up Marketing Expert You now have less than 72 hours left to book a ticket and join us in the heart of Mayfair for what's looking to be the most impactful demo day in UK startup history: 👉 https://lnkd.in/ebnw8nEt 👈 ___________________________________ Connect or follow to find out more about LinkyThinks: Creating future-ready children... #startupjourney #ai #linkythinks #education #london #edtech Victoria Johnny Dan Federico David Anthony Daniel #angelinvestor #RareFounders #DemoDay #LondonsLargestDemoDay #Fundraising #PersonalBranding #Startups #VentureCapital