London Meets Leeds: Open Mic Pitching & Networking Special
For one night only, Rare Founders is bringing our legendary London pitching and networking event to Climb26. We’re packing up the energy, the founders, the investors, the chaos, and yes… the water guns, and bringing it north.
One minute. One mic. A room full of people who could change everything.
Every 20–30 minutes, we randomly select 5–6 fundraising founders to step up and pitch. You get 60 seconds to sell your vision, test your story, and get in front of a room full of builders, backers, connectors, and people who actually matter.
⏱️ Go over time? 💦 You meet the water guns. We keep it fast, fun, and effective.
Whether you pitch or watch, this is the room where opportunities start, intros happen, and deals begin.
Whether you’re fundraising, looking to invest, building something exciting, or simply want to meet ambitious people without awkward networking vibes, you’re welcome.
Limited space. First-come, first-served, first drink on us.
Agenda
6.00 pm - 7.00 pm: Arrival & Networking
7.00 pm - 7.40 pm: Welcome
7.40 pm - 8.10 pm: Networking
8.10 pm - 8.30 pm: Open Mic Pitching (Round 1)
8.30 pm - 9.00 pm: Networking
9.00 pm - 9.20 pm: Open Mic Pitching (Round 2)
9.20 pm - 10.00 pm: Final Networking
👉 Spots are limited - sign up now.
By joining the event, you’re allowing us to capture and share some of the great moments! Photos and videos taken may be used later to showcase our community and for marketing, helping us make future events even better.
Rare Founders is a founder-led community bringing together early-stage founders, operators, and investors through thoughtfully curated events across London. From open mics and intimate roundtables to large-scale Demo Days, our focus is on meaningful connections, practical insight, and creating spaces that feel welcoming, inclusive, and genuinely useful.
If you’d like to stay in the loop, you can also sign up to our weekly newsletter for handpicked startup events, opportunities, and updates for founders and investors across the ecosystem.
See more details here.
💥 Get better connected with Sophy
Meet Sophy - your networking companion designed to make every connection count. Built for founders, investors, and operators, Sophy helps you see who’s in the room, add notes to your contacts, set follow-ups, and instantly search your entire network - so no valuable connection ever slips through the cracks. Join the waitlist now to be one of the first to benefit from it: GetsophySoPhy — Never Lose a Contact Again
What to sponsor the event and get exposure with hundreds of businesses? Please email [email protected]
A Huge Thanks To Our Sponsors & Partners!
ClimbGroup
Climb26 is the UK’s Festival of Business Growth, taking over Leeds on 1–2 July with founders, investors, and operators all under one roof. Very much our kind of people at Rare Founders, same wavelength, same energy, so you already know it’s going to be two days of meeting seriously extraordinary humans.
We’ll be there too, hosting our Open Mic on day one, alongside investor speed networking and plenty of ways to get in the room with the right people.
If you’re up for the two-day adventure, come join us up north; we’ve even secured hotel discounts for our community.
Find tickets and more info here
Safety Partner
Safespace Plus is helping us to foster a safe and inclusive environment at our events. Check out our Code of Conduct so you are aware of what kind of behaviour is not allowed at our events.
Venue Partner
Hosted at The Canary is Leeds’ go-to spot for private hire - whether it’s a party, meeting, celebration, or workshop, they’ve got you covered. With waterside views, flexible spaces, and curated packages (think bespoke quizzes and top-tier entertainment), every event is anything but ordinary.
