What pitch events are there for female founders?

Pitch events can be an effective way to build out your network while also getting live experience presenting your business. They can be nerve-racking, but worth braving to strengthen your pitching skills, get useful feedback through the questions that investors ask, plus exposure to investors and other influencers in the start-up ecosystem.

Some offer cash prizes or mentoring for the winners, and occasionally the offer of investment (although watch out for the T&Cs on these, as the deals aren’t always that great).

Choose wisely which ones you apply for, as pitch events can be a real drain on time and resources. It’s important to understand who the audience is, what exposure you’ll get, and what the pitching environment will be like, to see if it’s a potential fit for you.

And most importantly, be aware that these pitch events are seriously competitive! Don’t even think about applying unless you’re confident you’re investment ready. We’re here to help you do that with our Fundraising Academy for Female Founders, which not only prepares you for pitching, but supports you right through the fundraising process.

Our favourite pitch events for female founders

AllBright’s Pitch Day for Female Founders – We’re big fans of this long standing regular event, where female founders pitch either at the AllBright Club in Mayfair, or at one of their online events. Finalists get to attend a free Pitch Clinic with our founder and fundraising expert Julia Elliott Brown.

Playfair Capital’s Female Founder Office Hours – This is a great one that gets you exposure to many investors who are interested in backing women-led start-ups – runs a couple of times a year.

Entrepreneurs Collective - Regular female founder’s pitch event at Home Grown that kicked off in 2022. Our founder Julia is a regular judge on the panel.

Other pitch events

Also worth checking out these other major pitch events, whilst although not exclusive to female founders, have a good track record of picking female founder winners:

https://thepitch.uk/ - Runs annually, with regional plus UK finals. Applications open in the Spring. Previous female founder winners from our network include Emilie Vanpoperinghe from Oddbox and Farah Kabir from HANX.

Dragons Den – the eponymous TV show – great opportunity for exposure, but beware, this is TV and you have no control over how you’ll be edited for the final show! Don’t expect an amazing deal, but you can always turn it down once the show is over. A number of female founders in our network have had successful exposure going down this route, including Cecily Mills from Coconuts Naturally and Heinin Zhang from yHangry.

There are also many funding platforms and networks that run pitch events showcasing the founders they’re working with to the investment community. We can connect you with these organisations once you’re investment ready.

Know a great pitch event for female founders that we've missed off the list? Drop us an email at fly@enterthearena.co.uk as we'd love to hear about it!