Manchester Venture Builder Demo Day 26
Manchester Venture Builder Demo Day 2026
A showcase of Manchester’s next generation of founders
The Masood Entrepreneurship Centre and Venture Café Manchester are joining forces to welcome you to the Manchester Venture Builder Demo Day 2026, hosted as part of a special Thursday Gathering at Sister, during the University of Manchester Innovation Festival.
Demo Day brings together selected University of Manchester founders to pitch, showcase and connect with Manchester’s innovation, investment and enterprise ecosystem.
Over the course of the Manchester Venture Builder programme, founders have been testing assumptions, validating markets, refining their propositions and building their ventures. Now, they are ready to take the stage, share their progress and connect with the people who can help them take the next step.
The evening will bring together investors, mentors, operators, alumni, corporate partners, university colleagues and ecosystem leaders looking to discover ambitious new ventures being built in Manchester and meet the founders behind them.
Demo Day is where months of building meet the people, networks and opportunities that can help turn progress into momentum.
🎤 Live Founder Pitches
Discover a diverse group of early-stage ventures shaped through the Manchester Venture Builder programme.
The showcase will give you the opportunity to:
see what is being built
understand the problems being tackled
meet the founders behind the ventures
explore ways to support, connect or collaborate
🤝 Innovation Showcase & Networking
Following the pitches, guests will move into the startup showcase and networking reception. This is an opportunity to meet the founders directly, ask questions, explore their ventures in more detail and continue the conversations started on stage.
Expect a room of founders, investors, mentors, corporate partners, alumni, university colleagues and members of Manchester’s wider innovation community.
By bringing Demo Day into a Venture Café Thursday Gathering, we're connecting the Venture Builder cohort with a much wider innovation community.
📅 Event Schedule
17:00 – 17:30 | Doors open, drinks & networking
17:30 – 17:40 | Welcome from MEC & Venture Café Manchester
17:40 – 18:15 | Live Founder Pitches — Block 1
18:15 – 18:30 | Break
18:30 – 19:00 | Live Founder Pitches — Block 2
19:00 – 19:05 | Closing remarks
19:05– 20:00 | Showcase, workshop, drinks & networking
Why Attend?
Manchester Venture Builder Demo Day gives you a front-row seat to promising early-stage founders before they move into their next chapter.
Attend to:
Meet founders building new ventures in Manchester
Explore investment, mentoring or partnership opportunities
Connect with the University of Manchester’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
Engage with investors, operators, alumni and ecosystem leaders
Hear From The Founders
About Venture Café Manchester
Venture Café Manchester is part of a global not-for-profit movement connecting founders, researchers, investors and innovators to share ideas, explore opportunities and build meaningful connections.
Powered by ARIA and hosted at Sister, Venture Café Manchester brings the city’s innovation community together through its free weekly Thursday Gatherings to connect, collaborate and discover what’s next.
Stay in the loop: sign up to the newsletter for the latest opportunities and events and register to join an upcoming Thursday Gathering for FREE.
Photography and Filming
Photography and video may be captured during the event for use across Masood Entrepreneurship Centre and University of Manchester communications, including websites, social media and future programme materials.
If you would prefer not to be photographed or filmed, please let a member of staff know when you arrive.
Join us for an evening of founder ambition, live pitches, meaningful conversations and high-value connections.
Secure your place and be part of shaping Manchester’s entrepreneurial future.