CoAI x EPIC x IC Club | Startup Salon
🚀 Ready to connect with new collaborators, hear real journeys, and actually play together instead of just listening to talks?
Come join us for an offline Startup Salon co-hosted by CoAI Club, EPIC Connector, and the Imperial College London student community.
This is not a boring lecture.
You’re not just a listener – you’re also a player.
Expect mini-stories, structured sharing, and a fun group challenge.
🌟 What to Expect
• Check-in & Icebreakers (13:30–14:00)
We’ll ease into the afternoon with light, simple icebreakers to help you:
introduce yourself in a relaxed way
meet a few people around you
warm up for deeper conversations later
⚠️ Please try to arrive between 13:30–14:00. Imperial Huxley uses access control on both sides, so we’ll need to help open the doors for you.
• Speaker Mini-Stories (14:00–15:00)
Hear short, honest shares from speakers with diverse backgrounds across product, tech, and entrepreneurship:
Andy Du — Serial entrepreneur, Founder of Trust AI and COO of StarCross Technology, working on AI safety and AI-powered API security.
Xiaoyu — AI startup UX/Product Designer, experience from Silicon Valley → London
Shuzhi Huang — ex-Google engineer building AMMO AI, exploring AI-native social platforms and group chat experiences.
Diana Deng — AI Product Engineer, indie builder & former Tencent Product Designer
Huijuan Kuang — Co-founder & Head of Growth at ZenVolt.tech, building AI & blockchain solutions for sustainable energy storage.
Natalie Chan — Bioengineering student at Imperial, self-taught full-stack & AI developer, 7× hackathon winner
Sabathania Pamilaar — Founder & CEO of Hai Booca, LPDP scholarship awardee and MSc Entrepreneurship student at UCL
They’ll talk about how they got here, what they’re currently working on, and what they’ve learned from their own paths – including the messy, real parts you don’t always hear on stage.
• Share Your Story & Cofounder Matching (15:00–15:30)
This is where the mic opens up to the room.
You’ll have around 90 seconds to share something with everyone, for example:
a startup or side project you’re exploring
a problem you’ve noticed in your field
a turning point in your journey
an observation, question, or idea you’d like to put out there
You don’t need slides. You don’t need a polished pitch deck.
Just a short, honest share about what you’re doing, noticing, or curious about.
If you are actively looking for cofounders or collaborators, this is also a great moment to say it out loud.
• Group Challenge & Open Networking (15:30–16:30)
To close the afternoon, we’ll bring everyone into a light, playful group challenge, followed by open networking.
You’ll be working in small groups, doing something fast, collaborative, and a bit unexpected.
We’ll explain the details on the day – just come with curiosity and be ready to participate.
After that, we’ll leave space for free-form conversations:
time to continue chats, swap contacts, and meet more people at your own pace.
👥 Who Is This For?
This Startup Salon is for you if you are:
a founder or indie builder
a student thinking about your next step
a developer, designer, operator, researcher, or creator
someone in career transition or exploring new directions
or simply a curious person who enjoys real conversations and meeting people from different backgrounds
You don’t need to already “be in startups”.
Curiosity is enough!
🎟️ Free Entry | English-Language Event
Entry: Free
Language: English
Vibe: Relaxed, friendly, in-person. Come as you are.
📅 Time & Venue
Time: Sunday, December 7th | 13:30 – 16:30 GMT
13:30–14:00 — Check-in & Icebreaking
14:00–15:00 — Guest Speaker Mini-Stories
15:00–15:30 — Share Your Story / Cofounder Matching (90-sec pitches)
15:30–16:30 — Group Challenge & Open Networking
Venue: Imperial College London, Huxley 340 (Lecture Theatre)
Whether you’re exploring your first idea, already building something, or just looking for a room full of interesting people and honest stories, this salon is designed to help you meet fun people, hear diverse perspectives, and leave with new energy (and maybe new co-creators).
We can’t wait to see you there! 🎉