Women's Health Pitch Competition + Open Mic Pitching & Networking
Apply to pitch here.
Rare Founders X Nexus Connected present our first women's health pitch competition and showcase!
This event has 4 main components:
5x pre-selected finalists will compete for a chance at 2x prize draws, the winners selected from our judges
Audience Q&A with our judging panel to get your questions answered and unstuck
Open mic, the audience can take to the stage for 60 seconds to pitch your startup, request support or look for a co-founder
Networking time to make new connections and collaborate across the women's health and life sciences ecosystem
Want to apply to be a finalist and pitch to our judges for a chance to win 1 of 2 prizes?
Apply here before the 13th May
The Concept:
In a sector where everything is challenging, especially fundraising, our real value lies in coming together to help one another
You can be building in women’s health and still feel like you’re doing it in isolation, navigating a tough fundraising landscape without the right people around you.
Bringing together founders, investors, and operators who are actively building, sharing, and opening doors for each other, it’s about creating a network where collective value drives real progress.
It also challenges the narrow “femtech” label, expanding women’s health into a broader, more inclusive category that better reflects where innovation is actually happening across health, biotech, and beyond.
You’ll walk away with a clearer sense of where you fit within this evolving space, and how the right network, structure, and positioning can unlock opportunities that are hard to access alone.
Judges & Your Audience Q+A
Lucia Rodriguez-Lacasa — HealthTech Investor Albion VC
Esther Reynal de St Michel Richardot- Founding General Partner THENA Capital
Valerie Evans — Principal 5 Seasons Ventures
Antoinette Cameron-Pimblett — Research Translation & Innovation Manager at The London Institute for Healthcare Engineering
You'll see 5x finalist pitches and get to learn from the judge's feedback
Before going into 20 mins of audience Q&A with the judges to get your burning questions answered
Networking & Collaborating
After the Q&A you'll have time to mix with the room whilst the judges decide on the 2x winners. We'll have a quick announcement and photo opportunity for the winners
Open Mic
One minute. One mic. A room full of people who could change everything.
This stage is for founders who are fundraising or planning to fundraise, to test their pitch, sharpen their story, and get in front of the kind of room that actually matters.
Every 20–30 minutes, we randomly select 5–6 fundraising founders. You get 60 seconds to sell your vision.
⏱️ Go over time? 💦 You meet the water guns. We keep it fast and effective. Whether you pitch or listen, this is the room where deals start.
Agenda
5.30 pm - 5.45pm: Arrival & Networking
5.45pm - 6.30pm: Welcome + 5x Finalist Pitches
6.30 pm - 6.50pm: Investor Q&A
6.50 pm - 7.10pm: Networking. + Judges pick the winners
7.10 pm - 7.20pm: Winners Announcements + Photos
7.20pm-7.40pm: Open Mic Pitching (Round 1)
7.40pm - 8pm: Networking
8pm - 8.15pm: Open Mic Pitching (Round 2)
8.15pm - 9.30pm: Final Networking
Come for the insights. Stay for the connections. Don't miss out. 🚀
👉 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. BBuilt 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. Download Sophy now and start building a smarter, stronger network today: 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!
Leo Tyson. Founder Nexus Connected
Nexus is a community for women's health founders, investors, academics and other ecosystem partners. We have ran 70+ events and have an active community chat of 950 women + male allies
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 Ministry — Borough’s iconic creative members’ club and workspace, built by the team behind Ministry of Sound. Set inside a beautifully restored Victorian printworks, it features stylish lounges, studios, a gym, a buzzing bar, and everything designed for founders and creators to collide. With flexible day passes, wellness spaces, great coffee and a culture-driven vibe, it’s the perfect home for bold ideas and unforgettable events.
Food will be available for purchase at the venue! Click here for the menu.
And a massive thank you for our prize donors for their generous contributions
More prizes to be announced soon.
Laura Tyther. Founder LT PR, the communications agency behind brands like Daye, specialising in women's health and femtech.
- 1 hour free consultation to 1 winner
Kiki Patel - Data Protection due diligence readiness pack - a readiness assessment + a suite of policies/documents required to pass investor/vendor due diligence.
- X both winners.
Jack Baeza -3 months free on the OWM platform and 1 hour free consultation with Jack Baeza
- X both winners.
Polly Thompson - 1 day UX audit from B33 Design
- X both winners.