Pitch to investors at SCALE

Live pitch event at SCALE EXPO & SUMMIT

Vision meets opportunity on the Launchpad Stage at SCALE EXPO 2026

Bold founders will pitch live to investors and an expert judging panel committed to championing diversity and inclusion in entrepreneurship.

Each judge will deliver their mission and share how they’re backing diverse founders to shape the scaleup success stories of the future.

Then it’s showtime! Founders step up for fast‑fire pitches and get practical feedback to fuel their next stage of growth.

Spotlight on underrepresented founders

Leading the panel is our Head Judge, Dwain Reid — business growth coach, former government adviser — who leads delivers the Cap Table Pitch Competition for Forbes Family Group. 

Dwain has supported more than 10,000 entrepreneurs in launching and scaling their ventures and has helped over 300 founders access more than £165,000 in funding. 50% of recipients were female led businesses and over 60% of the funding has gone to Black-led businesses.

Spotlight on female founders

As part of the Women Who Scale initiative, this pitch will focus on women-led businesses, female founders and non-binary entrepreneurs.

Head Judge for this pitch event is Liz Barclay, the co-founder Business111 and Small Business and Entrepreneurship Lead at the Institute of Directors. Liz has authored several business books and her previous roles include Small Business Commissioner for the UK and Financial Inclusion Commissioner.

Walking the walk

Our very own chairman, Andrew B Morris, will represent SCALE Ventures as we continue to proudly back early stage founders to scale. We don’t just invest in a product; we back the individual behind it, and Andrew will be on the look out for founders with the creativity, ambition and tenacity needed to make their vision a reality.

Applications will open soon ... keep an eye on our LinkedIn Page for updates!