​Rare Founders X Nexus Connected presents 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 through the link listed on Luma before 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- Managing 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. 🚀