Join Nexus and Imperial Business School for an unmissable evening in the heart of London Tech Week, where innovation meets inspiration.

Can entrepreneurship really be taught – or is it something you’re born with? We’ll be doing a deep-dive into this provocative question with a dynamic panel and audience of trailblazing founders, investors, and educators who know what it takes to build, scale, and sustain a startup in today’s fast-moving tech landscape.

This exciting event will also feature a high-energy startup pitching competition, where some of Imperial Business School's newest bold, ambitious founders will take the stage to showcase their brand-new ventures to a panel of expert judges and a room full of investors, potential collaborators, and fellow entrepreneurs.

Who should attend?: Whether you’re a startup founder, angel investor, student, or simply passionate about innovation, this is your chance to connect, learn, and be inspired.

PANEL:

Marina Cassino (MD, The Bakery): Marina led the Innovation Lab at Natura &Co., helping to transform the company into one of the most innovative in the world and the best corporation for the innovation ecosystem. An active member of the Open Innovation Ecosystem, she is a reference in partnerships with startups in Brazil and around the world. Marina was selected by Global Corporate Venturing in the “39 women to watch in the CVC LatAm world” list.

Antoinette Nothomb (Co-founder, Cyanoskin): Antoinette is co-Founders of Cyanoskin, a new carbon capture technology utilising an algae based-coating designed to transform buildings into carbon dioxide-absorbing structures, reducing emissions and addressing urban pollution. Once applied, the photosynthetic coating grows and thickens, allowing it to capture carbon dioxide in urban environments.

Antoinette was previously founder of ERNESST, a startup specializing in constructing small, sustainable housing. She has a Master's degree in Entrepreneurship.

Cllr. Stephen Cowan (Leader, LBHF): Stephen has been the Leader of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) since 2014. Under his leadership, H&F has developed a national reputation for its bold approach to change. Stephen set up a ground-breaking industrial strategy partnership with Imperial College London (ICL) designed to make H&F a global hotspot in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and creative industries. Find out more about H&F's Upstream London strategy here.

Kalyan Sarma (Head of Innovation, Ploughshare): Ploughshare is the hub that makes UK government innovations prosper. Kalyan leads climate and sustainability innovation at Ploughshare, working with the UK government and MOD. He is also a Non-executive Advisor at Arthur D Little and an Advisory Board member at Innegev. With a PhD in nanotechnology from Cambridge, he has held senior roles in industry and government, including at UKRI and a FTSE 250 chemical company, and has worked globally across innovation and commercialisation.

Andrew Humphries (Chair): Andrew Humphries, is currently a Visiting Lecturer and Entrepreneur in Residence at Imperial College London. As a co-founder of The Bakery, Andrew brings extensive experience in helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses. A seasoned entrepreneur himself, he achieved notable success with Adeptra, a fintech that raised $43 million and was acquired by FICO in 2013 for $135 million. Additionally, Andrew has served as a negotiator for the Department of International Trade (DIT), focusing on attracting companies to establish their headquarters in the UK.

Running order

17:30: Registration

18:00: Panel - incl. Q&A

19:15: Pitching session

19:35: Drinks

20:30: END

A BIG thank you to Scale Space White City for hosting this event!