With 2,000+ attendees, over 100 hand-picked startups, and some of the most unfiltered content ever seen on a UK startup stage, Rare Founders cemented its place as the go-to platform for early-stage founders ready to lead with honesty.

All tickets were free, but every attendee was carefully vetted through a waitlist process to ensure quality over quantity. The result? A room full of highly engaged founders, operators, and investors who could meaningfully contribute to the conversation – and the future of the UK startup ecosystem.

Founded by Vasily Alekseenko, with event production and partnerships led by Fraya Brinkman, Rare Founders is more than an event series. It’s a movement reshaping how we talk about ambition, failure, power dynamics, and everything in between.

The only stage where founders say what’s really happening

The Demo Day featured two stages: one focused on raising capital, the other titled “The Dark Side of Money”, where founders shared raw, unfiltered stories of toxic investors, burnout, and difficult lessons – stories typically only heard one-on-one in pubs, not public stages.

Some sessions ran under Chatham House Rule. Others banned mobile phones to protect speakers’ privacy and foster openness. In return, speakers delivered what the ecosystem rarely hears: the truth.

Startups that showed up and delivered

100 top-rated startups – selected by 60+ investor partners and rated by the founder community – pitched live on stage. Among the standout teams:

• Chefs For Foodies: curated food marketplace
• SportTrack ai: scorecards on steroids
• Techbible: the best place to discover, decide, and manage software in your personal and professional life
• BlackBook: BlackBook is a professional networking platform that revolutionises how creatives showcase their work, connect with peers, and access career-changing opportunities
• Atelyr: Atelyr is an AI-powered 3D design platform that simplifies the interior design process by seamlessly integrating design, product sourcing, and automated documentation – eliminating tedious tasks and enabling designers to focus on creativity
• OTO Fulfilment: Full Stack Order Fulfilment Solution to help SMEs scale their e-commerce business
• Lucida Medical: works to transform the detection and treatment of cancer using AI

AI KAT, a standout from not one but two Rare Demo Days, has since raised £300K in funding led by SFC Capital and made a bold debut by launching the UK’s first Creative Hackathon at Google HQ this March. Its viral “Pawwwing” campaign – complete with branded sweets and an epic four-tier cake – stole the show and captured the hearts of the community. For the final Demo Day, she returned not just as an exhibitor but truly pawww’d the event in style.

Also making a triumphant return, Good Koffee – who pitched his sparkling coffee brand at October’s Demo Day – came back with his first official production run, serving up samples to energise the crowd.

And that’s just the beginning – many more founder success stories are brewing and soon to be revealed.

Not just an event. A wake-up call

Rare Founder’s content stages didn’t shy away from uncomfortable topics. Instead, they put them front and centre:

• “F the VC World” – where bootstrappers took the mic and the applause
• “Sleeping with the Enemy” – stories of trusting the wrong capital
• “Fundraising in Hell” – a deep dive into burnout, betrayal, and mental health
•  “VCs Work for You” – founders reclaiming power and voice

These weren’t rehearsed TED Talks. They were real conversations, with every ounce of fear, fire, and clarity that defines early-stage entrepreneurship.

More than inspiration – actual change

Rare Founders has helped over 30 startups raise funding – from £5K to £500K – and formed hundreds of meaningful founder-investor connections. But more importantly, it’s created a space where founders feel seen.

From free on-site childcare and DEIA audits to a sensory quiet room and an incident reporting system, Rare Founders prioritises the founder's experience without compromise.

“We’re not just running events—we’re creating a new operating system for early-stage innovation,” said Vasily Alekseenko, Founder, Rare Founders.

Fraya Brinkman, Head of Events & Partnerships, commented: “Rare Founders isn’t just another startup community – it’s a bold, inclusive space where founders are celebrated for their originality, supported through real connections, and empowered to grow together.”

Even with sponsorships pulled due to market conditions, the Rare Founders community stepped in – donating £10K in just five days via GoFundMe to help cover essential event costs.

Because this wasn’t just another conference. It was a call to action.And the ecosystem responded.

What’s next?

Rare Founders is already preparing its next move. But this time, with a bold ask: government and public innovation bodies must start backing the grassroots infrastructure founders are building themselves.

Because if the UK wants to remain a global startup powerhouse, it needs more than funding. It needs trust, inclusion, transparency – and platforms like Rare Founders.

For more startup news, check out the other articles on the website, and subscribe to the magazine for free. Listen to The Cereal Entrepreneur podcast for more interviews with entrepreneurs and big-hitters in the startup ecosystem.