Innovation Supper – Apply to pitch

As part of this year’s York Business Festival, York Business School and the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub are delighted to bring you the third Innovation Supper.

Perfect for projects of all shapes and sizes; from nothing more than a good idea right up to a fully formed Community Business. We are looking for people to pitch their idea, and benefit from valuable business advice.

What to Expect:

  • Enjoy networking and a light supper.
  • Six local entrepreneurs pitch for a chance to win £400–£600
  • Each pitch gets 10 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of audience Q&A
  • All pitchers receive expert pitch training from York St John University
  • Pitchers benefit from audience feedback to help refine their idea
  • The audience will then vote for the idea that they think is best – it’s really that simple!

If you are interested in your chance to get some great business advice and take away some funding to grow, then please fill in the application and return to us by 5pm Tuesday 18 November 2025.

Read how Innovation Supper supports Local Start-ups and discover how a Local start-up planner business benefited from £500 seed funding thanks to Innovation Supper and how Innovation Supper provides funding boost for First Leaf Farm.

Selection Criteria

  • Business less than 3 years old
  • Located within the York and North Yorkshire region
  • Less than 5 employees.

Apply to pitch now

Innovation Supper – Apply to pitch

As part of this year's York Business Festival, York Business School and the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub are delighted to bring you the third Innovation Supper. The idea is simple, we host a relaxed evening with a light supper, and charge a small entry fee. In return, local entrepreneurs pitch their ideas, and the audience votes for their favourite. The winning idea takes home the proceeds to help bring their vision to life.

Export magic as York business nears 1 million sales milestone

A York-based business owner is set to export 1 million drinks to the US this year and wants more of the region’s businesses to follow in his footsteps. Phil Pinder from the Potions Cauldron will be one of the experts taking part in the export roadshows this month, organised by York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.  The team will visit venues across two weeks including Tadcaster, Harrogate, Scarborough, York, Catterick and Skipton.

Innovation Supper provides funding boost for First Leaf Farm

The event followed its now well-established format: attendees enjoyed supper while hearing from local entrepreneurs, each given ten minutes to pitch their business idea followed by questions from the audience. At the end of the evening, participants voted to decide which business would receive the proceeds from ticket sales, providing both a financial boost and valuable exposure to an engaged local network.

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