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.
Applications are now closed. Thank you.
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