Investor : Founder

Speed Dating

@

SXSW London

This event has now passed

Investor: Founder Speed Dating

@ SXSW

Investor: Founder Speed Dating @ SXSW

SXSW Investor: Founder Speed Dating

2026 marks the second year of the globally recognised SXSW London Festival, which brings together thought leaders across tech, music, film, and more.

We are thrilled to be hosting our Investor: Founder Speed Dating series at SXSW London this year, giving founders the chance to take part in curated 1:1 meetings with VCs and angels.

We know one of the hardest parts of fundraising for early-stage startups is securing that first face-to-face meeting with the right investors for their stage and sector, and that is where we come in.

Please submit your application by the 4th of May, and we hope to see you at SXSW!

SXSW LONDON

PRE-SEED OR SEED STAGE Founder?

Meet 10 active, early-stage investors for 10, back-to-back, 8 minute meetings.

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED

Investor?

Meet a hand selected, curated group of 10 actively fundraising pre-seed and seed stage founders.

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED

the process

  • APPLY BY: 9TH OF MAY

    Complete the application. Please don’t wait to the last minute to submit the form in case you have any questions.

  • INTERVIEWS

    If we need more information about your startup, we might ask you to get on a quick call with us so we can see your pitch, and ask a few questions. It’s relaxed and you don’t need to prepare for it.

  • APPLICANTS NOTIFIED: 15th of May

    We’ll let you know if your application was successful.

MEET 10 INVESTORS on 4/6

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED

APPLICATION DUE: 9/5

APPLICATION DUE: 9/5

FAQs

  • We are sector agnostic. If you are exceptional, we want you!

    Please note: For this event, we are unable to accept gambling or defence startups.

  • Good question! We wrote about it here.

  • Not this time. We often host Speed Dating events virtually, but this one is at SXSW London.

  • No. We've accepted pre-revenue startups before. We ideally want to see some form of traction, but that looks different for different types of companies.

  • A curated group of active early-stage investors.

    For this event, we will have a groups of angel investors and a group of VCs. You will be assigned one of the two groups based on the information provided in your application form.

  • Nope. If you don’t already have a SXSW pass, we’ll make sure you are able to attend the event.

Is this right for you?

  • Founders need to be raising a pre-seed or seed round (or a bridge round) to be considered for this event.

  • Most angels attending will be expecting founders to have SEIS/EIS advanced assurance.

    If you have already used up your SEIS/EIS, you are still welcome to apply.

  • Traction means different things for different startups, so there is no strict rule on what we expect to see from applicants. It may be revenue, users, waitlist sign ups, etc. Whatever it is for your business, please outline it on your application.

  • Our investors want to see that you have ambition, and are laser focused on building and scaling a solution your customers love.

Questions?

Reach out to the Hotbed Team here.