Each one of our members presents a unique combination - a different country of origin, a different sector, a completely different reason for being here.
But underneath all the individual stories, there are clear patterns. Some founders were watching someone they loved suffer and decided they couldn't accept it quietly. Some saw a problem hiding in plain sight that everyone else had walked past. Some looked at a broken system and knew exactly how to fix it. And almost all of them chose the UK — deliberately, specifically, at real personal cost.
We've written it up in full, and if you're on your own founder journey, there's a reasonable chance you'll find yourself somewhere in it. It's worth embedding the reason into your founder story - it's essentially WHY you're doing what you do.
Harriet Fuller
London Tech Week was a blast!
The team was at Olympia this week for London Tech Week, right next to the Ignition Stage. The theme this year was Shaping the Future of Business Through Technology, and the conversations in the room reflected exactly that. Our focus was specific: connecting with overseas founders, organisations and universities supporting or representing founders who want to expand their ventures into the UK.
However, it was also fantastic to meet a people interested in applying for the Visa route, along with many of our existing members – some of whom were presented on stage next to us!
Which brings us neatly to something. If your visa is coming up for renewal, we've got another free 30-minute webinars just for you. We'll walk through the re-endorsement process — what's required, what to expect, and how to prepare. Places are limited, so register early.
Innovator International
These sessions are open to current visa holders only. If you know a fellow founder who'd benefit, please do pass this along.
So are events actually worth it?
Being at London Tech Week brought this question back into focus for us. The ticket costs money. The travel costs more. And there's always the nagging doubt: will it actually lead to anything?
The honest answer is that it depends — not on the event, but on how you approach it, what you're trying to get from it, and what you do before and after. We've written a full piece on this: how to choose the right events, what to do when you're there, and why the follow-up is where most people lose their return on investment. Worth a read before your next one.
Innovator International
Also coming up - What is Innovation? Part 2
Our next open webinar is on Tuesday 17 June starting at 10am and it picks up directly where April's session left off. If you joined us for Part 1, you'll know how useful that hour was. If you missed it, this is the one to catch. We'll be going deeper on how to position your business idea against the three criteria, what endorsing bodies are actually looking for when they assess innovation, and the questions founders most commonly get wrong. Free, open to all registered members, and well worth an hour of your time.
Who knows, we may even see the return of Richard's automatic crisp machine!
Innovator International
Recap Part 1 here:
Innovator International
From the Pulse archive and worth your time if you missed it
Three weeks ago we published a piece on why healthcare is becoming one of the most important innovation economies in the world right now — not just for founders in the health sector, but for anyone thinking about where the next real opportunities are emerging.
It connects directly to some of the stories we've featured recently, including Pragya's, and it's the kind of article that tends to land differently depending on where you are in your founder journey. If it passed you by at the time, it's worth going back to.
Innovator International
