Microsoft Accelerator: The Pitch

The Pitch: demo day with a difference 

Microsoft Accelerator is a global initiative to help entrepreneurs build great companies. Forgather was brought in to run the startup demo day of the first official cohort of the London Microsoft Accelerator, their mentor-driven three month programme. We have since been retained to run the event a further three times, building on the success and scale of ‘The Pitch’ and developing the event brand to fit the founders it serves.

Proud moments:

  • Creating the overall event concept and format and re-branding the event The Pitch.

  • Leading the marketing and audience generation resulting in sell out events.

  • Finding stellar venues to inspire and delight - from stunning views at Millbank Tower's Skyloft, to the home of Europe's largest disco ball at Camden's KOKO, to the opulent Café de Paris. We were also the first commercial booking at WPP's building Sea Containers House, ensuring that we could effectively showcase startup/corporate collaboration on a grand scale.

  • Throwing a great party - with a live band to 'play on' the startups and lead the revels post presentation, a cyr wheel artist, massage therapists, a yellfie booth and branded cupcakes.

  • Developing the content for each event to showcase the expertise of the founders. Our event at Sea Containers House featured stars from the business world - Metro Bank and BMW to bring their stories to life.

Praise:

"I have worked with Belinda and her company, Forgather, for the past year and a half in my capacity as Startups Lead for Microsoft in the UK. She and the team have worked tirelessly to pull off The Pitch, our Microsoft Ventures London 'demo day' event three times - and each time, the event got better and better. Their real strength lies in end-to-end event management from event design and marketing to venue sourcing, logistics, connections with investors and on-site event management. Forgather are a joy to work with and we have always been in safe hands with them".

Diane Perlman - Global CMO at MassChallenge / former CMO Microsoft Ventures