Pitch your ideas. Discover the next big investment.

The Pitch & Invest Programme is where innovation meets opportunity.

Designed to connect start-ups, scale-ups and investors, it brings together the brightest entrepreneurial minds with the capital and expertise needed to scale market-ready solutions across the sustainability and net zero landscape.

Reset Connect North 2026 Pitch & Invest Programme 📍 Barton Suite

Across two days, innovators pitched their solutions live to a panel of investors, corporate ventures and funding partners, spanning the full spectrum of capital. 

The sessions spanned a diverse range of sectors, including Tech & AI, Engineering & Manufacturing, Energy, Urban Regeneration, Corporate Sustainability, Retail, Fashion & FMCG, Food & AgriTech and Female Founders.

To pitch, you must exhibit or attend as a VIP.

Pitch & Invest Programme Reset Connect North

About the 2026 programme

  1. Entry - VIP Delegate Pass holders and exhibitors enter the programme

  2. Judging - after the entry deadline, pitch decks were passed to our judges for shortlisting

  3. Shortlist - 24 start-ups were shortlisted, invited to pitch at Reset Connect North and announced on our social media channels

  4. Pitching - three start-ups per sector pitched at Reset Connect North on 3-4 March 

  5. Sector winners - after pitching in these sessions, one was declared the winner of each sector and moved on to the Finale

  6. Reset Connect North Finale - eight start-ups pitched in the finale with the overall winner presenting on the main stage at the end of Reset Connect North

  7. Audience Vote - all entrants to Pitch & Invest can enter into an audience competition to win £10,000. Voting will take place via the Reset Connect 365 platform.  

  8. Reset Connect London Grand Finale - the overall winner will be fast-tracked through to the Grand Finale at Reset Connect London on 23-24 June for the chance to become the UK delegate at the Startup World Cup

  9. Startup World Cup - the UK delegate will pitch in San Fransisco at the Startup World Cup in October, with the chance to win the $1 million prize

Pitching on the day

Our sector pitching sessions are fast-paced, focused and designed to give every shortlisted start-up the opportunity to shine in front of expert judges. Here's what you can expect:

  • Each sector pitching session will last 55 minutes in total
  • Each shortlisted start-up is allocated four minutes to pitch, plus time for Q&A with the judges
  • Each sector heat will have two or three judges presiding
  • After all presentations have been made, the judges will decide on a winner of the sector 

What to include in your pitch deck

There’s no hard and fast rule to what investors are looking for. These are some things you may want to include in your deck, ideally one each slide:

  • Intro

  • Problem

  • Solution

  • Opportunity size

  • Product

  • Traction

  • Team

  • Competition

  • Financials

  • Use of funds

The questions you need to answer

When pitching to investors, especially at the seed stage, the reason why you started your company is just as important as your solution. Explaining this will help investors understand not only what your company is doing but why it is important and the problems it will solve. 

To effectively present your pitch, you should clearly address these three questions:

  1. What is the problem you encountered?
  2. Why does this problem need to be solved?
  3. What is your solution?

Don't forget, you need to be able to present this information in four minutes.

Startup World Cup Pegasus  Logo

Win big at the Startup World Cup!

We partnered with the Startup World Cup at the 2026 event, giving you a chance to win a $1 million grand prize.

The champion start-up of the Pitch & Invest Programme at Reset Connect North will be fast-tracked to the Grande Finale on the Main Stage at Reset Connect London 2026. The overall winner of the competition will then be put forward as the UK delegate for the Startup World Cup Finale in San Francisco, California

The Startup World Cup is a prestigious international pitch competition that draws innovators, tech enthusiasts and venture capitalists from around the globe.

With its extensive network of regional competitions, this event provides a platform for start-ups to shine and potentially secure substantial funding.

Win £10k towards your impact driven innovation

As part of our 2026 Pitch & Invest Programme, we are partnering with INSPIRED, an innovation first social network built specifically for founders, investors and collaborators driving impact. This partnership launches the Reset Connect 365 Community, a dedicated digital space where the Reset Connect ecosystem stays visible, connected and active beyond the event.

VIP Pass holders, exhibitors and speakers were invited to submit their pitches in visual formats (video or image) inside the Reset Connect 365 Community on the INSPIRED app, competing for a £10,000 prize to help accelerate their innovation.

Community voting is live from 2 March until midnight on 23 June. The winner will be announced live at Reset Connect London on 24 June.

Stay tuned to find out how to get involved during Reset Connect London.

 

 

Startup World Cup Pegasus  Logo

2026 Pitch & Invest Programme timetable

Day 1

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11:00
  1. Barton Suite (First Floor)
    55 mins
    Technology is rapidly becoming indispensable for shaping the future across nearly every industry and niche. With such high demand and potential for growth, now is the perfect time to highlight a group …
12:00
  1. Barton Suite (First Floor)
    55 mins
    Engineering and manufacturing incorporate a vast range of industries, all playing a crucial role in global economies while also contributing significantly to carbon emissions. As the push for sustaina …
13:00
  1. Barton Suite (First Floor)
    55 mins
    This session will put the spotlight on groundbreaking start-ups and scale-ups accelerating and scaling clean energy solutions in emerging markets across the globe. If you'd like a glimpse into the fut …
14:45
  1. Barton Suite (First Floor)
    55 mins
    A major hurdle to achieving large-scale decarbonisation can be found at the intersection of people, mobility, and the built environment of the world’s major cities. Combined, the transportation and bu …
15:45
  1. Barton Suite (First Floor)
    55 mins
    As businesses face increasing pressure to align with sustainability targets and frameworks, innovative solutions are key to driving impactful change from the boardroom throughout. This session highlig …
17:00
  1. White Cloth Hall
    120 mins
    Join us for an informal end-of-day sustainability meetup for the Reset Connect North community with just People, Planet, Pint™. at the White Cloth Hall (27 Crown Street, Leeds, LS2 7DA)

Day 2

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11:00
  1. Barton Suite (First Floor)
    55 mins
    Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most powerful catalysts for change across industries, redefining how we analyse data, automate processes, and drive decision-making. With its vas …
12:00
  1. Barton Suite (First Floor)
    55 mins
    The Food and AgriTech sector, responsible for around a quarter of global GHG emissions, is rapidly evolving with groundbreaking solutions to enhance sustainability across the supply chain from field t …
13:00
  1. Barton Suite (First Floor)
    55 mins
    Despite growing awareness of the disproportionate access to, and share of venture capital, investment in female founders has remained stagnant. This session highlights pioneering female-led startups i …
14:15
  1. Barton Suite (First Floor)
    90 mins
    After winning their sector heats, eight standout startups will pitch in the Grand Final. The session will showcase a high-energy, Dragon’s Den-style showdown, culminating with the overall winners taki …