Client: Imperial Enterprise Lab
Event: Venture Catalyst Challenge
Date: 6th November 2025
No of guests: 350
Event space: IMAX: The Ronson Theatre and Flight
What was the event brief & objective?
The Venture Catalyst Challenge is Imperial’s flagship innovation and entrepreneurship competition. Spanning 3 months, the programme takes some of the best Imperial early-stage ventures through an intense programme of:
- Business coaching, 1-1 experts in residence meetings and pitch training.
- Masterclasses on topics including brand and marketing, sales, hiring, financial modelling and storytelling.
- Networking with industry and business leaders.
Out of over 220 applicants, 25 teams were selected to participate in the programme.
All 25 competed in the semi-final Heats. The 5 teams competing in the Final are the winners of each track and have already been awarded £10,000 of equity free funding as Track Winners.
The five winners of each Track pitch in front of a live audience for the chance to win the £20,000 Grand Final prize.
The objective of the Grand Final is to provide a 1.5 hour pitching competition where the judging panel will decide who is named the Grand Final winner out of the finalists. The audience of the Final will include investors, senior Imperial College members of staff, partners, VCC programme supporters, students and alumni.
Following the conclusion of the pitching there will be a networking session with stalls and booths from the VCC teams. All 25 teams from the Venture Catalyst Challenge will have an exhibition stall.
Why was the Science Museum chosen for this event?
The proximity of the Science Museum and the thematic overlap with Imperial’s highly technical startups allowed for a well-matched location for the event aims.
Additionally, IMAX: The Ronson Theatre provided the right number of seats for the event, and the Flight Gallery was able to cater for our audience in a seamless transition from event space to networking space.
What sort of experience did you want to create?
We were looking to create an engaging event, where the attendees enjoyed the experience of being at the Science Museum, while attending a professional pitch event utilising the IMAX stage, and to showcase the calibre of the Imperial College Venture Catalyst Challenge startups at the networking booths in Flight.
What made you decide on IMAX: The Ronson Theatre and Flight for your event?
The IMAX Theatre suited the Venture Catalyst Challenge pitch event well, as it had the right capacity for our attendees, and the flexibility of the stage meant that we were able to include the Judges’ booth on stage.
The Flight Gallery was a well-suited space for the networking portion of the event. The Venture Catalyst Challenge startups had their booths and exhibition stalls set up throughout the gallery and the catering teams were able to navigate the space well.
How did these spaces work for your event? What were the benefits of using these spaces for your event?
The Flight Gallery was a particularly impressive event space to host the post-Grand Final networking. The startups all had exhibition booths set up throughout the gallery, underneath the planes. The attendees enjoyed being able to network in this space, with the artefacts of scientific history surrounding them.
Who were your catering and AV partners? Was anything bespoke created for this event?
Blue Strawberry provided a brilliant service on the day. Their staff were highly commended by the attendees as being very attentive and that the food was delicious.
The AV team was Wise Productions, who were an extremely professional team and they ensured a high-quality production for the evening Venture Catalyst Challenge Grand Final Pitch. This included setting up screens throughout the Flight Gallery, and filming and lighting for the Grand Final Pitch event.
Client testimonial:
“The Venture Catalyst Challenge 2025, hosted at the Science Museum was a huge success. We needed a venue that could accommodate over 350 attendees, including investors, partners, Imperial staff, students and alumni, while creating an atmosphere that matched the innovation and ambition of our finalist ventures.
The vast scale of the IMAX Theatre and immersive quality provided the perfect backdrop for our pitch presentations, keynote speeches and awards ceremony. Our finalists presented their pitches on a stage that matched the scale of their ideas, engaging the audience in a way that would not be achievable in a traditional conference venue.
The Flight Gallery provided an inspiring setting for networking and exhibitions, allowing the Imperial community to connect surrounded by scientific and historical achievements in innovation, which was a particularly fitting metaphor for the start-ups’ entrepreneurial journeys that were being showcased.
For anyone looking to create an unforgettable showcase of innovation and enterprise, this venue sets the bar.”
– Georgie Philipson, Imperial College London
