Put your technology solution in front of scaling founders ready to invest
The Festival of Entrepreneurs returns to the NEC, 3–4 November 2026.
5,000 founders, 200 speakers and 150 partners gathering to scale serious businesses.
If you provide IT services, SaaS, AI, automation, data, IT infrastructure or digital platforms, this is where ambitious founders come to find the tools that accelerate growth.
A founder audience actively investing in growth technology
83% are founders or senior leaders. 35% run £1m+ revenue businesses.
The Festival attracts revenue-backed operators scaling teams, systems and revenue.
Technology sessions ranked among the most attended across both days in 2025, with strong demand for:
• Applied AI
• Automation and workflow systems
• Sales and marketing technology
• Data-driven decision tools
They are building infrastructure, upgrading platforms and investing in productivity.
AI platforms, SaaS providers, automation specialists, digital agencies and IT infrastructure partners joined the Festival to connect with scaling founders.
The 2026 programme expands the Tech & AI stage, reflecting growing demand for practical, applied solutions.
2025 Tech speakers included…
Applied technology drives modern growth
Founders attend the Festival to solve operational bottlenecks and unlock performance gains.
Across the programme, technology themes include:
• AI implementation in real businesses
• Automation of marketing and sales
• CRM, workflow and systems integration
• Data strategy and reporting
• Digital brand and content platforms
The emphasis is practical. Founders want tools that can be deployed quickly and deliver measurable impact.
The environment creates space for meaningful conversations, demonstrations and long-term commercial relationships.
Exhibit within a high-density founder environment
• Stand options from 6sqm to 72sqm
• Positioned around high-traffic stages and networking hubs
• Premium shell scheme stands and turnkey options
• Access to pre- and post-event marketing exposure
The floorplan is designed to drive movement and maximise meaningful interaction.
Lead the technology conversation
• Deliver applied insight and experience
• Showcase real-world case studies
• Align with stage themes around growth and innovation
• Extend your brand through recorded content distribution
Technology providers who demonstrate use cases gain the strongest traction.
“The Festival of Entrepreneurs was a great event, there was real interest in applied AI with established Founders who are scaling their businesses and we made valuable connections. We have rebooked for the next one!”
— Dominic Kos, Founder of Cleverfox AI“Festival of Entrepreneurs was a fantastic event for Strategus Consulting. It was great to meet so many entrepreneurs and founders and hear their ambitions. Follow up has also been excellent, with over 85,000 people viewing our FOE related episodes of the Leaders in Strategy Podcast. We will be back in 2026 with a much bigger stand”
— Mike Harris, CEO of Strategus"We exhibited at last year's Festival of Entrepreneurs and picked up many leads for our fractional c-suite services, so this is a highly recommended event"
— John Courtney CEO, BoardroomAdvisors.co “Our presence at the Festival of Entrepreneurs was a real standout this year. The energy around our stand was fantastic, engaging, inviting, and full of meaningful conversations with entrepreneurs, innovators, and partners who were genuinely excited about what we had to offer. Overall, the event was a brilliant platform for us.”
— Linsey Luke, Head of Business and Stakeholder Engagement, FSB“I had a fantastic experience at the Festival of Entrepreneurs. It’s a rare event that brings together such an open, ambitious and generous group of founders, and the energy across the day really reflected that. I left feeling inspired, with several valuable new connections and conversations that I’m confident will turn into long-term relationships.”
— Mark Rushmore, Co-founder of SURI“The scale and energy in Festival of Entrepreneurs was fantastic, and we really appreciated the opportunity to be part of it.”
— Jay Lad, Business Growth West Midlands
A national platform hosted at the NEC Birmingham
The Festival draws founders from across the UK, with strong representation from London and the South East alongside a growing Midlands base.
The 2026 event doubles in scale — expanding the exhibition, the content programme and the curated networking zones.
The Festival is becoming an essential knowledge exchange and marketplace for scaling founders and the partners who support them.
40% of exhibition space already allocated
Early movers get the advantages of prime exhibition stand locations and alignment with speaker topics.