Raising your first serious round of investment is one of the most defining and unpredictable moments in the life of a startup. It rarely goes to plan. The pitch you thought would land falls flat. The investor who seemed like a sure thing suddenly disappears. But every founder who has raised that first £500k has one thing in common: they kept going.
At Ideas Fest 2025, a powerhouse panel brings together founders who’ve lived through the chaos of early fundraising and made it out the other side. Forget the playbooks. These are the raw, behind-the-scenes moments that actually got them funded; messy beginnings, tough calls, and the rare wins that made it all move.

Founders Varun Bhanot (MAGIC AI), Bilyana Freye (Orbiit), Deepak Ravindran (Oddbox), and Siddhi Mittal (Yhangry), hosted by investor and Alma Angels founding partner Roxane Sanguinetti, will take to the stage to share their most honest, unpolished lessons.