Recap & Photo Gallery

"Once again, Climb didn't disappoint and the sun was shining too.

Two full days at Climb26 and what a fantastic experience. As always great to catch up with friends and familiar faces and to meet so many new and interesting people too (including a few investors 👀).

Big thanks to Gordon Bateman and the whole team for putting on another brilliant event."

"It was so nice to be part of an event that really champions growing businesses in the UK and I've met some fantastic people this week who I hope to stay connected with."

"All the hugs! Who else is EXHAUSTED!? Climb26 you were huge... again. So many wonderful people to connect with, catch up with and listen to that your feet barely touch the floor. [...] Our community in West Yorkshire for entrepreneurs is phenomoneal and Climb, as always, represents an incredible opportunity to see everyone across two days. It's exhausting in the best way!"

"A big pink stand at a business expo? You'd think you know who's stopping by.

Wrong! 🙅‍♀️

We are absolutely DELIGHTED by how many female founders and leaders came to see us. The calibre of people building in this space is unreal 💕

And just as many allies came to find us too! Diversifying tech only works if everyone's on board 🫶"

"If there was one takeaway from Climb26, it's this:

𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲. 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁. 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗳𝘆. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲. 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴.

And perhaps most importantly:
𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 – 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌.


Yesterday was the first time I had attended Climb. I found it useful, insightful, energising and now I have lots of ideas.....if you haven't been before I would check out next year's"

"My social battery definitely needs a recharge after two days at Climb26😅

But it was worth it.

One of the best things about events like this is the conversations. Loved meeting so many founders and hearing about the businesses they’re building.

It was also a brilliant way to round off day one, celebrating some incredible founders and their businesses through the National Innovation Competition. Congratulations to all the winners! 🏆👏"

"What a fantastic couple of days at Climb26.

If I was to sum it up in one word, it would be ENERGY! And to see that energy and appitite towards investment into the north is amazing.

I spend most of my time helping companies with R&D related funding so spending the last 2 days with people all backing the same instinct, investors, founders, funders, support networks was super inspiring. 

If Climb26 is anything to go by, the next 12 months for the north are going to be worth watching!"

"What an incredible 2 days in Leeds for Climb26.

It was my first time attending an event like this, and honestly, the experience was amazing. From the energy in the room to the quality of the sessions and the people I met, everything felt genuinely special.

As a startup founder, I found the sessions especially valuable, practical, relevant, and full of insights that I can take back and apply. More importantly, I had the chance to meet so many founders and entrepreneurs, and those conversations made the experience even more memorable."

"🥰 I’ve found it!!!

💚 An event that actually helps start ups and delivers, with so much knowledge, support, guidance and people actively trying to help you!

😪 I’m just so sad I only booked my ClimbUK ticket at the weekend, because it meant I could only attend one day, had to leave early for childcare and some sessions had sold out, which I’d have loved to attend!

BUT, in the time I was there, I met so many amazing people, with amazing businesses, incredible knowledge, supportive words, incredible sessions, with so much advice and people willing to answer questions you may be charged for normally!!

👏 What a wonderful event you’ve created Gordon Bateman, I absolutely loved it and I will make sure I book early for next year, so I can get on all the sessions and attend both days!

😁 I also feel I need 10 of me as there’s so many sessions I’d have attended, with some happening at the same time, that’s how useful it was."

"Still Smiling from the ClimbUK Festival in Leeds! 🚀

If I look a little exhausted in this video, it’s 100% the good kind. I’ve just wrapped up an incredible time at the Climb Festival at Leeds Dock, and the energy in the room was exactly why I love what I do.

At Lead Talent, I spend my days working alongside MDs, business owners, and senior leadership teams to help them navigate growth and transition. So, stepping into a festival packed with driven founders, investors, and innovators was brilliantly refreshing. It’s definitive proof that the business ecosystem here in the North of England is absolutely thriving.
"

"Three years of ClimbUK … and what a journey it’s been! 🧡

Watching our Co-Founder, Madeleine, reflect on her ClimbUK journey reminds us just how powerful community can be.

[...] We launched our Blossom Ambassador Programme at ClimbUK last year, and this year we watched our ambassadors confidently connect, contribute and represent everything Blossom stands for. Seeing them flourish reminded us just how far we’ve come together.

It’s amazing that Madeleine arrived alone, yet spent the day surrounded by people opening doors, sharing opportunities, cheering each other on and proving, once again, that community changes everything.

And we’re only just getting started. 🌸"

"What a couple of days at ClimbUK in Leeds. Two days of pitching, learning and meeting brilliant people — and somewhere in the middle of it, picknmixAI was named a winner of the Climb26 x Barclays National Innovation Award. It still hasn't quite sunk in.

[...] Wins on stage are great. But the friendships, the collaborations and the momentum you build alongside them? That's the real prize."

"ClimbUK - Climb26 rocked!!! Thank you so much. Fantastic festival promoting business growth, encouraging founders and investors and the whole ecosystem in the north of England.

[...] Of course this event was an incredible opportunity for those of us selected to go, to develop our businesses and we are grabbing that with both hands, but also how fabulous to be show-casing the talent, drive, purpose and business success in the north. We are prepared to put the graft in. It was never more evident that innovation is not curtailed at the Watford Gap. Thank you Gordon Bateman and your team. You should be so proud."

"☀️ Two fantastic days at ClimbUK in Leeds and always that little bit more special when it's back home. 💜 Well the Midlands was in the North! 

A huge thank you to Gordon Bateman and the ClimbUK team for bringing together such a diverse and impressive group of people from across the UK's innovation ecosystem.

[...] Across both days, it was great to be with colleagues in that shared commitment to helping founders succeed, strengthening universities' impact, and creating more connection.

Thank you to everyone who contributed, shared their experiences and made the event such a success."

"#Leeds. Good to be back!

22 years ago I ran the Itchy Group media business from Leeds (Leeds Innovation Centre, LS2). Yesterday I returned to attend ClimbUK. Invited by the energy field that is Gordon Bateman to speak on a panel about later stage funding and then I ran a more intimate bootcamp on VC Readiness and Red Flags for deeptech / lifescience / uni spinouts. 

The panel was nicely opinionated (the best kind), with great fellow panelists, [...]. We discussed the changes by round stage, growing pains for scaleups and the need to not go through the scaling and raising phase without great advisors in your corner (like VenturePath!). 

[...] Maybe its the sun or my nostalgic thoughts of a younger entrepreneurial me rushing around Leeds decades ago, fuelling my optimism, but there is no reason why we can't create more venture-backed scaleup successes from across the whole of the UK, and ClimbUK was a great indicator we have the right components to make this a reality."

"Raising money as a founder CEO sure is a lonely place sometimes.

That’s why it was brilliant to head to the ClimbUK investment festival in Leeds this week. Having been to the roadshow version, I was struck by how many founders and investors turned up in one room.

Fun, energetic, and a lot like the US investor energy I so badly crave sometimes."