“
Once the opening 60-second pitch had been delivered there was a tangible shift in the energy within the room... the creative impulse suddenly became airborne and contagious.
”
The Venture Creation Weekends (VCWs), managed and delivered by the School's Entrepreneurship Centre, provide entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs with an exciting opportunity to develop, test and pitch business ideas in two-and-a-half days.
There are a number of Venture Creation Weekends across the year. Each Venture Creation Weekend focuses on a specific industry sector and entrepreneurs from the relevant sector or discipline are encouraged to participate. The sectors range from the Internet of Things (IoT), wearable technology, emerging educational technology (EdTech) to financial technology (FinTech) and biological technology (BioTech). We work with key external partners to deliver a relevant and credible programme with industry experts.
The Venture Creation Weekends offer an inspiring and intense experience where you can focus on your business idea, test the validity of that idea, and build a team. It is an opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs, mentors, investors and business angels.
The Venture Creation Weekends may also be considered a route to our Accelerate Cambridge incubator programme for participating teams who meet the selection criteria.
In general, we do not focus on not-for-profit enterprises and would direct those with social ventures to the School's Social Venture Weekends.
Terms and conditions apply. Please email venture@jbs.cam.ac.uk to find out more.
| 15-17 March 2019 | Innovation in Food Security Venture Creation Weekend |
|---|---|
| 31 May-2 June 2019 | Biotech and Healthcare Venture Creation Weekend (in partnership with AstraZeneca) |
The Venture Creation Weekends (VCWs) start on a Friday evening and end on a Sunday evening. Please see the table below for the general schedule.
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Friday evening | Public pitches Participants bring their best ideas and encourage others to join their team. There is a vote for the best ideas, teams are formed around those best ideas and they begin working on them. |
| Saturday and Sunday | Participants work on:
|
| Sunday evening | Pitches to panel of judges The teams pitch their ideas to a panel of industry leaders and investors who provide expert feedback. Celebration dinner All the entrepreneurs come together at a closing dinner to celebrate the achievements of the weekend. |
The fee for the weekend is £60 for standard tickets and £40 for student tickets.
This fee includes all sessions, dinner and refreshments that are provided as part of the VCW. Overnight accommodation is not included.
An early bird discount of 15% is available for advance bookings.
Concessions are available for CJBS students and alumni, student societies and partners. Please email us at venture@jbs.cam.ac.uk for more information.
We provide dinner on Friday evening, refreshments and sandwich lunches on Saturday and Sunday, pizza on Saturday evening and a celebration dinner on Sunday evening.
Terms and conditions apply. Please email venture@jbs.cam.ac.uk to find out more.
Those travelling from outside Cambridge will need to arrange their own travel. Find out more about travel directions to the School, including parking advice
Parking around Cambridge city centre can be difficult and expensive. Park & Ride services run from five locations around the city. Visit the Park & Ride website.
Those travelling from outside Cambridge will need to arrange their own accommodation.
Cambridge is well served by train from London and other nearby large cities. Towns and villages on these train routes could be a good option.
Find out more about local accommodation options at:
Please let us know if you have any accessibility needs. Cambridge Judge Business School has a number of features to improve access for people with disabilities, including visual and hearing impairments.
Email: venture@jbs.cam.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1223 760959
For staff & students
