Demo Night Bristol: A Spark for Founders, Investors and the City’s Startup Community

Tonight, Bristol felt electric. Demo Night arrived at SetSquared and the Engine Shed with the energy, optimism and generosity that define the Canopy Community. For founders building their MVPs, investors searching for validated ideas, and anyone hungry for a founder-friendly space, this was an evening built on zero barriers and maximum learning.

This was more than an event. It was a reminder that when founders come together—with honest questions, real customer insight, and the bravery to test their ideas early—everyone grows. And tonight, Bristol showed why it is one of the most vibrant startup ecosystems in the UK.

A Room Full of Courage and Curiosity

From the opening moments, the audience set the tone: warm, engaged, smiling, ready to contribute. Demo Night only works if people show love, not judgement. And the room did exactly that.
Hands went up. Questions flowed. Founders leaned in. You could feel a shared belief that building a company should never be a lonely path.

Canopy’s ethos—peer support, social mobility, and founder-first design—came alive instantly. Demo Night isn’t a pitch night. It’s real demos, real products, real learning.

The Fireside Conversation: Community as a Superpower

Our fireside chat with Josh from Radii Devices, alongside Caroline from SetSquared Bristol, showed exactly why Bristol’s ecosystem is so special. Josh shared how a series of “happy accidents” turned into a commercialised spin-out now working with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. His story reinforced the lessons every founder hears but rarely sees modelled so openly:

• Start early, even before you feel ready.

• Validation beats perfection.

• Coachability matters as much as vision.

• Your community will carry you further than capital alone.

Caroline added the perspective founders crave—how incubation, personalised support, and the right environment help transform research and ideas into real customers and real investment.

Three Founders, Three Demos, One Shared Bravery

Tonight’s demos reminded us why we do this work.

Dan — Fate at Eight

At just eighteen, Dan brought a thoughtful, human-centred redesign of dating. His matching algorithm, table-of-eight format, and focus on real connection show how powerful a simple MVP can become when built with insight and iteration.

Amy — Surveyr

Amy demonstrated a product every investor in the room quietly recognised as a category-defining opportunity. Surveyr cuts days of work into a single site visit, blending AI, computer vision, and structured workflows to help overworked surveyors scale without hiring. The live demo landed perfectly: clear, sharp, and validated by customer pain.

Congratulations go to Amy for being voted the People's Choice of the evening.  A very special moment.

Fifi — Butterfly Wellness

Fifi shared a mission that hits at the heart of wellbeing, confidence and long-term health. Her AI-powered assistant, Shama, offers personalised support for people living with chronic skin conditions—an underserved community with global scale. Her vision for psychodermatology is bold, compassionate and investable.

These founders didn’t pitch perfection. They demonstrated progress. And that is exactly what Demo Night celebrates.

Why Demo Night Matters for Bristol

Bristol is packed with talent—engineers, designers, creatives, scientists and product-minded leaders. What we came to test today was whether we could bring value to such a vibrant ecosystem, and to find out what the community in Bristol needed.  What we heard today was that a founder-friendly space where ideas can be tested, founders can be supported, and investors can discover companies earlier, with more clarity and confidence was exactly what they were looking for.

We also heard clearly was the power of human connection and how much everyone enjoyed being together.

Tonight proved the appetite is here for more demo nights. The community is ready. The energy is real.
And we’ll be back—bigger rooms, more founders, deeper support, more opportunities for investment and validation.

We are so very grateful for the invitation from SetSquared Bristol to contribute to the ecosystem & for the partnership, collaboration, good will and support that the team has provided.  With their help and support we plan to run an event per quarter in Bristol during 2026.  We do it together in the spirit that success means everyone wins.

For those exploring Canopy Membership, our mission remains simple: help founders move from idea to investment through community, coaching and zero-barrier access.

If you want to demo in January, join the community at www.canopy.community  and step into your moment.

If you'd like to apply to SetSquared Bristol please go to https://setsquared-bristol.co.uk/

Connect with Stewart - https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewartnoakes/ 

Connect with Becky - https://www.linkedin.com/in/beckysage/ 

Connect with Caroline - https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-thompson-9909648b/ 

Watch the full live stream https://www.youtube.com/live/0lA2EA-yuLw 

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