Reading: Crowdcube founder opens digital festival
ConnectTVT will bring back its fifth annual Festival of Disruption (FoDD) this month to celebrate the Thames Valley region’s digital creativity, innovation and personalities.
Running from ConnectTVT’s new talent and event hub in Reading, The Curious Lounge, the Festival takes place on November 18-22. The five-day programme of tech-first events has been designed to celebrate the transformative and positive impact that technology has on our lives and communities. FoDD was launched by Louize Clarke in 2014 in a move to support and shine a light on the region’s digital and tech community.
A festival for innovators
This year’s programme comprises innovators and campaigners from across the national business and technology ecosystem. Opening the festival is Luke Lang, co-founder and CMO of Crowdcube, the crowdsourcing platform that recently marked its 1000th raise. Companies that have been supported by Crowdcube include Mr & Mrs Smith, Monzo, BrewDog and Revolut. Berkshire-based Snaffling Pig recently celebrated a record-breaking 160% overfunded raise on Crowdcube, securing a total of £1,286,220 investment.
Lang commented: “I’m delighted to be opening the Festival of Digital Disruption. Crowdcube cares deeply about fuelling businesses across the country and 62% of our raises to date come from the South East and Greater London. We know that savvy entrepreneurs turn supporters into shareholders by building unparalleled engagement, loyalty and advocacy. It’s this power of community I’m so excited to be sharing as part of the Festival.”
Inspiring the tech leaders of tomorrow
FoDD is part of ConnectTVT’s broader mission to foster a thriving tech talent pipeline in the Thames Valley. Its 2020 line-up includes:
- A co-lab with StoryFutures looking at virtual and augmented reality in the future of storytelling
- A next generation tech for good conference aimed at local sixth forms, colleges and Universities
- Start-up Stories – an event curated by Henley Business School students who will be interviewing start-ups and entrepreneurs
Emma Jones MBE, founder of Enterprise Nation will close the week’s events at the official launch of The Curious Lounge.
Louize Clarke said: “It’s a heartfelt privilege to welcome genuine business leaders like Luke and Emma to Reading, as part of our fifth Festival of Digital Disruption. Both Luke and Emma have had an incredible impact on the tech and small business landscape, creating a real legacy, and showing what’s possible. We’re beyond grateful for their support in making FoDD 2020 the best yet.”
For a full events listing, go to: https://www.fodd.co.uk/
