London LEX & Grand Pitch Night 2025

When HEC Paris entrepreneurs meet the bustling streets of the British capital, there is something happening… Every year, the HEC Paris Startup Launchpad cohort embarks on a four-day immersion in London's dynamic startup ecosystem, serving as a perfect laboratory for these emerging business minds. What happens during this pivotal week, as it takes place just days before the Demo Day? We break it all down for you in this article.

What is the Learning Expedition in London

Each year, young entrepreneurs from the HEC Paris Startup Launchpad program immerse themselves in London’s dynamic startup ecosystem on a 4-day trip. Over the expedition, students are not passive observers. They engage in panel discussions, hone their entrepreneurial skills through workshops, pitch to hardened VCs and entrepreneurs, network with key actors and entrepreneurs who've scaled global businesses, and dissect the DNA of startups that have transformed from scrappy ideas to multimillion-dollar ventures. 

Beyond training and learning, students are planting seeds for future collaborations that could take their project to a new level. The London LEX (Learning Expedition) is a strategic bridge-building exercise, connecting the methodical French approach to innovation with London's more “free-wheeling” entrepreneurial culture. This initiative offers a microcosm of what great entrepreneurial education is: immersive, international, and intensely practical.

What’s on the agenda?

On Monday 24th of March, no fewer than 137 students along the Startup Launchpad staff were on their way to the United Kingdom for the annual learning expedition in London.

To kick off the trip, the cohort had a special moment at the Institut français du Royaume-Uni (French Institute of the United Kingdom) to engage with Adrien Nussenbaum, patron of the Launchpad 2025 cohort, and co-founder CEO of the French unicorn Mirakl. Sharing his entrepreneurial journey, from SplitGames to Mirakl, Adrien busted a few myths about entrepreneurship, and gave valuable insights on successfully launching a startup.

He also talked about the HEC Imagine Fellows program he launched to support exceptional students from war-torn countries, providing scholarships that cover their tuition fees and living expenses while studying at HEC Paris. He also highlighted the new initiative jointly launched with the Launchpad this year – HEC Imagine Launchpad – aimed at extending this support to refugee entrepreneurs.
 

"We are in London, we are in the country of Winston Churchill and he said ‘never give in, never give up’ and I think, as an entrepreneur, you should never give in, never give up." 

- Adrien Nussenbaum, co-founder of Mirakl
 

Next up, students Dannerys Peralta & Fynn Fröhlich animated a conversation with Venture Capitalists Juliette Souliman (Portage Ventures) & Jannat Rajan (Forestay) on understanding the VC landscape, market trends, fundraising, founder insights, and the current state of the ecosystem. 

"London was so so SO inspiring [...] and pitching to real-life VCs is such good experience" 

- Startup Launchpad program participant

The two next days accelerated the intensity. A mysterious "surprise slot" was dedicated to discussing the unpredictability that defines startup culture. 

The week before the trip, 31 teams went through the Petit Jury, a selection round that identified five finalists for the Grand Pitch Night. But we wanted to offer a second chance to the 5 runners-up: on Tuesday 25 morning at the HEC UK House, the staff organized a new round of selection, giving them one more shot at joining the final lineup. These teams were invited to pitch again in front of a dedicated jury composed of Rabia Shirazi, Stephanie Teillard d’Eyry, and Pier Paolo Mucelli. In the end, GuestEase was selected to join the finalists: Bed.ai, Gradable, Siva, Solea, and Vega.
 

Then, student entrepreneurs attended workshops to dig into the psychology of entrepreneurs and the art of storytelling, to transform raw business ideas into compelling narratives. 

In the afternoon, meetups with startup founders offered unfiltered insights into creating and scaling a business. Participants engaged directly with entrepreneurs, learning firsthand about the challenges and strategies of scaling ventures from those who've walked the path:

• Illuminem with Andrea Gori and Luca Vergaru
• OMS&Co with Erwann Goullin
• Refact with Sébastien François
• ASAO DS with Daniil Shvets and Ksenia Sukhova
• Rensair with Christian Hendriksen
• Parcelly with Sebastian Steinhauser
• L-Acoustics with Guillaume Le Nost
• Amaia Kid with Amaia Arrieta
• Endelea with Giulia Rosato
• Kaleido with Laura Mimoun
• Resleep with Cyrus Tchahardehi
• Spicy Lemon with Anna Logacheva
• Sorted with Arthur Goujon

On Wednesday, participants had the chance to meet and get inspired by one of the most renowned HEC Alumni and serial tech entrepreneurs, Nathalie Gaveau, founder of Shopcade and co-founder of Priceminister. 

At the end of the day, they all converged at the Curzon Soho Theatre, a pivotal moment of the program, to attend the final pitch contest: The London Grand Pitch Night, where a handful of selected startups have the chance to showcase their projects in front of an expert audience and jury.

Relive the Grand Pitch Night competition

On Wednesday 26th, March at 7 pm (UK Time), the London Grand Pitch Night competition kicked off at the Corzon Soho Theater. This event is an excellent opportunity for investors, fellow entrepreneurs, and innovation enthusiasts to see the standout projects emerging from the Startup Launchpad.

London Grand Pitch Night 2025 finalists 

• Bed.ai predicts patient flows to help hospitals anticipate demand, optimize bed management, and improve efficiency.
  Team project: Émilien Stoll, Inès Rochdi, and Jules Michaud
   
• Gradable is an automated, unbiased copy grading with feedback for higher education professors.
  Team project: Annika Bautista, Shuvayu Das Gupta, and Matthieu Delsart
   
• GuestEase is your 24/7 instant, accurate & hassle-free automated receptionist.
  Team project: Catalina Negoita, Nicola Massari, Nicolas Schroeder, and Tarek Massoud
   
• Siva is an AI assistant automating caregivers’ admin tasks, ensuring focus on care and seamless documentation. 
  Team project: Ugo Benazra, Samuel Mesguiche, Ruben Weinstein, Nayla Carmen Abou Charaf, and Salomé Krief
   
• Solea offers smart energy storage solutions to industrial, with no upfront costs, no risk & 24/7 optimization.
  Team project: Youssef El Arjoun, Hugues Moreau, and Celine Cailliau 
   
• Vega optimises takeoff slot exchanges for airlines.
  Team project: Valentin Pruvost, Hugo Barras, and Aurélien Kremer

These six finalists pitched their project to a jury panel composed of the program’s patron Adrien Nussenbaum, Nathalie Gaveau, AI Tech Entrepreneur & Board Member, Nicole Anderson, CEO & founder of Redsand, and Harsha Shah, Managing Director at Bank of America.
 

London Grand Pitch Night 2025 Awardees

For the first time ever, the jury couldn’t settle on just one winner… so they picked two!
 

🏆 Jury Prize:

• Solea – Youssef El Arjoun, Hugues Moreau & Celine Cailliau
• Vega – Valentin Pruvost, Hugo Barras & Aurélien Kremer

🏆 Audience Prize:

• GuestEase – Catalina Negoita, Nicola Massari, Nicolas Schroeder & Tarek Massoud
   

Congratulations to the laureates on this achievement, and kudos to all the team projects for achieving this new step.

​This year marks the 10th anniversary of the HEC Paris Launchpad program, a decade of empowering bold, impact-driven entrepreneurship. To celebrate, we’re bringing five outstanding startups from the program to VivaTech, each a winner of this 2025 Grand Pitch Night in London or Demo Day at Station F. 

For those who missed the in-person event and the live stream, the full replay is available on YouTube. Check it out!