Building Connections Across York and North Yorkshire's Innovation Community
It was a real pleasure hosting a York and North Yorkshire event at Labman’s HQ near Stokesley as Bionow brought together organisations from across the region for an afternoon of 90-second pitches, networking and a behind-the-scenes tour of one of the region’s most innovative and exciting businesses. Designed to help organisations raise their profile, build connections and explore collaboration opportunities, the key benefit is the opportunity for attendees to introduce themselves, their products and services and make networking intentional rather than serendipitous. This in turn leads to a greater engagement amongst the delegates and added value with the pitching format enhancing the profile for those who take up the challenge.
Feedback from attendees highlighted the strengths of the format. Participants described the event as a supportive environment in which to practise pitching skills, meet new contacts and gain insights from a diverse range of organisations operating across the health, life sciences and wider innovation landscape. Several attendees commented on the quality of conversations sparked by the pitches, while others praised the opportunity to see Labman's creativity, engineering and automation expertise first-hand during the optional facility tour.
Hosting the event at Labman’s HQ also showcased an innovative company in the region, who in turn benefit from raising their own profile and making new connections within the regional life sciences business community as they were able to introduce the company and its products and services whilst offering tours of their cutting-edge facilities.
Delivered as part of the York and North Yorkshire Health and Life Sciences Cluster Mobilisation Project, the event series is helping to strengthen connections across the regional innovation community and raise the profile of the sector. The event was supported by the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, and funded by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, demonstrating a shared commitment to fostering collaboration, visibility and growth across the region.
The next York and North Yorkshire Business Pitching event will take place on 6th October 2026 at Labcorp, Harrogate. This event is open to organisations from across the York and North Yorkshire region and surrounding areas, offering a platform for attendees to raise their organisation's profile, make valuable new connections and hear from relevant companies in the sector. The afternoon will once again include dedicated networking opportunities and the chance to gain behind-the-scenes insight as Labcorp showcase their Harrogate facilities.