Venture Crawl 2026: Exploring what innovation really looks like

Hi everyone! I’m Ari, a MSc Neuroscience student at King’s, and I thought I’d share my experience participating in King’s Entrepreneurship Institute’s Venture Crawl in March 2026.

I first heard about this opportunity by subscribing to the King’s Entrepreneurship Institute’s newsletter. Coming from a scientific background, I did wonder about my place in the business world, but my personal interest was ignited by a conversation with one of my lecturers who told me how anyone with an idea can start their own entrepreneurship journey.

When I signed up for the Venture Crawl, I didn’t know what to expect but I was excited to get an insight into different industries in London.

Stepping into the entrepreneurial world

The Venture Crawl is about setting an entrepreneurial mindset, forming meaningful connections and encouraging us as students to pursue what we are passionate about.

In this year’s Venture Crawl, the itinerary involved visiting Google and Red Bull's headquarters in London. Before getting started, we got to know each other as a group and I discovered how everyone came from different backgrounds, years of study and even different ideas for what they want to do in the future. The diverse experiences and ambitions of students within the team was a lovely surprise for me.

We started at Google where Darren Ryden (Manager, Partner Solutions Engineering, EMEA) spoke about how to find your way in an industry when you are not entirely sure where to look.

We also heard from Benjamin Zirah (GTM Lead) who told us about the initial failures in his entrepreneurial journey and how he found his way to leverage those and get ahead of start-ups innovation in Google. There was then time for us to put questions to Darren and Benjamin in a very flexible and conversational way. It felt like we were all on the same page regardless of our backgrounds.

After that, we stopped to have lunch at Seven Dials Market - the living representation of small and large businesses (and a wide range of food!). This also gave us opportunity to keep getting to know each other as a group.

Following this, we stopped at Red Bull where we heard from Ashlee Phillips, Victoria Nava, and Holly Cook. They encouraged us to pitch our ideas to the Red Bull Basement Contest, which is based on AI this year. Having an idea is the first step to bringing it to life.

Something that really resonated with me was the idea that your background doesn’t have to define your career path. Holly’s journey from being a nutritionist to a Product Communications Specialist shows that your mindset, personal qualities and transferable skills can lead you into fields you may not have originally expected.

Three takeaways on innovation

In one day, we explored three very different corners of the entrepreneurial world — Google, Red Bull, and Seven Dials Market. From global tech innovation to lifestyle branding and independent food entrepreneurs, the Venture Crawl reminded me that innovation can take many different forms.

Here are three things I learned from the experience…

Innovation happens at the intersection

At Google, innovation comes from stepping outside your main field. By encouraging curiosity and experimentation, people combine ideas from different areas to solve problems in more creative ways.

You can reinvent a brand without changing the product

Red Bull shows that growth doesn’t always come from changing what you sell. By building a strong identity through events and culture, it transformed a simple product into a global lifestyle brand.

People connect with stories, not just products

It was evident in both Red Bull and Seven Dials Market that success is not only about the quality. These organisations also connect with their consumers through storytelling and experience building.

Why this experience matters

The unique nature of this opportunity is clear to see. Regardless of your background and what you want to develop in the future, these experiences can add great value by giving you access to innovation spaces and meeting industry experts.

You can hear about more events like this by subscribing to the Entrepreneurship Institute’s newsletter, like I did.