Startup Showcase + Summer Networking

An honest startup showcase with three founders at different points in their journey. You will hear why they launched, the highs and lows so far, what they wish they had known on day one.

Before we break for summer, join us for an evening of honest conversations, valuable connections, and practical insights from founders who are building businesses in very different industries.
This isn’t another polished success-story panel.

You’ll hear directly from startup founders about what really happened behind the scenes: why they launched, the mistakes they made, the challenges they didn’t see coming, and the lessons they’d wish they’d known from day one.

We’ll be putting our founders in the hot seat for a candid Ask Me Anything session, where nothing is off-limits. Expect honest answers on growth, fundraising, finding customers, hiring, AI, product-market fit, setbacks, resilience, and the realities of building a business from scratch.

Sign up for this event here! Please note that clicking attend on Meetup will not give you the correct QR code to enter this event. Please sign up for your Universe ticket using the link.

Why Attend?

Learn from founders actively building and scaling businesses
Discover practical growth tactics you can apply immediately
Understand common startup pitfalls and how to avoid them
Build valuable connections with fellow founders, entrepreneurs, and investors
Enjoy drinks on us while expanding your network

Leave with actionable insights to help move your business forward
Whether you’re validating an idea, growing your first venture, or looking for fresh perspectives on your next stage of growth, this event is designed to give you practical takeaways and meaningful conversations.

Meet our Founders

Joanna Dąbrowska is the founder of VerAIson.io, an AI consultancy focused on helping wine and drinks businesses adopt artificial intelligence in practical, commercially meaningful ways. With a background spanning wine, data analytics, strategy, and technology, she works with producers, importers, distributors, trade bodies, and retailers to identify where AI can create measurable value across sales, customer intelligence, portfolio management, and operational decision-making.
Alongside her consultancy work, Joanna is the wine author and a regular speaker on the future of AI in the wine industry. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between emerging technology and real-world business challenges, helping organisations move beyond AI hype towards practical implementation and long-term competitive advantage.

Faraan Irfan is the Founder and CEO of Saarey Music, the leading platform for South Asian classical music. A Grammy Voting Member and the first Pakistani entrepreneur admitted to the Recording Academy, he is recognised for building innovative digital solutions for underserved music communities.Inspired by his family’s long-standing commitment to South Asian classical music, Faraan launched Saarey to address the lack of access, discovery and monetisation opportunities for the genre online. Today, he leads a globally recognised music technology company that combines exclusive content, AI-driven discovery and deep audience engagement to bring classical music to listeners worldwide.

Riley Ramone is a founder, product designer, and full-stack developer with more than 15 years of experience in web development, digital product design, and software architecture. Specialising in modern web technologies including React, PHP, Laravel, Angular, and Vue.js, Riley has built and launched a wide range of digital products from concept through to deployment. His expertise spans user experience design, information architecture, database design, and scalable application development, combining technical excellence with a strong focus on creating intuitive, user-centred experiences.

About our featured Start-Ups:

[VerAIson.io](https://veraison.io/) helps wine and drinks businesses understand, adopt, and implement artificial intelligence. Rather than focusing on technology for technology’s sake, VerAIson.io works with organisations to identify business challenges where AI can create measurable impact, from customer insights and portfolio optimisation to sales enablement, knowledge management, and strategic planning.
The company combines industry expertise with data-driven methodologies to help businesses assess AI readiness, improve data quality, identify opportunities for automation and intelligence, and develop practical adoption strategies. VerAIson.io’s approach is grounded in the belief that successful AI implementation begins with understanding the business problem first, and the technology second.

Saarey Music is a streaming platform dedicated to South Asian classical music, serving a global audience of more than 300 million listeners. Built specifically for the genre, the platform combines exclusive content, culturally designed metadata and AI-powered recommendations to deliver a richer listening experience.Saarey holds exclusive rights to approximately 90% of Pakistani classical recordings and has earned international recognition, including Fast Company’s #9 Most Innovative Companies in Europe & the Middle East, a Music Week Awards finalist nomination, and inclusion in Forbes India’s Top 200 Companies. By connecting audiences with a historically underserved genre, Saarey is helping South Asian classical music thrive on a global scale.

Ticketlab is an online e-ticketing platform founded by Riley Ramone that empowers small venues, businesses, performers, and event organisers to create and manage their own ticketed events with ease. Designed and built entirely in-house, the platform offers features including e-ticketing, QR code generation, event analytics, customisable event themes, payment integration, and responsive design across all devices. Ticketlab’s mission is to make event management accessible and affordable while helping organisers connect with audiences and deliver seamless event experiences.

Join Us

This is your final opportunity to connect with the community before the summer break. Come for the founder stories, stay for the conversations, enjoy a drink on us, and leave with ideas, contacts, and inspiration to help shape your next move.

Sign up for this event here! Please note that clicking attend on Meetup will not give you the correct QR code to enter this event. Please sign up for your Universe ticket using the link.