2026 Entrepreneurship Festival
Theme: Walk the Talk
Turn ideas into action this November
Join us this November for the 17th edition of the ESCP Entrepreneurship Festival, with events taking place across our campuses in Berlin, Paris, London, Madrid and Turin.
This year’s theme, Walk the Talk, is all about moving from intention to action. Entrepreneurship starts with ideas and ambitions, but creating meaningful change means putting them into practice, testing them in the real world and taking responsibility for the impact they create.
Across five European cities, founders, students, experts and members of the ESCP community will come together for hands-on sessions, conversations, demonstrations and networking designed to help turn ideas into tangible projects.
Whether you are already building a venture, exploring the possibilities of AI, looking for feedback on an idea or simply curious about entrepreneurship, join us and get ready to Walk the Talk.
What’s happening?
This year’s programme combines practical experiences, founder insights and opportunities to connect with ESCP’s entrepreneurial community. Highlights include:
- Hands-on building: Experiment with AI, rapid prototyping and new tools to transform ideas into working solutions.
- Entrepreneur demos and pitches: Discover projects from emerging entrepreneurs, test their solutions and share your feedback.
- Expert feedback and mentoring: Challenge your ideas and gain perspectives from entrepreneurs, experts and mentors.
- Founder conversations: Hear candid stories about scaling businesses, fundraising, mistakes and the lessons learned along the way.
- Networking and community: Meet students, alumni, founders and entrepreneurship enthusiasts from across the ESCP ecosystem.
Festival events by campus
📍 Berlin — Vibe Coding Hackathon
17 November | 9:00am–8:00pm
Join 60 builders for a hands-on vibe coding hackathon and turn an idea into a working demo using AI.
Work alongside mentors, gather feedback from real users and meet women founders from the EXIST Women programme. A full day designed to move quickly from concept to creation.
📍 Paris — Walk the Talk
18 November | 4:00pm–10:00pm
Discover and test more than 20 entrepreneurial demos from a wide range of sectors.
Meet founders, share feedback on pitches, receive advice on your own projects from experts and mentors, and connect with entrepreneurs who are turning their ideas into action. The evening will conclude with networking and a concert.
📍 London — A Candid Fireside Chat with Gauthier Van Malderen
19 November | 6:00pm–9:00pm
What does building a startup really involve?
Join entrepreneur Gauthier Van Malderen for a candid conversation about the realities of entrepreneurship, from scaling a business and raising funds to navigating mistakes and learning from experience.
An opportunity to hear the lessons behind the success stories and connect with London’s entrepreneurial community.
📍 Madrid — From Purpose to Action
25 November | 5:00pm–9:00pm
In a rapidly changing world, building and regenerating our economy and environment begins with strong values and a clear sense of purpose.
Take part in an interactive experience created to explore how entrepreneurial ideas can respond to today’s economic, environmental and societal challenges — and discover the solution developed by our community.
📍 Turin — From Words to Action with AI
26 November | 5:00pm–9:00pm
Discover how AI can help transform ideas into concrete solutions.
Go beyond prompting and chatting with AI: in this hands-on session, participants will learn how to build software and automations with AI in just two hours.
Come ready to experiment, create and turn possibilities into action.
About the Entrepreneurship Festival
For 17 years, ESCP has celebrated entrepreneurship through its annual Entrepreneurship Festival, bringing together students, alumni, founders, experts and innovators from across its European community.
The Festival is hosted by ESCP’s Blue Factory and the Say Institute (ESCP’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation Institute), which foster entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity across the School’s campuses.
Location
Organiser: ESCP Business School
Berlin - London - Madrid - Paris - Turin - Europe
MapDate
Start date: 17/11/2026
Start time: 9:00 AM
End date: 26/11/2026
End time: 9:00 PM