£10 · general admission Fri 14 August 2026 · 10:00am Tide Bankside, London SE1 In person

From Pilot
to .

Why early-stage startups stall at the pilot stage,- and the designed approach that turns trials into paying, investable clients.

A morning for founders · Funding Gap Consulting × Altaf Jasnaik

Pilot → paid conversion

Where the same product ends up, depending on how the pilot is run.

Enterprise SaaS, $100k+ ACV (median)~5%
Free / unstructured trial<10%
Structured, paid pilot40–60%
Well-executed pilot60–90%
The gap between <10% and 90% isn't luck,- it's design. That gap is what this morning is about.
The problem

Most founders win the pilot, then lose the client.

<10%
of free or unstructured enterprise trials convert to paid.
~5%
median trial-to-paid for enterprise SaaS at $100k+ ACV.
40–90%
where structured, well-run paid pilots land instead.
62%
of failed pilots trace back to pricing & implementation misalignment.
What you'll take away

An hour that changes how you run your next pilot.

This is one sharp, valuable slice,- not the whole playbook,- enough to sharpen how you run your next pilot and see what the full method looks like.

01

What to figure out first

What you need to have nailed before you start,- and the costs hiding in an unconverted pilot.

02

Designing a pilot for success

How to design a pilot that's built to convert, rather than one you simply hope pays off.

03

How VCs read your pipeline

How investors evaluate your pilot pipeline when they decide to invest,- and why it signals fundability.

04

Your questions, the room's answers

Open Q&A and networking with founders facing the exact same conversion wall.

Who it's for

Founders standing at the pilot-to-paid wall.

Early-stage founders running enterprise pilots and trying to win their first paying, repeatable clients,- drawn from Funding Gap's network and Altaf's.

Pre-seedSeedSeed → Series A TechHealth-tech
Run of show

Friday morning, done by lunch.

09:45

Doors & arrivals

Funding Gap team
10:00–10:15

Introduction & framing

Nat Olaiya · Funding Gap

The conversion problem, why it matters for fundability, and Funding Gap's free Deal Readiness assessment.

10:15–10:55

Keynote,- interactive

Altaf Jasnaik

Why investors value "exposed pilots" over lab-built MVPs, how to design market tests that trigger rapid pivots before you write code, and how to build the pipeline that makes your startup an irresistible investment opportunity.

10:55–11:15

Q&A,- open floor

Altaf & Nat

Bring your real pain points; this is where the room earns its keep.

11:15+

Networking

All attendees
Who you'll hear from

Two people who live in the gap.

NO

Nat Olaiya

Host · Funding Gap

Frames the morning and introduces Funding Gap,- bridging the gap between founders' ambitions and investors' numbers, with a free Deal Readiness assessment to show founders where their gaps are.

AJ

Altaf Jasnaik

Keynote · CEO, Managemend Limited

Strategic advisor to investors and venture-backed startups. His keynote: why investors value "exposed pilots" over lab-built MVPs, how to design market tests that trigger rapid pivots before you write code, and how to build the pipeline that makes your startup an irresistible investment opportunity.

Where

Tide Bankside, on the South Bank.

The venue
Tide Bankside
135 Park Street, London SE1 9EA
  • Tube / railSouthwark, London Bridge & Blackfriars,- all a short walk.
  • NearbyTate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe, Borough Market.
  • AccessStep-free entrance; let us know any access needs when you book.
  • ArriveDoors 9:45am,- grab a coffee before we start at 10:00.
135 PARK STREET · SE1 9EA
Open in Google Maps →
Book your place

£10 to attend.

General admission is £10, a small commitment that keeps the room full of founders who show up. We'll send joining details and the Deal Readiness assessment to complete before you arrive. Tickets are handled on Eventbrite.

£10
General admission · per ticket · Fri 14 August 2026
Tide Bankside, London SE1 9EA
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