Why Ideas Fest?

Where It Started

Two Founders, One Frustration

Fifteen years ago, Frankie James and Professor Dylan Jones Evans were building businesses and going to events that felt like they were built for someone else. Sterile conference centres. Name badges on lanyards. Lukewarm panel discussions where nobody said anything real.

They wanted something different. A space where founders could be honest, get challenged, and leave with more than a stack of business cards. That frustration became the seed of what would eventually grow into Ideas Fest.

What It Is

Not a Conference. Not a Networking Event.

Ideas Fest is two days in the grounds of Champneys Tring, Hertfordshire, surrounded by 6,000+ business leaders and entrepreneurs who are all building something that matters to them.

There are stages for big ideas. Workshops where you roll your sleeves up. Quiet spaces for honest conversations. Wellbeing zones that remind you there is more to life than your inbox. And when the sun goes down, there is music, food, campfire conversations, and the kind of connections that only happen when people are truly themselves.

It is the opposite of everything you have come to expect from a business event. And that is entirely the point.

The Experience

170 Acres. Zero Wasted Hours.

Champneys Tring is not a conference venue. It is a 170-acre estate with lawns, woodland, a world-class spa, and enough space to build a festival that feels like another world.

Every zone is designed with purpose. The Main Stage for big ideas. The Think Tank for honest conversations. The Founder Recovery Zone for ice baths, breathwork, and putting your phone down. And when it all wraps up, the After Dark programme keeps going with live music, karaoke, silent disco, and campfire conversations under the stars.

The Community

100,000 Strong. And Growing.

Ideas Fest is not just two days in September. It is the gathering point for a community of over 100,000 entrepreneurs across the UK, Europe, and beyond. People who share deals, make introductions, hire each other, invest in each other, and genuinely want to see each other win.

The festival is where that community comes alive. Where online connections become real friendships. Where a message thread turns into a handshake, a joint venture, a life-changing introduction.