Market Hall
Starting at GBP 15
Sat, 21 Mar, 2026 at 08:30 am - Sun, 22 Mar, 2026 at 08:00 pm (GMT+00:00)
Market Hall
Duke Street, Devonport, United Kingdom
The Rocket Duck Weekend is your fast track to launching your tech startup. It’s the opportunity to stop dreaming and start building, turning your lightbulb moment into a real-world business.
This brand new, high-energy weekend is designed to help turn early-stage tech ideas into something real. Across two intensive days packed with hands-on workshops, mentoring and focused team work, you’ll develop and test your startup idea, build or strengthen a founding team, and work through key challenges around problem–solution fit, value propositions and pitching.
You’ll learn directly from experienced founders, mentors and specialists, gain clarity and confidence in your idea, and build momentum for what comes next. The aim is simple: bring the right people together, get to work, and be ready to deliver an epic final pitch.
The goal of the weekend is to win a place on the TechSW Growth Forge Accelerator, with teams pitching their ideas to a panel at the end of the weekend. The winning team will secure a place on the accelerator, alongside a package of prizes designed to support the next stage of developing their idea.
Who's This For?
If you're reading this, probably you. Rocket Duck is for...
You don’t need an idea to participate, just curiosity, commitment and a willingness to get involved.
Pitching ideas & forming teams
The Rocket Duck Launchpad Weekend brings together people at different stages and we’ve designed a flight path to support everyone.
Our third Rocket Duck meetup, Meetup #3: Pitch Night, is where many ideas will be pitched and teams will begin to form. It’s a fun, friendly, low-pressure environment where you can share an idea, meet potential collaborators, and start building your Rocket Duck “flock” ahead of the Launchpad weekend. However, attending Meetup 3 is not required to take part in the Launchpad Weekend.
When you register for the weekend, we’ll ask a few simple questions to understand where you’re currently at. You might be:
We’ll use this information to help support team formation in the lead-up to the weekend and during the Launchpad itself, making sure everyone can get involved, find the right people, and make the most of the experience.
We've crafted a weekend intensive work, workshops and coach meetings, to help you spread your wings and take flight, culminating in a final pitch to a panel of judges. Read more in the event schedule further on.
Got questions? Reach out to the team at aW5mbyB8IGRpZ2l0YWxwbHltb3V0aCAhIGNvICEgdWs=.
If cost is a barrier, we offer funded and bursary places. Please reach out to the team to find out more and request a discount code.
We also offer a limited number of free Volunteer Tickets for participants who want to take part in the weekend and are happy to support the event behind the scenes.
Volunteers still get the full Rocket Duck experience — joining a team, pitching (if they want to), and taking part in all workshops — but we’ll also ask for a little help before and during the weekend.
Volunteer duties may include:
These roles are flexible and designed so volunteers can still fully participate. If you’d like to attend as a volunteer, just reach out to the team and we’ll send you a volunteer ticket code.
Brought to you by the team at Digital Plymouth, we would like to welcome you to Rocket Duck, the new event series for Plymouth's future founders.
As a team who have cofounded agencies, product businesses and Digital Plymouth back in 2012 (when we didn't have grey hair), we know it's not always that easy to start something, and sometimes people need a space and a place to get together, to meet future co-founders to get their startup off the ground.
We're here to help you find collaborators, learn from experts and get inspired to take the next step.
In the lead-up to the Launchpad Weekend, we are also running Rocket Duck meetups to help people find collaborators, shape ideas and get launch-ready. You can join the series at any point, whether that’s a meetup, the Launchpad Weekend, or both.
Explore the meetups and get involved:
https://www.meetup.com/digital-plymouth/events/
This project is part of the Regional Tech Booster programme, funded by the UK Government and supported by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, in partnership with the UK Tech Cluster Group.
Info: Over breakfast, teams will come together to share ideas, recap challenges, and agree a clear focus for the weekend. All while fuelling up with some rocket fuel for the Launchpad ahead. We’ll encourage open, honest conversations about the skills, resources and support each team needs to make the most of the weekend.
Info: A welcome from the Rocket Duck organising team, including an overview of the weekend agenda, our code of conduct, and the supporting roles in place to help teams thrive across the weekend.
Info: Teams will set up their spaces while founders pitch and share ideas with any new arrivals. This is the moment to refine ideas, welcome new collaborators, and finalise teams ready to dive into the weekend’s work.
Info: Led by experienced coach Claire Wallace, Enterprise Manager at The Cube (University of Plymouth), this fast-paced session will help teams build their first Business Model Canvas, or review and strengthen an early draft, setting a clear foundation to develop throughout the weekend.
Info: Time to get to work. Teams dive into their Business Model Canvas, begin researching and testing assumptions, and delegate roles and responsibilities for the weekend ahead. The organising team will be circulating throughout to offer support, answer questions, and help unblock challenges.
Info: Led by an experienced coach (TBA), this interactive session introduces practical customer discovery techniques to help teams test assumptions and refine their ideas. Afterwards, teams are encouraged to get out and speak to potential customers, online or in person, to gather real insights and start validating their ideas.
Info: Refuel, recharge, and compare notes with other teams.
Info: A focused work block where teams continue developing and testing their ideas, with a particular emphasis on speaking to customers and validating assumptions. Teams might also be working on:
- Customer exploration and validation (online or offline)
- Refining brand messaging
- Clarifying value propositions and customer pain points
- Developing early concepts or prototypes
- Getting their ducks in a row!
Teams choose what to prioritise based on where they are in their journey and what will most strengthen their idea.
Info: A structured check-in with the organising team. Teams share progress updates, flag challenges, and identify where they need support. You’ll be encouraged to update your Business Model Canvas and sign up for time with coaches based on your needs.
Info: Welcome and introduce coaches to the teams
Info: One-to-one sessions between teams and coaches. Teams are encouraged to sign up for sessions aligned to their idea, challenges, or skill gaps. Whether that’s strategy, validation, pitching, or product thinking.
Info: A chance to refuel and take a breather before the final push of the day.
Info: Evening check-in A short after-dinner check-in to share progress, surface challenges, and make any last calls for support before wrapping up.
Info: Summary of the day, key reflections, and a reminder of what teams should focus on overnight and first thing in the morning.
Info: Venue closes, but teams can carry on working elsewhere/virtually if they wish.
Info: Welcome back, with coffee and breakfast to get you fuelled for the final day. We’ll outline what’s ahead and teams will be encouraged to sign up for any final coach sessions they need.
Info: A fast-paced session, introducing the pitch format, top tips, and key elements to focus on ahead of the final presentations.
Info: Welcome and introduce coaches to the teams
Info: One-to-one sessions between teams and coaches. Teams are encouraged to sign up for sessions aligned to their idea, challenges, or skill gaps. Whether that’s strategy, validation, pitching, or product thinking.
Info: Refuel, recharge, and compare notes with other teams.
Info: Pitch prep, rehearsals and tech checks
The final stretch before lift-off. Teams focus on refining their pitch, sharpening their story, and finalising any prototypes or visuals. This is about clarity, confidence, and landing your message. You’ll have time to practise, receive feedback from the organising team, and complete tech checks ahead of the final pitches (before 5:00 pm).
Info: Teams submit pitches
Teams send their final pitch decks to the organising team to be added to the main slide deck by 16:30. This is also time for a final tech check and last-minute rehearsals before the pitches kick off at 17:00.
Info: Teams deliver a 5-minute pitch, followed by 5 minutes of Q&A from the judging panel.
Info: Judges deliberate and awards are announced, including the winning team.
Info: Time to reflect on a brilliant weekend, celebrate the progress made, and enjoy a drink and some food together.
Also check out other Business events in Torpoint, Meetups in Torpoint, Workshops in Torpoint.
Tickets for The Rocket Duck Launchpad Weekend can be booked here.
| Ticket type | Ticket price |
|---|---|
| General Early Duck | 30 GBP |
| Student or Unwaged Early Duck | 15 GBP |
| General Duck | 40 GBP |
| Student or Unwaged Duck | 20 GBP |
