BUILD HERE.
SHIP EVERYWHERE.
Techstars Belfast is a founder-led startup community for Northern Ireland — delivered with Queen's University Belfast and Ormeau Labs — connecting ambitious local builders into the global Techstars platform and network.
We run high-signal events, build sprints, and early-stage programmes designed for the pace of the AI era.
This is not about "innovation". It's about founders.
WHO ARE TECHSTARS?
Techstars is one of the world's most recognised startup networks: a founder-first organisation that runs mentorship-driven accelerators, invests in early-stage companies, and supports startup communities globally.
Their mission is simple: help founders succeed.
Since 2006, Techstars has built a global community of founders, mentors, investors and partners that stays connected long after any single programme ends.
Techstars is led by David Cohen, one of the original founders.
WHAT IS TECHSTARS BELFAST?
Techstars Belfast is Techstars' Startup Community Partnership model, launched in Belfast and built to serve founders across Northern Ireland.
A Startup Community Partnership is designed to help a city or region build a thriving startup community using Techstars' playbooks, programmes and global experience.
In practice, Techstars Belfast is a stack (not a single programme):
We're building a simple flywheel:
show up → meet the right people → ship faster → become fundable → recycle back into the community.
Techstars Belfast is founder-led.
We're a startup community that behaves like a startup.
We move fast. We're comfortable in ambiguity. We occasionally get things wrong.
When we do, we don't blame anyone — we fix it, learn, and move on.
Founders are our customer. We ask "how can we better help founders?" every day.
And we don't care about borders — we're the bridge from Belfast into the UK, Europe and North America.
OUR PARTNERS
Techstars Belfast is delivered with two anchor partners — one rooted in research and talent, one rooted in community and density.
Queen's University Belfast
Queen's brings deep research capability, student and postgraduate talent, and a long-standing commitment to entrepreneurship, commercialisation and spinouts through QUBIS and wider innovation programmes.
This matters because the next wave of breakout companies will come from people closest to frontier knowledge — researchers, PhDs, engineers, and builders who can compete globally.
Ormeau Labs
Ormeau Labs is a central hub for founders in Belfast — a space where startups, freelancers and entrepreneurs build, meet and collaborate.
This matters because startup communities aren't built on strategy documents — they're built through repeated collisions, shared experiences, and rooms full of builders.
WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT (AND WHY NOW)
Northern Ireland is at an inflection point.
AI is changing:
- how products are built (speed, tooling, smaller teams)
- which markets are accessible (global from day one)
- which jobs and industries get disrupted (workflow-heavy sectors in particular)
If we want Northern Ireland to win, we need more people to:
- try building companies earlier
- meet collaborators faster
- access world-class mentorship and peer networks
- develop global ambition without leaving home
Techstars Belfast exists to make that real — with practical formats that match modern build velocity, and a network that opens doors beyond our local market.
We're building companies that start here and compete everywhere.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
If you're a founder (or want to be)
Start with an event. Join a Sprint. Ship something. Momentum is the whole game.
If you're a researcher / student / PhD
This is your on-ramp. Bring a problem, a hypothesis, or a capability — and build in public with people who can help you turn it into a company.
If you're a partner (corporate, investor, organisation)
Sponsor a Sprint. Host a masterclass. Provide tools/credits. Meet founders early and support the next generation of companies in Northern Ireland.
OUR OPERATING PRINCIPLES
Founders first
Practical help over theatre.
Ship fast
Working demos beat slides.
AI-native by default
The future is already here.
Global ambition, local roots
Build from here. Ship everywhere.
Be optimistic
Believe in what's possible.
Give First
Help without expecting anything in return.