Introduction to Belfast- A Startup City

by Startacus Admin

Today is a rather special day at Startacus.net… it heralds the beginning of a year long series during which we will be holding a magnifying glass up to 12 of the UK and Ireland’s most burgeoning startup cities.

In the pipeline and already under preparation are our month long examinations of Manchester, Birmingham, Dublin, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Shefield, Bristol, Edinburgh and Swansea. But back to the moment in hand and a quick intro to the city which will become the apple of our eye during May…

BELFAST

Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland with around 650,000 people living within the city’s urban area. It is located along the province’s East coast flanked on one side by mountains and Belfast Lough on the other, straddling the border between Counties Antrim and Down. It has been the centre of Northern Ireland’s economy since the 19th Century when it blossomed into one of the world's major industrial centres on the back of its linen, rope-making, tobacco, heavy engineering and shipbuilding businesses.

For obvious reasons, the city has had a more difficult time than most in recent decades, with a lack of inward investment, economic hardship and extreme political instability all playing their role in the creation of a largely negative perception in the rest of the country. However, despite these factors (or perhaps because of them), Belfast is now a city filled with people who are making genuine and determined strides towards improving their lives and the existence of their community. It is a place which has dragged itself through the proverbial mud and come out the other side with a smile on its face, an indelible optimism and total determination for improvement…as anyone who has visited it will surely tell you.

Belfast is barely recognisable from the city it was 25 years ago…phrases like this are often uttered with regards to places which have seen drastic change within a short space of time… but rarely, we think, is the sentiment so sincerely justified.

The city’s startup scene is a great example of the self-starter spirit which has been key in its transformation and is why we have chosen Belfast to be our inaugural Startup City.

Over the next four weeks we’ll be bringing you news, events, features and other happenings from this vibrant, ambitious, innovative and highly motivated community that is developing at a rapid pace. Links to all the features will be posted on this page as they are published so be sure to keep an eye out.

PS. Bristol you are the next startup city in our series and will be featured throughout June! Get in touch with us via [email protected] / our twitter page / our facebook page if you want to put your two pence worth into the mix!

Belfast Startup Features:

• We interview Damian Cranney of Belfast Startup RollTV- An innovative new music platform
• Lean Startup Machine comes to Belfast
• Belfast... The UK's best kept startup secret
• Belfast for Startups- The good, the bad and the ugly
• Belfast for tech startups- By Local Entrepreneur Dave Patterson
• Belfast for Startups- The past, the present and the future by Dave Patterson
• Tom Griffiths (co-founder of gapyear.com) gives an outsiders perspective on the Belfast startup scene
• NI Entrepreneur David Kirk issues a dissappointing report card on the Belfast startup scene
• CEO of Young Enterprise Northern Ireland gives her perspective on Belfast,  its future and the young people who will shape it
• Friday Night Mash Up Returns to Belfast

If you like what you see here on Startacus, why not become a member of our growing community? It's free! And you'll get all this - exclusive access to our Business Toolkit, discounts and offers galore for your business via our member only business deals, the chance to network and connect with loads of fellow self-starters, and maybe even become our celebrated 'Self-Starter of the Week' and tell the world your startup tale! Join right here for free...

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• #startup belfast
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Published on: 1st May 2014