Top Startup Events UK and Ireland 2017

by Startacus Admin

In honoured tradition we return with our roundup and list of the top UK and Ireland Startup Events and Conferences for 2017.
Since covering key Startup events back in 2015 and then again last year in 2016 with our UK Startup event roundup, we’ve always found the list of startup related events becomes broader and more diverse in terms of theme and specialist subject. Of course we could also include evening startup themed and related events and socials, like those provided by the fab TableCrowd in London or even our own beer and pizza startup socials we run in partnership with Brands, but to keep the list long enough to add value, but concise enough to not seem endless, we’ve concentrated here on events that are at least a half to 1 day long in length.
**Of course it’s not a definitive list by any means, so if you know of a key event that we ought to include, please email iam@startacus.net with the event / conference details and we can at least consider it (no promises that it will be included however).
So without further ado, it’s on with the show...
14th Jan
StartUp 2017
London
In terms of publication - we missed this Enterprise Nation event, but thought best to include it in the list anyhow. Returning for the third year at London's Canary Wharf, this event was a good place to be if you were thinking of starting or running a business in 2017.
23rd - 24th Jan
London
The Internet of Things (IoT) Tech Expo returns to London in January 2017. It promises to bring together key industries from across the world for two days of content, case studies and discussion. Taking place in London’s Olympia, this IoT event will host decision makers, developers & makers, OEM’s, government and local council officials, automotive exec’s, operators, technology providers, investors, venture capitalists and many more.
23rd - 24th Jan
London
Blockchain Expo will be held at London’s Olympia on January 23-24 2017, and aims to bring together more than 1500 people across key industries for two days of world-class content from leading brands embracing and developing cutting edge blockchain technologies.
Feb 7th and 8th
London
Finovate attracts senior financial, banking, and tech executives, influential press, expert analysts, innovative entrepreneurs, deep-pocketed venture capitalists and other industry leaders.
15th and 16th Feb
Dublin
Not to be confused with the Web Summit that last year moved to Lisbon from Dublin, DTS 2017 will bring together global leaders in innovation, tech and business to shape the future of global trends and technologies. Held across Dublin’s iconic silicon docks with the main conference held at the Convention Centre the two day summit aims to host 10,000+ attendees with 8 core tech themes.
6th - 8th March
London
The annual international software development conference that aims to inspire and empower future software development by assisting the spread of knowledge, skills, ideas, and innovations within the developer community.
March 9th
London
EXPAND London, powered by Jobbio, is a careers event delivering the best tech and startup opportunities to ambitious Talent.
11th - 12th March
NACUE - Student Enterprise Conference 2017
Lincoln
NACUE’s Student Enterprise Conference is the biggest in Europe, connecting students from colleges and universities across the UK. Packed with inspiring talks, practical workshops and networking opportunities, the SEC is all about powering the next generation of entrepreneurs.
23rd March
Dublin
Ireland's largest student-led startup expo, focused on helping students develop their startup ideas and find employment with existing start-ups.
April 10th and 11th
Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS)
London
The annual Innovate Finance Global Summit (IFGS) is a celebration of the achievement in the FinTech industry - bringing together the world’s global institutions with startups, policy makers and investors to share ideas and solutions to the challenges facing financial services.
April
Manchester
Date not confirmed for 2017 at time of publication. Leanconf is a 3-day event for entrepreneurs, startups, innovators, product managers and people working to create startup companies. The Conference aims to offer inspiration, valuable contacts and connections and the knowledge to grow and succeed in this fast changing landscape - using the Lean Startup methodology too of course.
3rd and 4th May
Manchester
Business Rocks is a Manchester based festival that empowers the community from early stage startups to leading tech brands. Over 2 years the festival has grown from 200-person conference to 2000 + attendees in 2016, at #BR2017 the organisers aim to see 5000 entrepreneurs & tech leaders attend. High-5 to the organisers and we hope to see this Festival go from strength to strength.
10th and 11th May
London
Transnational computer software company Adobe Europe’s premier learning and networking event for digital marketing professionals and executives. The Summit aims to provide the latest insights from the world’s leading digital marketing experts and for attendees to discover new strategies to transform your business and overall customer experiences.
17th and 18th May
London
The two day event attracts more than 25,000 businesses who attend with the primary agenda of improving and expanding their business - Expect to see keynote speakers, masterclasses and business exhibitors + there is a Startup focused zone too.
15th - 19th May
Newcastle / NE
Newcastle Startup Week is a new festival of entrepreneurship aims to inspire more local people to start businesses and attract greater inward investment to the city and wider North East of England region.
31st May
Dublin
Leading Irish Tech event that brings together 3000+ key decision makers from the Irish and international tech scene to provide a forum for tech companies, start-ups, investors and the largest Irish and global end users of technology and services to come together and chat and facilitate all things investment, innovation, collaboration and fostering new business relationships.
6th and 7th June
Belfast
This year the Belfast based event will upscale to a 2 day event and will again aim to inspire businesses from every industry to incorporate technology and innovation into their business DNA, through a fab range of speakers, master workshops, and exhibitors. Team Startacus will also be looking to return to facilitate and host the upSTART Pitch Battle that in 2016 saw 25+ high growth potential startups compete in front of a panel of investors and industry leaders to win a top prize valued at £50K.
12-16 June 2016
London
London Tech Week is a festival of live events and socials across London, showcasing and celebrating the best of tech whilst providing networking, social, learning and business opportunities.
We reported last year on the partnership to expand London Tech Week to global status with KNect365 joining forces with London & Partners and Tech London Advocates to bring you a mega-tech festival and we look forward to hearing more about this year's Festival that aims to connect science and creative minds, corporates and grass roots, start-ups and scale ups all together.
13th - 15th June
London
As the anchor event of London Tech Week, TechXLR8 (held at the ExCeL) will showcase eight leading tech events: 5G World, Cloud & DevOps World, Internet of Things World Europe, Connected Cars & Autonomous Vehicles Europe, Apps World Evolution, VR & AR World, AI & Machine Learning World and Robotics World - phew.
14th - 15th June
London
The Lean Startup Summit brings entrepreneurs and corporate innovators together who seek ways of working that support continuous innovation and sustainable growth through the Lean Startup methodology.
September
London
Social Media Week London brings together some of the industry’s leading brands and individuals at the intersection of entertainment, media, marketing and technology. Part of the worldwide event / experience, Social Media Week that occurs in numerous leading global cities throughout the year.
1st November
Edinburgh
Organised by We are the Future this leading entrepreneurship event is held in Scotland and brings together leading entrepreneurs from across the globe, to share ideas, inspiration and advice on how to start and grow your business.
November
London
Dates not confirmed at time of publication. Bread & Butter launched last year and was a 2 day conference and community gathering for food and drink entrepreneurs held in London. Whilst we didn’t attend ourselves, feedback seemed really positive and we are hungry to hearing more about this Food focused Festival that will hopefully return again this year.
November
Sheffield
Date not confirmed at time of publication. We’d def expect this leading premier business event for entrepreneurship to return for 2017. Offering the chance to educate, inspire and motivate early stage entrepreneurs and established business owners through meaningful, practical advice and inspiration, we’ve been a big fan and media partner to MADE for the last few years and look forward to hearing more of their plans for 2017.
29th and 30th Nov
London
In 2016 the ad:tech Conference brought an exclusive gathering of 1000 brand, agency and media players to experience a new content and a networking fuelled format dedicated to performance marketing & tech innovation. Top startups also pitched to become Unilever’s Next Big Thing. Expect more of the same thing for 2017.
November*
Cork
Date not confirmed at time of publication. As part of this year’s Global Startup Gathering in Ireland, an intensive 2-day startup bootcamp / unconference was held on Spike Island, off the coast of Cork. Startup Island brought together startups with leading mentors, entrepreneurs and investors and on what was an old prison on its very own Island - you gotta love it. Apparently year one went down very well and we look forward to hearing more about this event that we hope will return in 2017.
December
Techcrunch Disrupt London 2017
London
Dates for 2017 not confirmed at time of publication. Leading two-day UK Startup event - featuring pitching disruptive startups, game-changing tech, and key discussions on issues and happenings within the tech and startup scene.
December
London
Dates not confirmed at time of publication. Leading UK Innovation festival - It brings together startup founders, entrepreneurs, investors, corporate & brand executives and opinion-formers. For brands, corporates and startups, innovation is crucial and this festival offers both information, inspiration and the opportunity to connect. We hope to hear it returns for 2017.
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Published on: 20th January 2017
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