Manchester’s
founder events.
Discover meetups, founder dinners and practical tech events.
THE MANCHESTER FOUNDER COMMUNITY
Startup and tech events in Manchester
Discover Manchester startup meetups, founder conversations and technology events. Plan your next gathering with dates, venues and direct links to the organisers.
All event times are local to Manchester. Listings are reviewed before publication; confirm final details with the organiser.
Upcoming community events in Manchester
The next published listings are shown below. Explore the calendar above for more dates, topics and the full event details.
· 09:30
GM Innovation Expo 2026
GM Business Growth Hub · Manchester Central Convention Complex
An innovation showcase connecting startups, SMEs, universities, investors and business support organisations. Includes demonstrations in AI, advanced manufacturing, green technology and life sciences, plus funding discussions and structured…
· 09:30
NVIDIA GTC Keynote Watch Party
Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester with NVIDIA · Sister — Renold Building
Manchester’s AI community gathers to watch Jensen Huang’s GTC Berlin keynote, then discuss its implications for people building with AI. Registration and refreshments begin at 09:30; the programme includes discussion, lunch and networking. …
· 17:00
Venture Café Manchester: One Year On
Venture Café Manchester · SISTER — Renold Building
A first-anniversary gathering with an innovator showcase, one-minute community pitches and a fireside conversation with ARIA CEO Kathleen Fisher, plus refreshments and networking. Curated by E4F from https://community.venturecafemanchester.…
· 17:30
AI Manchester: Demystifying AI for Business Leaders
Cedar Nova Advisory · Colony King Street
Cedar Nova Advisory founder Megan Hanney Davies discusses adopting AI in organisations, managing deployment risks and avoiding common pitfalls. Includes networking and refreshments for business leaders. Curated by E4F from https://www.event…
· 18:00
Dot Net North: You Don’t Need Kubernetes — Scaling API Layers
DotNetNorth · Betfred — Steam Packet House
A .NET engineering talk on scaling production API systems and managing bottlenecks, cost and complexity without unnecessary orchestration. Doors open at 18:00, the talk begins at 18:50 and the venue closes at 21:00. Curated by E4F from http…
· 18:00
Silicon Mingle Manchester: October Mingle
Silicon Mingle Manchester · CUPRA City Garage
An informal evening for Manchester founders, technology professionals and investors to meet and exchange ideas. Curated by E4F from https://luma.com/cyu9kmtt; checked 8 October 2026. Times are Manchester local.
· 17:00
GROW AI: From Innovation to Adoption in Greater Manchester
Venture Café Manchester · SISTER — Renold Building
An introduction to GROW AI and sector roundtables on health, creative industries, manufacturing and net zero. Founders and smaller businesses can explore AI challenges with researchers and potential partners. Curated by E4F from https://com…
· 10:00
Morning Mixer — Manchester NatWest Accelerator
Manchester NatWest Accelerator · NatWest Accelerator Manchester Hub
An informal morning gathering for founders and the Accelerator community, with complimentary coffee and opportunities to exchange ideas, share progress and meet potential collaborators. Curated by E4F from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mor…
· 13:00
Practical AI for Executive Leaders
Manchester NatWest Accelerator · NatWest Accelerator Manchester Hub
A 90-minute workshop for business owners and leaders exploring practical uses of AI, repetitive tasks it can support, and risks to consider. Participants work through examples from their own organisations and receive a workbook. Curated by …
· 15:00
WAHM Manchester Healthtech Ecosystem Roundtable
Western Advocates for Health and Medtechs (WAHM) · House of Social Manchester
A peer roundtable led by Paul Forster for healthtech and medtech startup leaders. Bring challenges around NHS adoption, procurement, regulation, funding and international commercialisation. The ticket also includes the 17:00–20:00 ecosystem…
· 17:00
WAHM Manchester Healthtech Social: From Research to Market
Western Advocates for Health and Medtechs (WAHM) · Manchester — address after registration
A fireside conversation with Vitmedics co-founder Phoebe Wakeman about turning research into a healthtech product and finding a route to market. Followed by networking for founders, teams, researchers, NHS innovators, investors and ecosyste…
· 17:00
Ambitious Science, New Models: Focused Research Organisations
Venture Café Manchester · SISTER — Renold Building
Convergent Research explores funding and organisational models for ambitious science, including a discussion of Focused Research Organisations and a case study from Echo Labs. Open to researchers, founders and technical operators; no prior …
· 10:00
The Shortlist — Account-Based Marketing for B2B SaaS Manchester Meetup
Overfunded Studio and Silicon Mingle Manchester · Campfield
A practical marketing-data session for B2B SaaS teams and technology founders, with a talk, Q&A and small-table discussions on data warehouses, BigQuery and AI tool connections. Source: original organiser Luma page checked 14 October 2026. …
· 14:00
NatWest Accelerator Pitch Panel / Demo Day
Manchester NatWest Accelerator · NatWest Accelerator Manchester Hub
Selected entrepreneurs pitch to experienced founders, NatWest colleagues and Manchester ecosystem experts for feedback and connections. Other founders and supporters can attend to learn from the panel’s questions and network. Curated by E4F…
· 18:00
CONEXEN Manchester — The Funding Formula
CONEXEN · Kimpton Clocktower Hotel
A panel on turning strong science into an investable business for founders and professionals in life sciences, biopharma and healthtech. Talks begin at 18:30, followed by networking. Food and drinks are included. Founder tickets exclude ven…
· 18:00
AI, Agents and the Future of Shopping: How Agentic Commerce Will Reshape Retail
Manchester Statistical Society · Cross Street Chapel
Simon Ellis of Pets at Home explores how AI agents could change product discovery, purchasing and customer relationships. The talk considers practical opportunities and risks for retailers and commerce technology builders. Curated by E4F fr…
· 17:00
AI Data Hive: Manchester #5
AI Data Hive: Manchester · Matillion — Two New Bailey
Talks and informal networking for Manchester’s data and AI community, including engineers, data scientists and analysts. Hosted at Matillion in Salford’s New Bailey district. Complimentary pizza and drinks are advertised. Curated by E4F fro…
· 18:00
Mindstone Manchester November AI Meetup
UKAI / Mindstone · DiSH Manchester — Heron House
Live AI-product and productivity demonstrations, discussion of applying AI, then pizza and networking. The organiser’s registration notice includes UKAI promotional communications. Primary page displays10:00–13:00 GMT-8, equivalent to18:00–…
· 08:00
SCALE Manchester 2026
SCALE / Inflection Point Events · Freight Island
A day of founder talks, funding discussions, workshops and networking for growing businesses. Scaleup tickets target businesses under ten years old with fewer than 249 employees; enterprise tickets exclude roundtables and investor networkin…
· 09:30
UK Digital Economy Conference 2026
techUK · Friends’ Meeting House, Manchester
A conference connecting technology businesses, policymakers and regional leaders to discuss digital infrastructure, AI adoption, skills and growth. The live organiser agenda starts with registration at 09:30. Curated by E4F from https://www…
· 10:00
TELS Summit 2027
TELS / New Covenant Church Manchester · New Covenant Church Manchester
A Christian faith-based technology and entrepreneurship day featuring business-building sessions, a funding and scaling panel, a hackathon and a startup pitch contest. Speaker names are to be announced. Fees include meals and refreshments. …