What brings you to SEAM?
The best founders don't need to be discovered. They need to be seen.
They need an audience who can help them get where they are going.
The stage creates belief. The event creates access. SEAM is where ambition meets opportunity – and where the ecosystem reveals itself.
There is plenty of help here. It is just never in one room.
Northern Ireland has investors, universities, funders and people who have done it before. More support than most founders realise. The trouble is finding it, and finding it in time.
- Good companies nobody has heard of
- Founders solving problems alone that someone down the road has already solved
- Introductions that should happen and never do
And it is a good time to be building here.
- More people starting companies than ever
- More organisations set up to back them
- More investors actively writing cheques
- More attention on what gets built in Northern Ireland
SEAM puts all of it in one place, for one day.
What SEAM is.
A visibility platform
Putting founders in front of the people who actually matter.
A connection engine
Linking ventures to investors, customers and supporters.
A founder showcase
Celebrating traction, ambition and real progress.
A momentum accelerator
Turning attention into opportunity that lasts beyond the day.
A flagship ecosystem moment
Uniting the entire entrepreneurial community in one place.
One day.
Four seams.
Endless connections.
A refined, high-quality day in Belfast, built around four moments where the ecosystem joins. Each is a thread in the same fabric.
Traction takes the stage
Not a pitch competition. A celebration of momentum. A high-energy, professionally produced showcase of 10 to 15 diverse founders demonstrating real traction across sectors and stages. The goal is to inspire, create visibility, connect and celebrate what is actually working.
Practical help, real conversations
An open floor connecting founders with the people who can actually help: legal, finance, design, AI and technical, scaling support, funding pathways, mentoring and ecosystem programmes from Northern Ireland and beyond. Accessible. Founder-first. Action-oriented.
connect with funders and investors
A dedicated space for capital conversations. Direct access to active investors and angels, structured introductions and silent seminars. Real conversations, not performative pitching. Investors are scary until you meet them casually, so founders can explore investment pathways well before they need them.
Celebrating the builders
An informal moment to connect, reflect and celebrate. Drinks and food, recognising founders, sponsors and supporters, and building relationships beyond the formal programme. No ceremony. Just celebration and connection, ending the days on optimism and community.
This is bigger
than the people
on stage.
The founders on stage create the belief. The real audience is everyone trying to build, explore, learn or connect. The stage creates belief. The event creates access.
Banana Block. Built on the line, literally.
SEAM takes place at Banana Block, a restored linen spinning mill on the Newtownards Road. The building that once spun the city's thread is where founders now spin up what comes next. Built on the line, literally.
Banana BlockPortView Trade Centre310 Newtownards RoadBelfast, BT4 1HEGet your ticket.
SEAM is a publicly ticketed festival. Reserve your place on Luma and join the founders, investors, partners and supporters who make the room.
The questions worth answering.
Applying to Showcase
The Festival Itself
Pitching & Being Seen
Logistics
Visibility that converts.
"I've built something real. Now I need the right people to see it."
- A stage in front of investors, customers and partners
- Direct access to practical support for all attendees
- Media and PR opportunities
- Warm introductions, not cold outreach
- Credibility and ecosystem positioning
- Momentum that lasts well beyond the days
Meaningful ecosystem positioning.
Something altogether different to an awards night. SEAM is about being right with entrepreneurs as a recognisable partner with a real relationship and a genuine desire to help, building the systems and connections that enable success rather than only celebrating it.
Strategic visibility
Association with Northern Ireland's flagship entrepreneurship moment, seen to back connectivity across the ecosystem.
Direct engagement
Curated access to a high volume of founders, with thought-leadership presence at the Main Seam and key sessions.
Partnership, not transaction
Real relationships rather than transactional marketing, enabling founder success and building confidence across diverse founders.
Let's build something that lasts.
