AcceleratorEquity-free

Techstars Belfast

Belfast, United Kingdom

Techstars' Belfast chapter, including a Founder Catalyst pre-accelerator track.

The offer:
$120k per company
Location:
Belfast, United Kingdom
Duration:
10 weeks

What you need to qualify

  • Beyond ideation, moving toward product or growth.
  • Pre-revenue or post-revenue; if post-revenue, MRR up to $5k.
  • Raised no more than $400k in external funding to date.
  • Traction signals are encouraged: pilots, users, waitlist, pre-orders.
  • Founders must currently be building in or from one of the partner communities: Omaha, Sarajevo, Istanbul, Uzbekistan or Belfast.
  • Expect to commit up to 8 to 12 hours per week for ten weeks.

Eligibility

Eligible stages
All stages
Countries
Global, subject to the provider’s eligibility and approval

How to apply

  1. 1

    Confirm you build in or from Belfast

    Founder Catalyst is offered exclusively to founders from partner communities. Belfast is one of five, alongside Omaha, Sarajevo, Istanbul and Uzbekistan.

  2. 2

    Check the stage limits

    You must be past ideation, at or under $5k MRR if post-revenue, and have raised no more than $400k in external funding.

  3. 3

    Open the Fall 2026 Founder Catalyst page

    techstarsbelfast.com routes its application action to the Techstars Founder Catalyst Global Fall 2026 Program page, which carries the dates and the Apply Now action.

  4. 4

    Create a Techstars account and submit

    Applications go through the shared Techstars application portal at apply.techstars.com, so you need an account there before you can submit.

  5. 5

    Submit before the deadline

    Applications close on August 21, 2026. The programme then runs from September 22 to November 27, 2026, with a final showcase on December 3, 2026.

Frequently asked

Nothing, and no. It is a non-equity, free pre-accelerator, and Techstars notes there is no equity exchange in Founder Catalyst programmes.

Founders currently building in or from Belfast who are beyond ideation, pre-revenue or at up to $5k MRR, and who have raised no more than $400k in external funding.

Ten weeks, part-time and virtual, at up to 8 to 12 hours per week.

Applications close on August 21, 2026. The programme runs from September 22 to November 27, 2026, with a final showcase on December 3, 2026.

No. Techstars Belfast is a startup community partnership between Ormeau Labs, Queen's University and Techstars. It runs Founder Catalyst, Startup Weekend, Startup Week, a Community Development Lab and Startup Digest, not the flagship equity accelerator.
General

Related programs

We have not been able to confirm a deadline for this one. Check the official page before you start.

Do I qualify?

2 things decide this one. Check yourself against them before you spend time on the form.

Stage
Pre-seed, Seed
Where it runs
United Kingdom. In person, so you need to be able to take part there
What you give up
No equity stated
Deadline
Not confirmed. Check the official page

That is the rulebook. What we cannot show you here is whether your startup clears it, how this ranks against the other programs you qualify for, and what to fix if you do not.

Check what I qualify for

Five questions, about a minute, no account needed.

Last verified against the official page. Report an error

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