Sunderland Startup Week (2-6 June 2025)

Sunderland Startup Week is a 5-day (& night), multi-venue, citywide festival that aims to inspire & educate more people to start & grow their business in Sunderland & the wider North East of England.

Our 5-day Newcastle Startup Week events in 2017 & 2018 both attracted 600+ delegates & our 2019 event attracted 800+ delegates from the North East, across the UK & around the world!

Since the pandemic, we've seen first-hand how Sunderland has been gearing up to be one of the most exciting places to live, work & run a business in the UK & we want to help create an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the city.

Over the course of 5 days, we will cover the following themes that we believe all new businesses, projects or services need to go through to be a success:

1. Monday = INSPIRATION
2. Tuesday = GETTING STARTED
3. Wednesday = FUNDING & FINANCE
4. Thursday = GROWING & SCALING
5. Friday = KEEP GOING OR PIVOT?

Day 1 ('INSPIRATION') is the main conference taking place in the beautiful, 550 capacity auditorium at The Fire Station in Sunderland city centre.

Featuring a range of inspirational keynote talks, panel discussions, breakout sessions, exhibitions & networking opportunities, Day 1 will inspire & motivate anyone with an idea for a new business venture, who has recently started a business, is an established business owner or leader, works in a large enterprise serving SMEs, is funder or investor & anyone else who wants to see the Sunderland & wider North East business community succeed.

Days 2-5 (listed above) will take place in different venues in & around Sunderland city centre & will appeal to people at different stages in their business journey.

For example, Day 2 ('GETTING STARTED') will provide practical information & advice on how to start a new business, product or service & bring your creative ideas to life.

Day 3 ('FUNDING & FINANCE') is for anyone looking for funding to start or grow a business (covering grants, loans, investment, crowdfunding & other sources of finance).

Day 4 ('GROWING & SCALING') is all about sales, marketing, business development, leadership, mindset, automation & AI, how to find talent & build teams, partnerships, national & international expansion.

Day 5 ('KEEP GOING OR PIVOT?') is all about how to survive & thrive in the weeks & months ahead, how to know what is & isn't working, how to stay focused & how to change direction if necessary. It's also a celebration of the week we've just had with a closing party for everyone.

1 wristband for all 5 days

When you buy a ticket, you will receive a wristband on arrival that gives you access to all day & evening events taking place across the 5 days.

Everyone will be able to attend Day 1 but Days 2-5 will be in smaller venues so you will be asked to specify which days & events you wish to attend nearer the time.

The wristband will also give you access to all of the after parties & networking events taking place across the week & entitle you to various special offers & discounts in local venues.

Book your ticket now for Sunderland Startup Week 2025!

Paul Lancaster
Founder & Event Producer
UK Startup Week | PLATFORM
https://ukstartupweek.com

Host or Publisher UK Startup Week