Two well-known Belfast entrepreneurs are set to swap business success stories for brutally honest accounts of the mistakes, setbacks and decisions that threatened their companies when they take to the stage at F*ckup Nights Belfast tomorrow night.
AirPOS co-founder and owner of The Retro Rooms Marty Neill and Excalibur Press and Entrepreneurs Unleashed founder Tina Calder are the latest names confirmed for the event at The Black Box (Friday 21st August).
Between them, the pair have built businesses, supported entrepreneurs, created jobs and spent years working within Northern Ireland’s business community.
But, as they take to the stage at the Black Box, they will be talking about what went wrong rather than what went right.
The pair will join UTV broadcasting legend Julian Simmons on the line-up, with international keynote speaker and BBC broadcaster David Meade taking on the role of guest host and star speaker for the night.
Rather than focusing on their successes, Tina and Marty will talk to the audience about the professional F*ckups they would normally be expected to leave out of their business biographies.
For Marty, that means revealing how taking more than a quarter of a million pounds from the wrong fund nearly killed his company.
The Northern Ireland tech entrepreneur will share the story behind one of the biggest mistakes of his entrepreneurial career, what happened when things began to unravel and what he learned from the experience.
“You can’t be open and transparent without admitting where you f*cked up at times”, said Marty.
“It’s very important to have these conversations, to pay that knowledge forward to help others avoid the same pitfalls.
“F*ckup Nights is crucial in helping the tech folk of Northern Ireland to open up, something we haven’t traditionally been great at.”
Alongside Marty, businesswoman Tina Calder, founder of the recently closed Excalibur Press and newly launched Entrepreneurs Unleashed, will use what she describes as “radical transparency” to talk candidly about her own entrepreneurial journey and the mistakes and setbacks that have shaped it.
An award-winning former showbiz and business journalist, Tina has built a career spanning journalism, PR, communications, marketing, training and business consultancy.
In recent years Tina has focused increasingly on entrepreneurship, marketing strategy and business support. In 2024 she founded Entrepreneurs Unleashed to support entrepreneurs across Northern Ireland and mentors business owners through a number of enterprise programmes.
On Friday night, Tina will turn the spotlight on herself.
Her story will explore how one seemingly overlooked detail set off a chain of business-defining events, including one situation every business owner fears, as she shares the raw and still unfolding realities behind her entrepreneurial journey.
Rather than presenting the polished version of running a business, Tina will talk about the times she has “f*cked up” and why resilience, perseverance and determination have become central to her approach to business survival.
She explained: “I strongly believe in the power of radical transparency when it comes to talking about your entrepreneurial journey. It’s important for others to see that it’s not all plain sailing.
“When I was younger I wish I had realised that the journey was difficult for almost everyone, I might not have made so many mistakes because I might have spoken to others and asked for more advice.
“Being open and honest about your journey isn’t just about revealing a story for the sake of it, it’s about being authentic and helping people connect to you, your business and your why.
“I’m looking forward to telling my story at the event, it’s very timely for me as I close the doors on one business and open them on another.”
Entrepreneurs Unleashed, which Tina launched in 2024, has also come on board as a sponsor of F*ckup Nights Belfast Vol. 4.
F*ckup Nights is a global community and event series built around the idea that professional failure should be talked about rather than hidden.
Founded in Mexico City in 2012 after five friends began sharing stories of their own professional failures over mezcal, the movement has grown to hundreds of cities around the world.
Its events give entrepreneurs, business owners, professionals and other high-profile personalities the opportunity to talk openly about businesses that crashed, partnerships that broke down, deals that went wrong and decisions they wish they could make again.
The Belfast chapter is run by Chris Shannon and Meg Magill, who brought the concept to Northern Ireland because they believe people should be more willing to try new things and less constrained by the fear of getting them wrong.
They want the event to create an honest but entertaining space where people can learn from the realities behind other people’s careers rather than only hearing polished stories about success.
Tina and Marty join an increasingly high-profile line-up for the fourth Belfast event.
Former UTV presenter Julian Simmons will share memorable blunders from his broadcasting career, while guest host David Meade will lead proceedings and also take to the stage himself.
Each speaker has just 10 minutes and 10 slides to tell their story before opening up the conversation around what happened and what they learned from the experience.
Organisers Chris and Meg, who both work within the Northern Ireland entrepreneurial ecosystem, said the aim isn’t simply to celebrate failure for the sake of it, but to challenge the idea that successful careers and businesses are built without mistakes along the way.
Chris said: “F*ckup Nights Belfast Vol. 4 will feature three candid and unfiltered stories alongside audience ‘f*ckups from the floor’, giving those attending the opportunity to share their own experiences.”
As well as the speaker stories, the evening will include audience “f*ckups from the floor”, giving those attending the opportunity to share some of their own professional mistakes.
The first 40 guests through the doors will also receive a free drink, with ticket proceeds covering the costs of the event and supporting future Belfast editions.
F*ckup Nights Belfast Vol. 4 takes place at The Black Box, Belfast, on Friday August 21.
Doors open at 7pm with the event beginning at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £15 and the event is for ages 18 and over.
For tickets and further information go to: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/fuckupnightsbelfast/2301953
