Leading tech conference, TechTides, arrives in Belfast later this week. Building on the success of its inaugural 2025 event in the North West, which attracted 450 attendees, the conference will take place at ICC Belfast on 11th June. The move marks the first step in developing a series of regional TechTides events across the island of Ireland.
Technology Entrepreneur & Former Head of Communications at Tinder, Hermione Way is returning to TechTides as a headline speaker and MC for the Conference Tech Startup pitch competition. After speaking at TechTides Derry last year, at TechTides Belfast she’ll be delivering a presentation on Stage 1 at 11.55am on, ‘What I Learned as Tinder’s Head of Communications’.
Sync NI sat down with Hermione ahead of her visit to Belfast, to learn more about her, and why she’s excited to come back to Northern Ireland.
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Tell us a little about your own journey over the last few years?
The last few years have been a real period of reflection and reinvention for me, exploring how technology can genuinely improve people's lives while supporting founders and communities that are creating positive change.
What makes a startup story actually believable instead of just hype?
For me, it's when the founder can clearly explain the problem they're solving and why they care about it personally, because authenticity is hard to fake.
What was the biggest culture shock moving from the UK startup scene to Silicon Valley?
The sheer scale of ambition — in Silicon Valley people talk about changing the world before they've even built version one, whereas we're often a bit more cautious in the UK.
What kind of companies excite you now compared to the earlier Silicon Valley era?
I'm increasingly drawn to startups focused on wellbeing, digital identity and building healthier online experiences, rather than simply maximising attention and engagement.
You interviewed founders early in companies like Facebook and Airbnb. Did you recognise at the time how big they would become?
No! To me they were just another startup I was sent to interview for my job as a journalist in Silicon Valley...I could feel they were solving problems people genuinely cared about, and that's usually a much stronger signal than the valuation headlines.
What did working at Tinder teach you about human behavior?
That technology changes how we connect, but people are still fundamentally looking for the same things: trust, belonging and meaningful relationships.
Why are you excited to be speaking again at TechTides, this time in Belfast on the 11th June?
TechTides always brings together brilliant people who are building the future, and Belfast has such incredible energy and momentum right now that it feels like the perfect place to have those conversations.
Tickets for TechTides are available online via https://techtides.co/
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