After a decade working within Scotland’s startup ecosystem, Nick had witnessed firsthand both the incredible talent and the fragmentation that held it back. There were passionate founders, world-class support organisations, and thriving niche communities, but they rarely occupied the same space at the same time.
“Scotland is far too small of a country to indulge in siloed thinking,” Nick explains. “We needed something that celebrated what’s working well and brought those diverse communities together without adding to the noise.”
Inspired by the energy of international summits like Slush in Helsinki and Web Summit in Lisbon, Nick envisioned an evening event that would complement Scotland’s existing conference scene. But this wouldn’t be another stuffy networking reception with awkward small talk and early trains home.
TecTonic Night Summit was designed to be different: vibrant, colourful, inclusive, and experiential. Picture an evening where creative industries, tech professionals, and entrepreneurs gather under one roof – with exhibitors, performers, interactive digital experiences, and meaningful conversations flowing naturally.
“When you create space for people to relax, they’re much more open to real conversation and real connection,” Nick notes. “As a community builder, that’s the best thing you can do: give people the freedom to connect authentically.”
The event has already run twice, bringing together over 60 community partners and hundreds of attendees. From face painters and tarot readers to startup founders testing new products and mentors offering pro bono advice, TecTonic has become a celebration of Scotland’s entrepreneurial spirit.
With such an ambitious vision, Nick needed more than just a ticketing system. He needed a partner who understood what it takes to bring communities together, someone who would be there throughout the journey, not just during the transaction.
Initially, like many event organisers, TecTonic used Luma, a popular choice for moving away from traditional platforms like Eventbrite. But as the event scaled and the vision became more ambitious, the team needed something more than a self-service tool. They needed a relationship.
The decision to switch to Forumm wasn’t made in a vacuum. Nick had been watching Forumm’s journey from its earliest days, through his work at Barclays Eagle Labs Glasgow and taking co-founder Dan Marrable on international trips. When Forumm was featured in TecTonic’s startup spotlight at the first event, Nick saw firsthand the team’s dedication to solving real problems for event organisers.
“It made sense to work with a company that was really motivated to differentiate from other solutions, were local, and had a team that we could trust,” Nick explains.
But what truly sealed the decision was the collaborative spirit at Forumm’s core, a spirit that mirrored TecTonic’s own values.
“Having a dedicated tech team behind your platform management, your ticketing, your registration, your distribution, that’s not a service you get with these faceless global platforms,” Nick emphasises. “It’s been excellent.”
For TecTonic, this wasn’t just about having someone to ring when things went wrong. It was about having a team that genuinely invested in their success. The Forumm team became an extension of Tectonic’s operations, offering guidance, troubleshooting issues in real-time, and actively listening to feedback.
“We really wanted to work with a team we could trust,” Nick reflects. “And for us, it was also an opportunity to give back and to give feedback to an organisation that could benefit from understanding what a large-scale client needs day-to-day in the run-up to the event and also on the night.”
What makes the Forumm approach unique is how they treat organisers like TecTonic not as customers, but as partners in building something better.
Dan Marrable, Forumm’s co-founder, puts it simply: “We love feedback. Any issue, any problem, we see it as gold dust. It shows you care enough to take the time to help us improve.”
This collaborative development model means that features developed for TecTonic’s specific needs end up benefiting the entire Forumm community. When TecTonic needed the ability to attach discount codes to specific tickets for specific community partners, Forumm built it and made it available to all organisers.
“Simple things that you would just take for granted, like attaching a discount code to a specific ticket for a specific client, we’ve been able to develop based directly off of Nick’s feedback, which are benefiting other people as well,” Dan explains.
This approach has allowed Forumm to prioritise development in ways that matter most to real organisers running real events. Rather than guessing what features might be useful, they’re building solutions to actual challenges faced by trusted partners like Nick and his team.
Nick describes the relationship as “very much a two-way street.”
For TecTonic, partnering with Forumm meant gaining access to a dedicated team that understood their unique needs. For Forumm, working with an event as ambitious and complex as TecTonic provided invaluable insights into what organisers truly need when managing large-scale, community-focused events.
“It was an opportunity to give them a taste of what a large-scale client needs,” Nick notes. “And so far it’s been excellent.”
This isn’t the typical vendor-client relationship where you submit a support ticket and hope for a response within 48 hours. It’s a genuine partnership where both parties are invested in each other’s success.
“Nothing will ever be fully perfect,” Dan acknowledges. “But we go, we do it, and we ensure that the core is there. Those types of things are so useful, you care enough to take the time to write something and send it, as opposed to just stopping and going onto something else.”
Since partnering with Forumm, TecTonic has been able to focus on what matters most: creating an unforgettable experience for attendees.
“The freedom that you have over your registration architecture, it just works,” Nick says. “For us it’s been frictionless, and we’re really looking forward to seeing how the platform and the team and their market share develops.”
The partnership has enabled TecTonic to scale its impact whilst staying true to its mission. With Forumm handling the technical heavy lifting and providing dedicated support throughout, Nick and his team can concentrate on community building, curator relationships, and creating those magical moments that make TecTonic special.
“The butterfly effect from just having that many people in the same space for the same reason with the right attitude has been incredible,” Nick reflects. “We’ve got people that have moved careers. We’ve got people that have set up their businesses off the back of being inspired by being around these people.”
The vision for TecTonic extends far beyond Scotland. Inspired by the Slush model in Helsinki (where the CEO rotates every few years and the event is essentially owned by the ecosystem), TecTonic could be replicated across the UK and internationally.
“That model can be replicated right across the UK and indeed internationally with the right partners,” Nick explains.
Having a technology partner like Forumm, one that grows and adapts alongside its organisers, makes this scalable vision possible. As TecTonic expands, Forumm’s platform and support infrastructure will expand with it, informed by the real challenges and opportunities that emerge along the way.
This is the future of event technology: not faceless SaaS platforms with rigid features and automated support, but genuine partnerships between organisers and teams that are as invested in the success of the events as the organisers themselves.
Nick’s advice for other event organisers considering their platform options?
“For us it was a no-brainer,” he says simply. “We’re with them for the journey.”
That phrase “for the journey” encapsulates what makes a true partnership. It’s not about finding the cheapest solution or the one with the longest feature list. It’s about finding a team that will be there when you need them, that listens to your feedback, and that grows alongside you.
“I think waiting until it’s perfect, you’re going to miss your opportunity,” Dan notes. “You go, you do it, and you ensure that the core is there. We appreciate events like TecTonic taking a punt, it’s a massive vote of confidence, but it also forces the platform to develop further, forces us to prioritise certain elements of things that we didn’t even think we needed to prioritise until now.”
December 10th, 2025 | The Dockyard Social, 95-107 Haugh Rd, Glasgow
TecTonic Night Summit’s Year-End Exchange is your opportunity to:
Whether you’re a founder seeking advice, a professional looking to expand your network, or simply someone who wants to experience Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem at its best, TecTonic offers something unique.
As one attendee described it: “TecTonic is a good mirror for what’s happening right now in the tech sector. You feel comfortable enough to celebrate your success and dissect your challenges. It’s a good read on the pulse of the tech sector.”
Nick’s vision for the event is clear: “When people leave TecTonic, I want them to feel really positive about the support and the people that are around them locally. Hopefully, they’ve met some new friends, got some great advice and direction from our mentors and been inspired by the people that are exhibiting.”
The values that underpin everything at TecTonic: curiosity, collaboration, and community, are the same values that drive the partnership with Forumm.
The rising tide lifts all boats, and on December 10th, Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem comes together to make waves.
Learn more and book your tickets at TecTonic’s event page, powered by Forumm
Interested in partnering with a team that’s as invested in your event’s success as you are?
Whether you’re planning a small community meetup or a large-scale conference, we’re here for the journey.
Get in touch to see how Forumm can support your vision and how your insights can help shape the future of event technology for everyone.
