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Svp Collapse A Big Concern

NEWS, VIEWS AND PROFILES ON THE LATEST START-UPS IN IRELAND

The amount of funding raised by Irish, female-led start-ups last year, up from €230m in 2021, according to a new report from TechIreland.

HOW IT ALL STARTED Dr Aviva Cohen

CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, SEAMLESSCARE

How have you funded the business to date?

I used my savings until we received commercialisation funding from Enterprise Ireland (EI) in 2020. In 2022, we received funding from our angel investor Frank Dolphin with matched funding from EI.

What’s the best advice you have been given?

In the beginning I knew very little about the inner workings of technology or finance. I tried to rely on ‘experts’ until a colleague warned me that I needed to learn about every aspect of my business if I wanted to succeed.

What’s the most important lesson you have learned starting out?

When something is not working you have to let it go. It’s tempting to hold onto an idea or a product because you have invested time, money or emotion, but that won’t lead to a sustainable business.

Your biggest make or break moment?

Receiving the commercialisation funding from EI. We had the ideas and the team but we knew that it would take time to develop and test the technology.

Is there anything you would change in hindsight?

I wouldn’t change a thing. The founding team have overcome numerous di iculties and worked together under intense pressure. These experiences fortified our trust in one another, built our resilience and fostered our drive towards shared objectives.

Company name: seamlessCARE

Location:

NovaUCD, Dublin

Product or service:

Innovative technologies to enhance the care of adults and children with complex needs.

Sta : Six

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has sent shockwaves through the Irish start-up ecosystem. Brian Caulfield, Chair of Scale Ireland, said: “The demise of SVB is of major concern to the Irish start-up sector. While the announcement that HSBC is acquiring SVB UK is a huge relief and will avert problems for quite a few companies, whether HSBC will be as positive towards the sector in terms of new lending remains to be seen.” The Ireland Strategic Investment Fund has given assurance that its US$100m fund with SVB UK is safe.

Irish Software Fund Launched

Sure Valley Ventures has launched a €30m fund, including a €15m investment from Enterprise Ireland through its Seed and Venture Capital Scheme. A seedcapital investor focused on artificial intelligence (AI) that brings a disruptive innovation to market, Sure Valley plans to invest in 15 software companies around Ireland through this new fund. “We are seeing exciting innovation clusters developing around AI across the regions,” said Managing Partner and CoFounder Barry Downes. Sure Valley has o ices in Dublin and Waterford.

€1.5m boost for Waterford-based Klearcom

Furthr VC has led a €1.5m investment round in Klearcom, which is rapidly expanding its global customer base. Enterprise Ireland and HBAN’s Bloom Equity syndicate also contributed to the round. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, Klearcom tests interactive voice response (IVR) systems (voicebots) used by businesses to manage incoming calls. The new investment will be used to advance product development from its Waterford base. As a result, Klearcom expects to be the driving force behind a new generation of IVR testing. Operating across four continents, the company’s global client base includes large multinational pharma, enterprise-software, credit-card and emergency-services companies. Last year it established a subsidiary in India and is on track to grow to a team of 50 by year-end 2024.

Agri-accelerator winners announced

MyGug and OptaHaul are the winners of the second AgTechUCD Accelerator Programme, which is dedicated to early-stage agri-tech and agri-food start-ups with global potential. Following a final pitching event held at UCD Lyons Farm, MyGug was named the AIB and Yield Lab AgTech Start-up 2023 and OptaHaul was named the Ornua AgTech One to Watch 2023; both received a €10,000 prize. Based in Clonakilty, Co Cork, MyGug has developed a micro-scale, egg-shaped anaerobic digester that turns food waste into a natural gas suitable for cooking and a liquid fertiliser for use in gardens. OptaHaul, based in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, has developed the first route-optimisation software solution designed specifically and exclusively for the dairy-milk transportation industry.

Kerry biotech company Blue Pet Co is one of six start-ups selected to join Leap Venture Studio & Academy, the world’s first and largest pet carespecific accelerator. Based in Tennessee in the US, the 12-week programme connects each chosen start-up with world-class resources and includes US$200,000 in funding. Blue Pet Co specialises in clean, marine-powered dog supplements enriched with seaweed extracts and o ers a range of unique nutritional ingredients produced via sustainable bioprocessing technologies. Already stocked in 25 retailers in Ireland and 15 more globally, Blue Pet Co aims to expand into the US and Australia this year. “Blue Pet Co is on a mission to re-establish the harmonious balance between pets, people and our planet,” said CEO Gary Daly. “Not only are our products great for pet health, but our holistic business model also achieves over 70% of the UN’s sustainability goals.”

BRIAN MCENERY

NEW TITLE: Managing Partner

EMPLOYER: BDO

PREVIOUS ROLE: Head of Advisory Services, BDO

Brian McEnery has been promoted to Managing Partner at accounting, tax, consulting and advisory firm BDO, which is creating 100 new jobs over the next 12 months. McEnery joined BDO in 1995 and has held many leadership positions outside the business, including Worldwide President of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Chair of HIQA and Chair of the Audit Committee of NAMA.

MAOILIOSA O’CULACHAIN

NEW TITLE: Chief Executive O icer

EMPLOYER: Furthr

PREVIOUS ROLE: Managing Director, Active Capital Strategies

Furthr (formerly Dublin BIC), an organisation that supports Irish start-ups to grow, has appointed Maoiliosa O’Culachain as its new Chief Executive O icer. O’Culachain is an entrepreneur with a proven track record of establishing, funding and scaling businesses, such as Global Shares plc which he cofounded. He previously worked with Nasdaq Private Market as a European Business Development Director and as Ireland Market Advisor.