Enterprise Ireland has topped up its commitment to Dublin social network startup Popdeem with a €200,000 investment. The agency had previously provided €245,000 of taxpayer funding for the 2012 startup, where the principals (pictured) are Richard Whelan (26) and Gavin Hayes (26).

Popdeem emerged from the now defunct Wayra startup incubator that was organised and funded by O2, the mobile network. Wayra invested €55,000 in the venture and the National Digital Research Centre – also funded by taxpayers - invested €20,000.

The only equity associated with the founders invested in the business is €5,000 from businessman Cecil Hayes. VC fund Delta Partners was reported to have invested in the company in 2014; the accounts for operating company Somnium Ltd disclose €350,000 owed to a long-term creditor.

The idea behind Popdeem is to help brands drive word-of-mouth and peer-to-peer engagement across social networks. The company white labels its technology to enable brands to use its social marketing tools to engage customers online.

Securing customers would appear to be a slow burn. Somnium’s balance sheet at 31 August 2015 discloses debtors of €8,814. The company booked a loss of €257,000 in 2014/15, bringing accumulated losses to €431,000. The company’s cash resources depleted from €438,000 to €184,000 at financial year-end, when there was a deficit in shareholders’ funds of €156,000.

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