Fourteen entrepreneurs who participated in TU Dublin's New Frontiers programme at its Synergy Centre have had their work showcased at a graduation ceremony in Tallaght.
The Synergy Centre at the technological university provides incubation facilities for startup companies and promotes entrepreneur development through the delivery of the New Frontiers programme funded by Enterprise Ireland.
The virtual ceremony included an investment pitch with two prizes amounting to €12,000, sponsored by law firm Philip Lee and AIB, which were won by David Weitbrecht of Returnr Ireland who took the AIB award, and Michali Hyams of GRC Playbook whose governance, risk and compliance software gained him the Philip Lee award.
Returnr Ireland provides and manages a deposit-return system for both food containers and drinks cups to cut waste from take-away purchases, which also helps keep food and beverages hot longer and secures cost and carbon savings for restaurants and cafes.
GRC Playbook provides tailored software solutions to manage and ease the workload of governance, risk and compliance consultancy work.
In Association with
The 14 graduates of the course, which ran from June to this month, heard some advice from 2014 graduate Ollie Hynes of Hub Controls, who said: "Don’t be easy to knock off the ball, but also be willing to change if needed; second, your first investors are the very first people you get to do things for you for free; and fail fast (if it’s not working), pivot and always focus on selling.”
Hynes also encouraged the entrepreneurs to keep in touch with each other as other founders are the best support group as they understand each other’s challenges.
The twelve other graduates are:
Alina Meindl of Solar Flare has developed a patented compound for transforming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into completely clean, carbon-neutral solar fuel.
Anna Carmody of Little Red Edu aims to enable 3-to-6 year olds to learn and speak English through a platform that uses augmented reality, speech recognition software and artificial intelligence.
Dónal O'Coisdealbha of Smart Literature Solutions is developing new technical solutions for making books and other publications more interactive and immersive for users.
Elizabeth Lawlor's PureStrike Golf Tees makes patent-pending golf tees that help golfers play a better round of golf.
Gavan ODonnell of microPROF has developed an advanced flashcard application for educators and students that saves time and improves learning results.
Gina Oglesby of Back To Work Connect has developed an education and employment career hub specifically designed to help returners get back to work and connect employers with candidates.
James Goldsmith of Voltclub aims to enable large energy users to buy electricity directly from wind and solar farms in their jurisdiction, bypassing the traditional utility model.
Jolene Cox and her One Yummy Mummy online interactive cookery subscription service provide busy parents with video-led recipes and meal planning solutions that take the stress out of cooking.
Katja Rybakova of Cellgebra is developing a cellular networks system aimed at improving the success rates of cancer drug discovery.
Matthew McAllister and his Mortgage Propeller is an online FinTech platform for mortgage brokers that saves three to five hours per mortgage application.
Michelle Ang is building Platform-M, a CRM tool for long term residential leasing and tenant management aimed at large corporate landlords.
Weili Guo of GenOne Biotech is developing a home progesterone test to help women with infertility and miscarriage problems.
