Galway software company Econiq has tapped private investors using the EIIS tax incentive for €1,250,000. Sixteen individuals participated in the funding round, including chairman Tony Garry, the former Davy CEO, who invested €150,000.

Econiq is led by founder Jim Callan, who sold a pervious venture Eontec to Siebel Systems for a large gain. The company has its base in Galway but mostly operates in the US.

Econiq was a winner at the US-Ireland Research Innovation Awards in 2016, which is organised by the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland and the Royal Irish Academy.

Econiq’s Conversation Hub senses and responds to business conversations and facilitates live analysis and transcripts of conversations. Aimed at contact centres and banks in the US market, the aim of the product is to spot opportunities for additional sales.

In Association with

In August 2015 the company received a €4m equity investment, of which €2.5m was sourced from EIIS investors, including €960,000 from clients of Davy. Belgian company Embros BVBA invested €250,000 in May 2016 and Enterprise Ireland invested €200,000 in September 2016.

Econiq Ltd booked a loss of €1.2m in 2015, bringing accumulated losses to €6.3m. With €5.2m equity invested in December 2015, the company was also funded with €8.1m of loans repayable between two and five years. The year–end deficit in shareholders’ funds was €1m.

Econiq employed an average of 13 people including directors through 2015, with the payroll overhead coming in at €1m.

A board shake-up was effected in February 2017. Paul Callan, Jonathan Davie and Stephen Pull resigned as directors while Tony Garry and Mark Ryan were appointed as directors of the company.

 
Photo: Econiq CEO Jim Callan (left) and EVP Cleve Coswell