A 2012 startup established by Martina Skelly and her brother Mick Skelly has secured €600,000 investment for its online booking software, Yellow Schedule.

Enterprise Ireland is investing €250,000 after the Skellys sourced €350,000 from UK investors Sean and Jennifer Riddell, who used to run EMIS, a leading player in the software healthcare space in the UK.

Martina Skelly was a digital marketing consultant before starting her own venture. She was active in assisting accommodation providers with booking engines and the thought occurred that she could develop a similar platform for medical professionals. Yellow Schedule's targeted niche is therapists of various hues and 70% of sales are generated in the US.

Yellow Schedule chairman Howard Beggs, whose Helix Health Group had turnover of €10m in 2012, assisted with the fundraising. According to Martina Skelly: “When we started the company I had a whiteboard with names of people I thought might be very important for the development of Yellow Schedule. Howard Beggs and the Riddells were at the top of the list.” Skelly came to Beggs' attention at a venture pitch hosted by the Irish Software Association.

Yellow Schedule also received €50,000 from EI last year. According to company filings, to date the Skelly siblings and Beggs have invested just €6,000 equity in the company. After the Riddells buying in, but before account is made of the latest EI allotment, the Skellys currently own 56% of the venture.

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