James Foody, whose startup Ayda has created a wearable fertility tracker for women, was awarded €50,000 and named Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur at the IBYE awards ceremony. His company also took home the award for 'best startup'.
Foody and his partner Aoife Crowley founded Ayda last year. The duo has developed a fertility tracker for women to wear during sleep. Foody holds a master's degree in biomedical engineering from UCC.
Other winners include Kilkenny's Blaine Doyle, whose company GlowDx won 'best new idea' and an investment of €20,000. GlowDx aims to provide a cost-effective diagnoses option for tropical diseases in developing countries.
Additionally, James Keogh earned the 'best established business' for his company Rathwood, based in Tullow, Co Carlow. Rathwood is a retail entertainment company that puts on themed events year-round.
'Best online promotion of business' went to Isolde Johnson, co-founder of the Cool Bean Company.
In Association with
Jobs minister Richard Bruton announced the IBYE awards winners following a series of live pitches to a judging panel. The competition, which offers €2 million in funds to county and national winners, drew 1,400 applications from Irish entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 30.
