Nine start-ups from the technology, food, medical, sports and retail sectors will be pitching to get their hands on €60,000 worth of business services at a business elevator grand finale organised by IP telephony services company Blueface in Dublin on Saturday.
The nine finalists from the nationwide Blueface Business Elevator competition will be competing to win €60,000 worth of business services.
The business-pitch competition, which began in May, attracted applications from start-up companies and entrepreneurs around Ireland.
On Saturday, each finalist will be given five minutes to make their final pitch and then answer questions from the judges and the audience. The 36 contestants from the entire competition will also be showcasing their businesses to attendees on the day.
The ultimate €60,000 prize will include telephony services from Blueface, mobile handsets and tablets from Carphone Warehouse, advertising from Newstalk 106-108FM, public relations from Heneghan PR, accountancy advice from Gorman Quigley Penrose, plus legal advice.
Guest judges will include the economist Constantin Gurdgiev and David O’Donnell, partner, Mason Hayes + Curran.
The start-ups that will be competing will include CleverMiles. It has developed a system of interactive driver monitoring, education and incentivising. The aim of the service is to reduce road traffic accidents and save lives.
Galway winner Ireland’s Raw Kitchen is to aiming to become the first company to manufacture raw seaweed noodles using cold-pressed organic vegetable juice, super food powders, medicinal herbs/mushrooms and organic Irish seaweed.
Cork winner RigBag is an online subscription-based platform that is on a mission to bring the action sports community together. It’s aiming to provide athletes with a platform to buy, sell or swap new and secondhand equipment, trade tips and keep in touch.
Kilkenny winner Fantasy5live is a new social media site that is integrating real-time Irish fantasy online sports and offers competitions.
Limerick winner New Age Memorials is a glass-fibre headstone business that has been set up to offer a weather and age-proof solution for headstones and monuments.
Dublin joint winners include Oral Eye, which is claiming to be the world’s first online dental check-up service, while MotionFox has developed a range of clothes to bridge the gap between safetywear and sportswear.
Carrick-On-Shannon joint winners include Thought Box, an educational software provider, and Simply Phone to Photo, an iPhone app for users to print photos directly from their iPhones.
