From left: Google’s Paddy Flynn with Martin O’Donnell and Padraig Hennessy of Terra Liquid Minerals, overall winners of Google’s Adopt a Startup spring programme earlier this year. Image: Shane O’Neill/SON Photographic
Internet giant Google will ‘adopt’ 30 start-ups for 12 weeks this autumn.
Google is calling for Irish start-ups to join its autumn Adopt a Startup programme, which has just opened for applications.
The 30 start-ups in the 2018 autumn programme will be made up of 25 Irish start-ups and the five category winners of the European Digital Top 50 competition.
‘The insights we gained while attending Google’s Adopt a Startup programme far exceeded our expectations’
– PADRAIG HENNESSY
“Google’s Adopt a Startup programme brings together some of Ireland’s best and brightest entrepreneurs who are making a real difference to Ireland’s start-up community through their innovative and vibrant ideas,” explained Paddy Flynn, director at Google in Ireland.
“This next cycle, they will be joined by five European start-ups and it will be really interesting to see what learnings and experiences they will share with each other.”
Think global
Flynn continued: “We will be carefully handpicking the start-ups to participate in what is an intensive programme. The chosen entrepreneurs will be ambitious for success and will have the potential to scale their business globally, as we have seen in the past with some of our alumni.
“They will also receive expert help from our mentors who have the skills and knowledge of the digital ecosystem, which are vital to ensure that Irish start-ups are staying ahead on a global level, not just a local one.”
At the end of the 12 weeks, eight companies will pitch to a panel of senior Google executives and industry experts, with the winning company receiving €10,000 in AdWords credit and eligibility for the Google Cloud Platform for start-ups as well as $100,000 in Google Cloud credit.
Seven other start-ups will also be eligible for the Google Cloud programme, receiving $20,000 in Google Cloud credit.
Kildare-based company Terra Liquid Minerals, which provides a fully serviced, smart liquid mineral injection system for herds, took the crown in the 2018 spring edition of the programme in a Dragons’ Den-style final, which was held in Google’s EMEA headquarters in Dublin.
“The insights we gained while attending Google’s Adopt a Startup programme far exceeded our expectations,” said Padraig Hennessy, managing director of Terra Liquid Minerals.
“From design thinking to optimising websites, and using tools which are freely available, [this] has helped us achieve our organisational goals. The help, support and encouragement we received from Google, the programme leaders and our team has helped us grow the businesses. I know we will continue using the lessons learned and the data gathered to make a difference to our business as we continue our expansion.”
Start-ups interested in applying for the programme can apply online here.
