The Founders cohort. Image: Dogpatch Labs
The diverse group of founders, who were paired up over the course of the accelerator last year, are now preparing for an in-person investor showcase in April.
Founders, the accelerator at Dogpatch Labs that started off as speed-dating for tech entrepreneurs, has created eight start-ups with pre-seed investments of €100,000.
First announced last year, the 12-week accelerator programme operated by Dogpatch Labs and funded by NDRC attracted interest from more than 500 applicants. Founders selected 40 to participate and team up with each other, eventually developing 20 start-up ideas.
Now, Founders is moving on to its second phase after selecting the top eight start-ups from the pool, who will pitch their ideas at an in-person investor showcase scheduled for April. Here is how Dogpatch Labs describes each of the start-ups.
- GlitchAds – aims to democratise advertising by “leveraging” ads and AI
- Inspeq AI – a low-code platform to improve AI applications “faster, cheaper and more reliably”
- Gemell – provides software to change fabric visualisation in the textile industry
- Cocu – an AI tender writer with a model trained on individual business data to optimise success
- Talio – helps content creators collaborate with followers and unlock product insights for brands
- Shōden – unlocks sales message personalisation through integrated composer UI
- GamesGrid – amplifies the reach of brands and engages their audiences through games
- NocoMed – a platform that aims to measure and reduce carbon emissions
To lead the first-of-its-kind programme, Dogpatch Labs brought in Silicon Valley veteran and angel investor Heather Morris as managing director.
Dogpatch Labs CEO Patrick Walsh said last August that Morris brings “a wealth of relevant experience” as an operator, advisor and angel investor. “She has spent her career identifying high-potential, early-stage companies and founders in various capacities at amazing companies like Chegg and JP Morgan and helping them overcome obstacles to get to the next level,” Walsh noted.
“Ireland has an abundance of tech talent, one of the best education systems in the world, and has been home to the European HQ of the tech giants for the last decade,” said Morris. “The Founders talent accelerator creates a new pathway for amazingly talented, outside-the-box thinkers to unleash their entrepreneurial potential and create meaningful change globally.”
The programme’s first phase included individuals from a wide range of backgrounds including Google, Meta and Stripe, experts from SpaceX and NASA, PhDs in machine learning and data science, and experts in energy, healthcare, gaming and sustainability.
“I discovered my co-founder and an indispensable community of entrepreneurs [at Founders] who genuinely want to see us succeed,” said Aisling Browne, formerly of Wayflyer, who co-founded GlitchAds with former Google engineering lead Kingsley Kelly.
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