Patrick McAliskey, chair; Wilma Erskine, special advisor; Gareth Macklin, founder; and Chris McAtackney, CPO, all Obbi Golf. Image: Obbi Golf
Obbi Golf has received backing from TechStart Ventures, Patrick McAliskey and others. It is aiming to help golf clubs reduce their admin paper trails.
Obbi Golf, a start-up in Belfast that makes software for golf clubs, has today (24 January) shared some funding news to coincide with its first year in business.
The company’s turn-key software helps clubs and golf fans manage their compliance, safety and training needs.
It secured a £1.25m investment from a number of investors, including TechStart Ventures. Northern Ireland tech entrepreneur Patrick McAliskey is also going to join Obbi Golf as its new chair.
McAliskey is the founder of IT company Novosco. He won a lifetime achievement award for his years of contribution to the business scene in Northern Ireland.
Early last year, he was appointed chair of IT services company Outsource Group, which announced expansion and hiring plans last October.
Of his upcoming plans to work with Obbi Golf, McAliskey said the start-up was “truly improving safety and compliance in the golfing industry and has the potential to achieve really big things”.
“The company has a very strong team and they have the vision, the ambition and the plan to grow significantly both locally and on a global basis. I’m excited about working with the team and helping them shape and deliver on their plans and vision to make golf clubs safer for all.”
As part of Obbi Golf’s future growth plan, the company will add 14 new hires to its staff. It is currently hiring two people, and once these are onboarded, the start-up will begin hiring more.
Roles will be in software, sales, marketing and customer success.
Gareth Macklin, founder and CEO of Obbi Golf said, “Securing this funding enables us to accelerate our growth plans quicker than we have ever imagined along with expanding our team. This is an extremely exciting time for the entire Obbi Golf team and we’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped along the journey.”
Macklin added that it can be challenging for golf clubs to manage “all the policies and processes involved with compliance, safety and training”.
“From conducting regular safety inspections to managing incident reports and employee training, there is a lot to keep track of. Where these critical processes have traditionally been paper-based, or not done at all, we knew that our product would give peace of mind to club managers.”
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