Rory Byrne, Call Collate; Nick Connors,TechEnable; Conor Fahy, Enterprise Ireland; and Tadhg Henderson and Charlie Melia, Profitsflow
Marking the end of Enterprise Ireland’s Propel 3 programme, 10 start-ups operating mainly in the internet, SaaS and mobile arenas have presented to some of Ireland’s leading investors.
Following their selection last may, the 10 entrepreneurs underwent intensive business training and mentoring with management consultants PA Consulting which helped to bring them to a point where they were ‘funding ready’.
During the five-month Propel programme, the companies took part in workshops and got one-to-one business coaching, office space, advice and networking support to help them reach their business potential.
The group of investors attending included Chris Horn, founder of IONA; Paul Kerley, founder of Norkom; Kevin Neary, Orca Resources; Dermot Berkery, Delta Venture Partners; and Debbie Rennick, ACT Venture Partners.
On the path to growth and sustainability
“The businesses we have seen today have started exceptionally well on the path to growth and sustainability. The mentoring and training they have received from PA Consulting is evident in the quality of business presentations from this group of exciting Irish start-up companies,” said Horn.
Speaking at the event, Conor Fahy of Enterprise Ireland said 25pc of participants from previous Propel programmes had already gone on to become high-potential start-ups (HPSU), securing funding from external investors and Enterprise Ireland.
The 10 Propel 3 companies
- Epoch Office is a cloud-based collaboration software that allows busy people to have access to all their documents, tasks, and shared calendars from any location, thus allowing them to stay on top of their information flow.
- ABLM is developing a wireless network infrastructure for the delivery of home services to the apartment block market
- DriveIntell provides eEnterprises with intelligence to control driving-related costs and risks. Its mobile/SaaS-based system DriveStar captures and reports on key driving metrics, such as mileage and speed.
- Redeem&Get helps you manage the job of redeeming your group offer online. This way you can collect customer details, have them check in their group vouchers and convert them to your own company’s voucher.
- Profitsflow.com solves the problems most businesses having tracking information, co-ordinating sales reps and departments, and accumulating all of the company’s sales, marketing and customer service information for management decision making.
- iMedia Revenue provides SaaS solutions for the news industry that reduces operating costs and drives revenue.
- Callcollate helps companies manage their personal and business phone bills which helps users to save time and companies to save money easily and efficiently.
- Axonista connects broadcasters with audiences through mobile, web, social and connected TV. Axonista’s flagship TV listings and metadata management software product ‘Ediflo’ is used by broadcasters such as ESPN, Setanta Sports and MTV.
- uMobilize Promotions was established in mid-2009 to provide easy-to-use online mobile marketing and text messaging solutions specifically tailored for small and medium-sized businesses and agencies in Ireland and abroad.
- Text Me A is a new Irish company which allows anyone in the world to treat their friends (or themselves) to a drink or a meal through the internet. After online payment (on a computer or a phone), a text is sent to the receiver with a unique and specific code valid for 30 days in one of the participating bars/restaurants.
