7 exciting Galway-based startups begin second NDRC at PorterShed accelerator

• New ventures include fintech, media, recruitment and beauty startups
• Each startup receives €30,000 investment, and 12 weeks of intense mentoring and business training
• This is the second NDRC at PorterShed programme, with NDRC also operating acceleration activities in Dublin and Waterford
• NDRC celebrating a Decade of Investing

22^nd August, 2018: Seven exciting, new businesses are taking part in the second NDRC at PorterShed programme, with the 12-week acceleration activities commencing this week.

NDRC sources and builds digital startups to invest in and work with, supplying them with an integrated offering of knowledge, experience, expertise and a modest amount of capital, enabling them to become market-ready faster, more successfully and more efficiently than otherwise.

A partnership between NDRC and the Galway City Innovation District and co-funded by Enterprise Ireland, NDRC at PorterShed is a key part of Enterprise Ireland’s overall strategy for increasing the number and quality of startups that have the potential to employ more than 10 people and achieve €1 million in export sales within three years.

In addition to an initial cash investment of €30,000 per company, the NDRC team will provide strategic business development advice and intensive mentoring by experts in digital enterprises.

Last year Galway-based Appraisee shone brightest at the first NDRC at PorterShed Investor Showcase, with the car retail software company winning the offer of an additional €30,000 in finishing investment from NDRC.

Ben Hurley, CEO of NDRC, said: “We’re delighted to be working with a second cohort of ventures in PorterShed. NDRC’s investment acceleration activities over the coming 12 weeks will help build these businesses towards an investor-ready state.

“Through our NDRC at PorterShed partnership with GCID, NDRC’s offering of capital together with focused mentoring and support creates an environment wherein startups can prosper and grow. The ability to scale is key, with 25 per cent of our entire portfolio having secured at least €250,000 in follow-on investment.

“The number of applications for NDRC at PorterShed exceeded that of our first activities here in 2017, underlining the demand and the potential that exists in the west. Now, as NDRC recognises and reflects upon a decade of our pre-seed investment activities entailing more than 250 companies throughout the country, we hope to see this current, exciting group of startups push on and take their businesses to the next level.”

Niall McEvoy, Manager HPSE (ICT) Dept, at Enterprise Ireland, said: “Enterprise Ireland is committed to supporting innovative regional startups, and the NDRC at PorterShed programme offers a great opportunity for startups to accelerate their development towards becoming fully-fledged early-stage growth companies.

“Enterprise Ireland is delighted to be supporting this initiative and looks forward to working with these companies as they hit product and commercial milestones through the programme, with the possibility of one day becoming high-potential start-ups”

Maurice O’Gorman, Chairperson, Galway City Innovation District (PorterShed), said: “We are delighted to welcome the second cohort to the NDRC at PorterShed accelerator programme. The PorterShed team are looking forward to working with our partners to help these seven exciting digital startups achieve their ambitions. We are particularly delighted to see so many of our local business leaders supporting and mentoring these start-ups.

“The PorterShed has supported the creation of over 600 jobs since its formation in 2015.  With over 30 young ambitious companies operating from the PorterShed, we welcome these new startups to our community.”

The seven startups embarking on the three-month journey are:

• Metafact:  Supports newsrooms and media agencies by authenticating stories and removing ‘fake news’ misinformation. By tracking and tracing the origins and supporting references of stories on the web, its data and mapping tools aid good quality journalism and helps to eliminate the negative effect of artificial stories.
• PlanDomino: Supports work-flow management of high value, labour intensive and time-sensitive operations. It is helping pharmaceutical laboratories managing the time and resource management of hundreds of daily of sample tests.
• The BeautyBuddy: Working with brands and retailers in the cosmetic industry, The BeautyBuddy is building a consumer platform that allows recommendations, instructional videos and other consumer-level features to drive revenue growth on and offline.
• LunaConnect: In the fintech sector, the model is moving towards consumer empowerment in a PSD2 open banking world. Luna gathers data from consumers and SMEs applying for financial products, aiding institutions to make better financial/credit decisions
• WillVault: Addressing the distressing problem of crucial high-value document management in the legal sector. In the interface with consumers, WillVault allows solicitors and families to track and trace wills, power of attorney etc on a long-term SaaS business model.
• CorribPoint: Anti-money-laundering systems are required by any institution with high-value transactions, from banks to car dealerships. CorribPoint assesses all transactions and uses machine learning to identify ones that are at risk and escalate for deeper investigation, starting with the Credit Union sector.
• MyTechTalent: High-performance teams like data scientists or high-value sales teams need to be supported to balance their skills and challenge in the workplace. Measuring performance and implementing changes, early, avoids issues like people leaving or whole teams underperforming, which MyTechTalent is starting to develop for rapidly growing technology companies