Trojan Track, BackAware and Sliglas – Named Connacht and Leinster Regional Winners in InterTradeIreland’s Seedcorn Competition

Trojan Track, BackAware and Slíglas have been named as Munster regional winners at this year’s InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition.

The three categories included Business-to-Business, Business-to-Consumer and Deep Tech.

Trojan Track won in the B2B category, BackAware won in the B2C category, while Slíglas won in the Deep Tech category. Each company received €50,000 and will advance to the All-Island final in Dublin on November 13th.

The InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition is the largest business competition of its kind on the island of Ireland, offering a total prize fund of €800,000 to promising start-ups and early-stage businesses. The Seedcorn competition offers start-up businesses the chance to win big without giving away an equity stake.

B2B Category

Trojan Track, based at the National Equine Innovation Centre at the Irish National Stud in Kildare, was founded in December 2021 by biomedical engineer Stephen O’Dwyer. Trojan Track provides an accessible, non-invasive way to monitor a horse’s movement, without disrupting their routine or relying on expensive, uncomfortable wearable tech. The AI-driven platform delivers objective, science-backed insights into a horse’s biomechanics.

Whether the aim is to enhance performance, reduce the risk of injury, or support recovery, TrojanTrack gives the data required to make smarter decisions. Built on innovation, tested in real-world environments, and designed with the welfare of the horse at its core, TrojanTrack is shaping the future of equine care.

Stephen O’Dwyer, Founder and CEO of Trojan Track, said:

“Seedcorn has been a brilliant experience for us as a startup. It’s validation that TrojanTrack isn’t just a great product, but a scalable SaaS business with global potential. The feedback from judges and mentors has been invaluable as we prepare for our next funding round.”

B2C Category

Meanwhile, BackAware, who are based in Kilkenny, won in the B2C category. The BackAware Belt is a wearable technology that gives instant feedback on your back position, allowing for better posture and lifting technique. Founder Eoin Everard’s idea came about after he saw people exercise in the gym in a way that was going to cause a lot of problems.

Eoin Everard, Founder and CEO of BackAware, said:

“I am delighted to win in the B2C category in the Seedcorn Connacht and Leinster finals. I’m really looking forward to the national finals in Dublin next month. Thanks to InterTradeIreland for all of their support to date. Entering Seedcorn has been hugely valuable, and I feel our messaging for pitching to investors is now much clearer now. We received great feedback each step of the way to improve our investor readiness. The money from the regional competition will allow us to complete the development of our product, making us more attractive to investors in 2026.”

Deep Tech Category

Slíglas was founded in 2024 by Paul McGoldrick and Sadhbh McCarrick and is based in Sligo. Slíglas transforms residual biomass into biochar for Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). This is done by heating woody residues to create a stable form of carbon that can be sequestered in soil. Put another way, Slíglas is the reverse of fossil fuel extraction, instead returning carbon to the earth. Slíglas sells removals to companies looking to offset hard-to-abate emissions as part of their wider net-zero strategy.

Paul McGoldrick, CEO of Slíglas, said:

“We are delighted that Slíglas have won in the Seedcorn regional finals.

Slíglas’s USP encompasses both tech and market. The company is developing streamlined pyrolysis reactors optimised for carbon dioxide removal. Ireland is a massive untapped opportunity, with abundant residues suitable for conversion to biochar and a large agriculture sector that can benefit from biochar application to boost soil health.”

All companies emerged victorious from a group of six innovative start-ups and early-stage businesses representing Connacht and Leinster. They also included eAltra in Borris, Co Carlow, Building Healthy Bones in Pilltown, Co Kilkenny and Slick Plus in Sligo.

The regional final, held on October 15th in Athlone, saw the finalists pitch their investment proposals to a panel of judges, including active investors. The Munster regional winners will now compete for the overall prize of €130,000 at the final in Dublin next month.

Shane O’Hanlon, Funding for Growth Manager at InterTradeIreland, said:

“Congratulations to all the finalists who participated in our Connacht and Leinster Regional Finals. The competition is always strong, and the innovation we see continues to impress year after year. A big congratulations to Trojan Track, BackAware and Slíglas for securing their spots in the Dublin finals next month. It’s going to be one competitive final.”

For start-ups and early-stage businesses, the InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor-Readiness Competition provides a platform to demonstrate why these companies believe they are ‘investor-ready’ and open to a funding injection.

As part of the regional finals, companies pitched their business plan to a panel of industry judges that included Stephen Scullion, Director of Corporate Finance at Invest NI, Paul Byrnes, CEO of Mavarick AI, Sophie Hughes, Analyst at Seroba Life Sciences and Denise Sidhu, Partner and Director at Kernel Capital.

The process mirrored a real-life investment process, and each finalist has received expert feedback on its business plan and pitch, as well as increased exposure to investors.

For information on Seedcorn, visit www.intertradeireland.com/seedcorn.