Innovative high growth startups pitch for €9 million in investment as part of Prep4Seed Programme

Photo caption: Evelyn Smith (Enterprise Ireland), Gráinne Mullins (Grá Chocolates), Orla McDonnell (Everly), Laura Downes (Everly)

• 13 High Growth startups completed the fifth Prep4Seed Programme delivered by the Irish BICs in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland, preparing them for seed investment.
• Everly awarded the ‘One to Watch’ Award.
• Grá Chocolates received ‘Best Pitch’ Award.

The second 12-week Prep4Seed Programme of 2024 culminated yesterday at the Investor Pitch Day when 11 startups pitched to an audience of Angel & VC Investors at Enterprise Ireland’s headquarters.

The programme, delivered by the four Irish Business Innovation Centres (BICs), in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland brings high growth start-up clients through the investor readiness process quickly and effectively.

This cycle included 13 companies from around the country, representing industry sectors including ICT, Food, FinTech, Gaming, Sustainability and more.

The pitching Companies were: Accelerating Action, Assiduous Corp Limited, Diviso.io, Emotionise AI, Equieire Equestrian Ltd, Everly, Grá Chocolates Limited, Niskus Biotec, StationOps, Trave and Zenland Games Ireland Ltd.

Leo McAdams, Divisional Manager, Investment Services & Entrepreneurship Enterprise Ireland said: “Enterprise Ireland is delighted to partner with the four Business Innovation Centres to support these exciting start-ups. The companies pitching today are spread across a range of sectors including Food, ICT, Lifesciences and Financial Services. The calibre of these start-ups demonstrates the strong pipeline of promising, innovative and export-focused entrepreneurs located throughout the country and Enterprise Ireland is proud to be behind many of these businesses on their start-up journey. Our goal is to help drive the success of the most forward-thinking Irish companies, enabling start-ups to thrive and influence the future of global business.”

Everly who was awarded the One to Watch Award is a cutting-edge life event planning platform with embedded finance capabilities, designed to transform milestone celebrations and significant life moments.

Commenting on the award, Laura Downes CEO of Everly said “Receiving this award is a proud moment for us and a reflection of the outstanding support from Fiona Nagle and the wider Furthr team during Prep4Seed. Their mentorship, combined with our DA Billy Hanley and Enterprise Ireland’s belief in our vision, has played a crucial role in our success. We’re excited to use this momentum to keep advancing.”

Grá Chocolates who took home the Best Pitch Award is renowned Irish chocolate company, crafting exquisite treats that capture the essence of the Emerald Isle. 

Commenting on the award, Gráinne Mullines, CEO & Founder of Grá Chocolate said “Grá Chocolates is honoured to have won the Best Pitch Award. This milestone reflects the incredible support and guidance we received from WestBIC through the Prep4Seed programme. We’re also extremely thankful to Enterprise Ireland for their confidence in our potential and this recognition inspires us to aim even higher as I continue building Grá Chocolates.”

Participants attended five Masterclasses run by the Irish BICs and tailored one-to-one meetings with experienced BIC consultants which covered a broad range of areas including Sales & Marketing, Financial Modelling, Market Validation, Pitching & Investment and Company Foundation. Participants were also brought through intensive investor pitch preparation sessions and trial pitches preparing them for today’s Investor Day. 

As this cycle closes 66 startups have now participated in the 12-week Prep4Seed investor-ready programme delivered nationally by the Irish BICs: WestBIC, Propelor, Furthr and AxisBIC in collaboration with Enterprise Ireland.

The next Prep4Seed cycle will launch in early 2025.

ENDS

Irish Business Innovation Centres (BICs)

WestBIC
Mary Ryan
mryan@westbic.ie
www.westbic.ie

Propelor
Rosemary Ward
rosemary@propelorbic.ie 
www.propelorbic.ie

Furthr
Majella Murphy
majellamurphy@furthr.ie
www.furthr.ie

AxisBIC
Fionnuala Wall
fwall@axisbic.com 
www.axisbic.com