Student Entrepreneurs bag awards at the Start100 Showcase

WestBIC is an Enterprise Ireland partner providing hands-on startup support, funding readiness and investment preparation for early-stage founders in the west of Ireland.

Four Galway college students have been tipped for great things after taking home awards which showcase entrepreneurial and innovative brilliance.

IdeasLab, the entrepreneurial and innovation hub located in NUI Galway launched its first ever student accelerator programme this summer. Start100 aims to support students with business ideas to launch early stage start-ups.

In its first year, Start100 saw nine student teams present at the showcase in July, pitching their innovative ideas to a panel of judges from the worlds of academia, research, industry and enterprise after an intensive six week programme.

The Start100 programme provides physical space, key networking opportunities, expert mentorship from alumni and enterprise, as well as a support fund of over €40,000! The fund is to research and develop the innovative idea throughout the programme as well as the chance to win a final event prize fund to kick-start their start-up journey. This programme is funded by EIT HEI Initiative and the Human Capital Initiative (Government of Ireland).

The programme has connected students into the thriving community of innovators and entrepreneurs in the West of Ireland, including BioInnovate Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, WestBIC, Galway City Innovation District and the Local Enterprise Offices and has been supported by companies in the region including Mbroynics, Boston Scientific, Aerogen, Medtronic, SAP, Galway International Arts Festival, Channel Mechanics, Veryan and Orreco.

IdeasLab, the entrepreneurial and innovation hub at NUI Galway, announced ICTUS Medical as the overall inaugural Start100 for 2022 and winners. ICTUS Medical is co-founded by Peter Best-Lydon, a Galway native and recently graduated NUI Galway Biomedical Engineering student and Ciarán McDermott, an NUI Galway Electronic Engineering final year student. The dynamic duo are developing a painless monitoring device that empowers stroke survivors to take control of their health by detecting early onset of sleeping strokes.Speaking on behalf of ICTUS Medical Peter Best-Lydon said:

“We are absolutely delighted to win. Start100 has been a massive help to us with all of the connections that we have made. There is a buzz every week in IdeasLab and it was great to get a sense of working in a start-up. We are really looking forward to making a significant impact to the patient.’’

IRIS bagged the One to Watch award. IRIS is co-founded by Keelan Rowley and Michael Dillon, both recent graduates of NUI Galway’s BSc in Project and Construction Management. IRIS is a safety device that helps detect the presence of people and animals from machinery like Tractors, Diggers, Dumpers. A cost effective device that saves lives and families. Winning this award will allow Michael and Keelan to focus on prototyping and validating their idea.

President of NUI Galway, Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh launched the showcase event.

“It’s a great encouragement to see young people finding solutions to problems through innovation, ideas and solutions and also to see them being supported in that journey by our educators, our university community, and our civic and business networks,”

The difficult decision of selecting the most investable idea was made by a diverse judging panel representing some of Irelands best and brightest entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and academics. The panel for the final showcase included: Dr Helen McBreen, Partner Atlantic Bridge; Professor Michelle Millar, Dean of Students at NUI Galway; Dr Paul Dodd, Vice President Engagement, NUI Galway; Dr Vanessa Creaven Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Spotlight Oral Care; and Finn Hegarty, Co-Founder and Chief Procurement Officer at GloFox, and NUI Galway graduate.

Dr Natalie Walsh, Director of Entrepreneurial Development at NUI Galway, said:

“In recent years, we have seen some fantastic student entrepreneurs create global businesses in the west of Ireland. Through Start100 we now have a platform to support more students to achieve this type of success through the creation of commercial and social enterprises. Start100 is the first student incubator to launch in the University, designed with former and current students, our alumni and enterprise partners, we are incredibly proud to see Start100 come to life on our campus.”

A summary of nine projects showcased at the event included:

· I Said Speak — An information awareness video that delves into Ireland’s drink culture among students

· Receipt Relay — A customer insights software for retail and hospitality chains using point of sale and consumer app integrations

· IRIS — A safety device that helps detect the presence of people and animals from farm machinery — saving lives and families

· Matán Marketing — Digital marketing for gyms

· Scrunch-UP — An anti-spike scrunchie for university students

· ThoughtGarden — Self-administered CBT mobile game to reduce anxiety and depression

· DataPals.io — A data-driven e-commerce agency that builds and optimises high-performance Shopify stores

· Struts.app — An application that facilitates the remote capture of patient’s foot scan data using just a smart phone

· ICTUS Medical — A painless monitoring device that empowers stroke survivors to take control of their health by detecting sleeping strokes

WestBIC were delighted to attend on the day of the final to support the upcoming entrepreneurs in the West of Ireland. A special thanks to Dr. Natalie Walsh and Jenny Mullery for organising such a beneficial and invigorating accelerator programme. The calibre of companies shows the prosperous future ahead for entrepreneurship and innovation in the West! WestBIC would like to wish all of the students the very best of luck going forward and we look forward to collaborating in the future.

For more information visit http://www.nuigalway.ie/Ideaslab.