The finalists for 'Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur' awards have been announced.
Narrowed down from 91 nominees, there are 24 individuals competing across three categories, dividing businesses between those pre-trading, and under and over three years of trading.
All of the finalists have been supported by their Local Enterprise Offices, with medical, media, gaming, IT, jewellry, food and biotechnology businesses among those included.
The national finals will be held on Sunday, March 5.
Best Business Idea Category (pre-trading)
Fiona Edwards Murphy (age 25) of ApisProtect, Kanturk, Co. Cork
ApisProtect is a ground-breaking IoT (Internet of Things) system that alerts beekeepers about diseases and pest threatening bee colonies all over the world. Sensors fitted into beehives monitor honey bees, providing information that helps reduce losses and increase productivity.
Damien Mason (age 35) of FlexiBod, Scariff, Co. Clare
Flexibod has developed the “Agilis Chair”, a seat which reduces muscle tension and increases mobility after just 20 minutes of sitting. It gives people back the freedom of movement they had when they were born, and is especially beneficial for deskbound athletes.
Alvan Hunt (age 26) of Hexafly, Kells, Co. Meath
Hexafly is using cutting-edge biotechnology to find smart ways to feed the planet. It is converting by-products from insects into valuable animal feed compounds such as protein, oil, liquid fertilizer and bioplastics.
Brian Henderson (age 26) of Baon Diagnostics, DIT Grangegorman, Dublin
Baon Diagnostics is developing rapid tests that help GPs diagnose infectious diseases. The goal is to reduce the use of antibiotics by accurately differentiating between viral and bacterial infections.
Gillian Doyle (age 34) of Cerebreon Technologies, Portnoo, Co. Donegal
Cerebreon Technologies is developing software that will automate many of the current, paper-heavy and time consuming processes that exist in the insolvency industry, benefiting insolvency firms and individuals in financial difficulty.
Desmond Dolan (age 27), of MistCalls, Carrick-on-Shannon, Roscommon
MistCalls is an innovative mobile call manager that saves time and money by organising and adding context to missed calls. It also offers intuitive features, including “contact groupings”, “zero inbox” organisation techniques and “urgent/important to-do lists”.
Cathal O'Sullivan (age 24) of GameX, Greystones Co. Wicklow
GameX is an award-winning games recommendation engine that finds the perfect game for players by analysing their previous gaming history and stats across all devices. GameX utilizes the data between all gaming sectors to learn exactly what type of game a person should buy.
Jenny Reynolds (age 33) of Topper Technology
Topper is a ground-breaking new app providing SMEs with a simple payment processing system which will help overcome their biggest problem - getting paid. The App also enables small businesses to manage their customers, appointments and events.
Best Start-Up Business Category (up to 36 months)
Mark Moriarty (age 27) of Awesound, Rochestown, Cork
Awesound uses patent-pending technology that lets anyone publish their podcasts or audiobooks via existing apps through dynamic, targeted advertising - or by selling directly to listeners. Awesound is used by publishers, audiobook authors and independent podcasters.
Derek Counihan (age 33) of Harpoon, Tralee, Co. Kerry
Harpoon provides ammunition for regional, local and hyper-local media to compete against national players in the battle for global digital ad spend. It offers a mobile app platform, providing automated revenue streams to media outlets to instantly monetise digital.
Roisin Hogan (age 35) of HIRO by Roisin, Drogheda, Co. Louth
Hiro by Roisin serves up delicious, healthy Japanese and Asian-inspired street food, via the chilled ready-meal cabinet in supermarkets. The carb free and low calorie noodle dishes are made from a vegetable flour that eliminates high calories, without comprising on taste.
Samuel Dennigan (age 31) of Strong Roots, Dublin Fruit Market, Dublin
Strong Roots is developing healthy, premium, and delicious food alternatives to revolutionise the supermarket frozen food aisle. Its flagship products are oven-baked sweet potato chips, kale and quinoa burgers, garlic roasted sweet potatoes and avocado halves.
Brian O’Rourke (age 26) of CitySwifter, Keenagh, Co. Longford
CitySwifter is the first transport system in the world which empowers people to control how they move around cities for work and pleasure. Passengers online journey requests are matched with other travelers, and private buses are then booked to transport them.
Kyle McLoughlin (age 28) of Posude, Boyle, Co. Roscommon
Software development company, Posude, has developed subteacher.ie, a database which connects post-primary school principals with qualified teachers available to fill substitute classroom positions.
Shane Bonner (age 34) of Newmarket Kitchen, Bray, Co. Wicklow
Newmarket Kitchen is a food incubator which provides shared commercial kitchen space for emerging Irish food businesses. It also offers fridge and freezer space, marketing, branding and advice on food regulations, labelling and packaging.
James Sherlock (age 34) of Smart Business Analytics, Athlone, Co. Westmeath
Smart Business Analytics uses software to analyse and transform data into business opportunities for companies. It unlocks value in their current investments, and develops a future data vision and roadmap for growth.
Best Established Business Category (over 36 months)
Richard Barrett (age 27) of Pundit Arena, South Mall, Cork
Pundit Arena is a sports media platform that empowers sports fans to become paid journalists through a unique revenue sharing model known as the Hit List. The Hit List is a live league table that enables writers to accumulate points, and earn cash and rewards.
Adrian Fleming (age 33) of Accuvio, Georges Quay, Limerick
Accuvio provides a cloud-based software that helps large organisations in the fight against climate change by tracking their carbon footprint. The software collects data on consumption and applies country specific calculation standards and methodologies.
Barry Goulding (age 33) of BSG Design, Peterstown, Trim, Co. Meath
BSG Design uses technical skills and specialist software to design, manufacture and install exquisite handcrafted bespoke kitchens, joinery and furniture for both the domestic and commercial markets.
Ciara Clancy (age 26) of Beats Medical, Sandyford, Dublin 18
Beats Medical has invented an App that provides individually-tailored treatments for people with Parkinson’s Disease, helping them take control of their illness by addressing mobility, speech and fine hand movement issues.
Heinrich Anhold (age 35) of StableLab, Ballinode, Co. Sligo
StableLab is a revolutionary, hand-held blood test that helps vets detect infections in horses in minutes, even before physical symptoms are apparent. The test is 50 times more sensitive than a thermometer.
Nigel O'Reilly (age 35) of Nigel O'Reilly Goldsmith, Foxford, Co. Mayo
Nigel O’Reilly is pushing the boundaries of design by creating unique, hand-crafted jewellery - ranging from elaborate neckpieces to simple weddings bands - from gold and other raw materials.
Kate Gaynor (age 33) of Advanced Coatings, Carlow
Advanced Coatings is a specialist paint company which supplies a range of high-performance superior Scandinavian paints into the Irish market, specifically targeting the industrial sector. Its customers are agricultural and industrial equipment manufacturers in Ireland.
Kelly Ging (age 28) of Kelly Lou Cakes, Portlaoise, Co. Laois
Kelly Lou Cakes is a commercial bakery that creates custom-made cakes, wedding cakes, cupcakes and other sweet treats for consumer and corporate customers. They bake without using preservatives and update their flavours and designs according to taste trends.