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Irish firm Profitero wins IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year

Edward — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:43:23 +0000

Volodymyr Pigrukh, Dmitry Vysotski and Kanstantsin Chernysh

Profitero has won the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year at the IBM SmartCamp Global Finals in San Francisco, California. The Dublin-based technology company provides a next-generation pricing intelligence service for retailers and manufacturers.
Profitero has already raised €750,000 million in venture capital from Delta Partners and Enterprise Ireland. It has 13 full-time employees.
The firm was founded by Volodymyr Pigrukh (CEO), Dmitry Vysotski (CTO) and Kanstantsin Chernysh (VP Engineering) in late 2010. It has grown in the retail analysis space since its foundation, and now hopes to partner with IBM to expand its operations in the UK and throughout Europe.

Watch video of the founders after their win.

Is VC money for start-ups drying up?

Stephen — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:34:10 +0000

Are the geese with the golden eggs flying south for a while?

While the last few years have seen a bit of a boom in venture capital funding for Irish start-ups, the next two years don’t look so rosy. In 2011, 159 Irish technology companies raised €274m from investors while in 2010 tech firms received €310.2m, according to the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA).
Since the start of the credit crunch in 2008, 547 Irish SMEs raised venture capital of €1.1bn. “These funds were raised almost exclusively by Irish VCs who during this period supported the creation of up to 20,000 jobs,” says Regina Breheny, director general, IVCA.
“However, there was a sharp fall off in funding in the second half of 2011. This decline is largely due to a pull back by overseas VC investors,” says Maurice Roche, chairman, IVCA and partner, Delta Partners. “We have serious concerns that Irish venture capital firms too will start to run short of funds in 2012. This will place a major brake on the future expansion of Ireland’s indigenous tech sector. In particular start-ups that have received investment in recent years from the Seed Funds will have great difficulty raising additional capital.”

2011 Summary:

Funds Raised
The IVCA VenturePulse survey shows that high tech Irish companies raised €274.4m from investors in 2011, despite the continuing global credit crunch. This compares with funds raised of €310.2m in the same period of 2010 and to €288.1m in 2009. While first half funding in 2011 rose 58% over 2010 to €161.9m, the second half of 2011 saw a decline of 46% to €112.5m.

Companies
The number of companies that raised funds in this period was 159, compared to 156 in 2010 and to 139 in 2009. Amounts raised ranged from €100K to €20m.

Seed/Early Stage
In 2011, 82 companies raised €104.9m (38% of funds raised). This compares with 63 companies and €53.6m (17% of funds raised) in 2010 and with 65 companies and €71.2m (25% of funds raised) in 2009.

App of the day – Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock

Alejandro — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:27:19 +0000

Platform: iOS (iPhone, iPod Touch)

Price: €0.79

Download it from AppStore.

Have you ever woken up feeling completely wrecked when the alarm clock goes off, despite the fact that you have slept “enough” hours? This usually happens when you wake up during a deep sleep phase (and you turn into a zombie for the rest of the morning). Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock uses the accelerometer on your iPhone to detect movement when you are sleeping, and then determine which sleep phase are you in (deep sleep, medium sleep, light sleep or falling sleep). This app uses a 30 minute alarm window that ends at your set alarm time and wakes you up in the lightest sleep phase, so you will be happy and full of energy for the rest of the morning. Obviously, this app is not a substitution for a good night’s rest, but it’s really helpful on nights that you don’t get as much sleep as you wanted. It has a nice design, it’s easy to use and the price is great taking into account the quality of the app. So place your iPhone on your bed before going to sleep and give it a try. Please comment and let us know if you liked the app and if it was useful for you. Sweet dreams!
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Seeking social entrepreneurs – €10,000 on offer

Alejandro — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:22:42 +0000

Ben & Jerry

If you have a business (or a business idea) and are committed to sustainability, then you’re what’s known as a [potential] social entrepreneur. The latest prize fund made available for European social entrepreneurs comes from Ben & Jerry’s, the ice cream brand.
The brand is looking for five socially responsible entrepreneurs from across Europe to win the ‘Join our core’ competition. Each winner will receive €10,000 in cash and mentoring from Ashoka. Successful entrants will pitch their ideas to a panel of industry leaders, including Jerry Greenfield (co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s), The Fairtrade Foundation and Ashoka.

Go to joinourcore.com for further details.

70 start-ups apply for NDRC Launchpad

Stephen — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:26:28 +0000

70 start-ups, both national and international, have applied for one of the 15 places available on the NDRC (National Digital Research Centre) Launchpad accelerator programme. The programme is designed for digital start-ups and 15 will be selected for the investment stage which starts in mid-February and ends in a competition for a follow-on investment sourced from VCs and angels. NDRC provides up to €20,000 per project in micro-seed investment to support the founders during the programme.
Last year, NDRC Launchpad was identified in the top six best accelerators in Europe following a study by the US Kaufman Fellows Programme. NDRC has supported the acceleration of 30 start-ups through its Launchpad programme since it was established in 2009.
With 70 start ups applying for 15 places, there is clear evidence that more accelerator programmes of the standing of the NDCR Launchpad would be welcomed. The NDRC and its participating start-ups have secured investments of €4.8 million from third party partners in the past 18 months.

Sony experiments with ‘3D sound’

Stephen — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:08:32 +0000

Here’s an interesting experiment from Sony. While we know what 3D video is, Sony wanted to add 3D sound to 3D video. So what exactly is ‘3D sound’? Sony says it uses “binaural ’3-Dimensional’ sound overlaid onto imagery”. (Yes, we’re none the wiser either).
The film below was created by acclaimed sound designer Nick Ryan and Sony World Photography Award winner Andrew Scriven. Their task was to “produce a multi-dimensional journey where you, the viewer, can watch and hear what it’s like to be a rock star preparing to go on stage at O2 Academy Brixton”.

Go create your own
You too can get in on the action and create a soundscape. All you need is a microphone or two, a recorder, headphones and sound, then head to the Sony Ireland Facebook page. You can also upload to YouTube to share your creations. Mark your projects with the hashtag #soundscape.

App of the day – Money

Alejandro — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:57:02 +0000

Platforms: iOs (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Mac) and Android
Price: Free version or €7.99 for the upgrade.
Download it form the Appstore or the Android market.

A good app to manage your personal finances is always welcome, especially if it’s free. Using Money you can manage and arrange all your bills with a calendar reminder, see your bank accounts and cards by taking a quick look at the screen or plan income and expenses in the budget section. You can sync from different devices and import or export data and reports. Money has a number of cool features but it’s really easy to use, with a good design. Give it a try and start saving by tracking your finances.

Sky to bring more digital jobs to Dublin

Stephen — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:24:07 +0000

The digital TV provider Sky says it will create at least 800 jobs in Dublin over the next two years. The firm will open a new customer service centre to meet increased demands from Irish customers. The centre is due to open in August 2012 at Burlington Plaza, in Dublin city.
The firm says new employees will receive competitive salaries, benefits including free Sky products and services, as well as training and personal development plans.
The increased service demands are being driven by digital innovations such as high definition TV, 3D TV channels and services like Sky Go which allows Sky customers to access live and on demand TV on computers, games consoles, iPhones and iPads.
Sky says it will offer successful applicants full induction training and on-going support. If you’re interested go to www.skycustomercentres.com for more information.
Sky’s latest initiatives in the UK are also likely to hit the Irish market. In the UK it is taking on LoveFilm and Netflix by launching its own pay-as-you-go web TV service, which will allow consumers to watch some of its movie and TV content whether they subscribe to Sky or not. Also, people who pay for Sky’s Unlimited Broadband service in the UK have free access to 10,000 Wi-Fi hotspots dotted in stores, bars and restaurants around the country.
The announcement of 800 new jobs at Sky comes the same week that The Sunday Times reported Google plans to create a further 1,000 jobs in Dublin. Google also purchased a new office building on Grand Canal Dock, to be named Google Docks.

App of the day – Evernote

Alejandro — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:40:58 +0000

Platforms: iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) and Android.

Price: Free

Download it from App Store and the Android market.

This is definitely one of the most popular apps of the productivity category, awarded several times in the past year. Evernote helps you remember everything and stay organised, across different devices. You can edit text notes, to-dos and list tasks using text, audio or images. After that you can sync them across your PC, tablet and the rest of the devices that you use. Apart from that you can email notes, save tweets to you Evernote account and share everything you want on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Apart from having a better and more organised life, many who use it say it’s a good substitute for Dropbox (a cloud storage system that enable users to store and share files and folders with others across the Internet using file synchronisation). It’s free so give it a try and if you are already using it, please comment and let us know if you are happy with it.

Access to Kauffman entrepreneurship programs

Stephen — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:40:36 +0000

The Irish Technology Leadership Group (ITLG) and DCU’s Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship will now partner with the Kauffman entrepreneurship programs.
The partnership aims to deliver Kauffman entrepreneurship and innovation programs in Ireland and Silicon Valley.
The Kauffman Foundation, a world authority on entrepreneurial innovation and economic growth, has shown through its research that over 40% of new job growth will come from new startup companies.
The partnership will “strengthen significantly our ability to stimulate and support entrepreneurial and innovation activity for the benefit of the Irish economy,” said Prof Brian MacCraith, President of Dublin City University.

About Kauffman
The Kauffman Foundation works through its Global Network Partners to advance an entrepreneurial society in which job creation, innovation, and the economy advance. The Foundation has a long history of partnering with organisations around the world to share best practices in support of developing economically successful entrepreneurial ecosystems.