Two up-and-coming companies from Munster are both €20,000 richer following their regional win at InterTradeIreland’s Seedcorn Competition. Waterford based STYL.wrap and Gasgon Medical from Cork have been crowned ‘Best New Start’ company and ‘Best Early Stage’ company respectively at the Munster regional final of InterTradeIreland’s Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition.
Both companies fought off tough competition having delivered an investment pitch via video conference in front of an expert judging panel.
Seedcorn is the island’s biggest business competition for innovative new start and early stage businesses in any sector. The winners from each of the four regions will go onto compete in the all-island final later in the month where the overall ‘Best New Start’ and ‘Best Early Stage’ companies will be announced winning €50,000 each, and ultimately the ‘Overall Winner’ will pocket €100,000 to inject into their business.
STYL.wrap is an innovative cloud-based platform that is solving sizing and fit issues for clothing brands. They reduce waste and over-production from the fashion supply chain while reducing high levels of returns from e-commerce by reverse engineer sizing and fit issues.
Commenting on their win, Shana Chu, CEO of STYL.wrap said: “We’re delighted to win the ‘Best New Start’ company in the Munster final and progress to the next round. This is our third time applying to Seedcorn, we have had some major shifts and growth during that time from applying lessons we have learned throughout the process. We are currently validating our platform and the money will help us scale the business so we can attract more brands and retailers.”
Med-tech startup, Gasgon Medical has developed AirVault, a device for removing air bubbles from flowing fluids. With plans to launch by mid-2022, the product will be aimed at medical intravenous (IV) infusions, eliminating the need for nurse intervention by automatically capturing the bubble before it becomes a problem for the patient. With AirVault, an IV can be delivered without frequent bubble interruptions or exposure of time-sensitive, toxic drugs such as chemotherapy.
Vincent Forde, CEO at Gasgon Medical said: “We're thrilled to win the ‘Best Early stage’ company in the Munster final and progress to the next round. The prize money will help us in achieving our key objectives in the coming months, which include product development and market strategy. We entered Seedcorn because we wanted expert feedback on our business plan as we look to raise funds this year. The feedback from judges has been instrumental, we have gained important industry insights from experts in investment, including how to navigate the current landscape and optimise for the type of investors we will be facing.”
Since InterTradeIreland started the competition in 2003, more than 3,100 companies have been through the programme and finalists have raised in excess of €276m in equity funding, emphasising Seedcorn’s position as the premier competition for high growth start-up companies on the island.
Congratulating both companies, Connor Sweeney, Seedcorn Programme Manager at InterTradeIreland said: “It’s a great achievement to win the regional final, the standard of entries from Munster this year has been particularly high. Congratulations to STYL.wrap and Gasgon Medical, they demonstrated innovation, confidence and enormous drive – all of which the judges look for when assessing the potential and longevity of a business. On behalf of InterTradeIreland, I wish them the best of luck in the competition’s overall final which takes place on November 25th.”
