Letterkenny based Itus Secure Technologies and Galway firm ByoWave have been named ‘Best New Start’ and ‘Best Early Stage’ company respectively at the Connacht and Leinster regional final of the 2022 InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition.
Both companies presented their investment proposal to a panel of judges that included active investors. The winners fought off tough competition to walk away with €20,000 each and a place in the overall Seedcorn final later this month.
Seedcorn is the biggest investor readiness competition on the island of Ireland for innovative new start and early stage businesses, with an overall prize fund of €300,000. The winners from each of the four regions will go head-to-head in Belfast on the 24th of November.
Itus Secure Technologies from Letterkenny picked up the ‘Best New Start’ regional trophy. The company developed a machine learning driven platform called CYBRISC, which can quantify the level of cyber risk within SMEs. The assessment can then be shared with insurers and underwriters to tailor cyber insurance.
Dr Clare Ryan, CEO and co-founder of Itus Secure Technologies said:
We are thrilled to be recognised at the Connacht and Leinster regional final. We’ve followed the Seedcorn competition for several years and have been impressed by the growth of those companies who have been shortlisted in the past. The competition has been a great way to get constructive feedback on our business plan and benefit from expert advice and networking. We look forward to applying all that we have learnt and competing at the all-island final.
Galway-based ByoWave was named ‘Best Early Stage’ business and will now also make its way to the all-island 2022 InterTradeIreland Seedcorn final. The company makes modular, accessible and customisable video game controllers for people with disabilities.
Eibhlin O'Riordan, co-founder of ByoWave said:
Accessibility barriers affect 40% of gamers who have a disability, and they are being socially excluded from one the world’s most popular forms of interacting.
Brandon Blacoe, CEO and founder of ByoWave added;
We are grateful to the Seedcorn programme team for all their support and encouragement as part of the competition. Eibhlin and I have been working with disabled gamers for the past two and a half years to engineer solutions that help people overcome this barrier. We are delighted to secure the incredible €20,000 prize fund from the regional heat towards our product development.
Established in 2003, Seedcorn has helped in excess of 6,900 companies, giving entrants the opportunity to become investor ready, with expert feedback on business plans and pitches, and exposure to real life investors.
Congratulating Itus Secure Technologies and ByoWave, Shane O’Hanlon, Funding for Growth Manager at InterTradeIreland said:
As always, the standard of entrants to this year’s Seedcorn competition was extremely high, with both firms standing out with their innovative ideas, great pitches and drive to succeed. This is what the Seedcorn competition is all about – uncovering fresh businesses with great potential. Everyone at InterTradeIreland wishes both firms the best of luck at the overall final on the 24th of November.
