More than 300 start-ups from all over Ireland applied for The Irish Times/AIB Start-up Academy and the standard was extremely high.
From food to fashion to fitness, there has been a huge variety in the applications.
The judges have whittled the entries down to a long-list of 56, after a judging process which looked at the sustainability, unique selling proposition, goals and market reach of the applicants. The start-up academy will begin next January and aims to provide entrepreneurs with the skills and information needed to grow their businesses.
Over eight weeks, the selected participants will be guided through a start-up curriculum designed to help them scale their businesses, nail down their accounting, refine their marketing strategies, test their market fit and find and reach customers. One winner will be selected at the end of the programme and awarded the ultimate start-up package.
The prize will include €50,000 worth of print and online advertising from The Irish Times and €90,000 of advertising spend from Joe.ie and Her.ie. The winner will also get digital and social media mentoring with AIB's head of digital and innovation.
56 hopefuls: The start-ups that made the long-list from more than 300 applicants
Writing for Tiny, KudosHealth, Mangrove Green Ltd, t/a, Chilly Moo Frozen Yogurt, Leaves, Wyldsson, Kitty O’Byrne’s Ltd, Enduro Pro, Rain Water Station, MyDealDoc, Cinester (working title), NP Liquid Glass Systems Ltd, WattSpot, worldBOX.ie, ARK Platform Ltd, Coronal Holdings Ltd, (Groopeze), Delish Melish, Parkme.ie, Escape Goats, GymChef, Vanguard Beer Collective, Green Warrior, Nusli, BookSplits, Everest Granola Limited, The No-Nonsense Food Company, Himerus, Health Patel’s (creators of the One-der blend), Retro Barber Academy, Syzygy, Zile Organics, CarSafari Ltd, Herdwatch, Orpens, Sportiful Technologies, Dr Coy’s Health Foods, Ottera Technology Ltd, Forgotten China, Blanco Nino, Brian Mc Dermott the No-Salt Chef, Kids’ Play Bus and Dream Teddy, The App Tree Ltd, miDough Ltd, SimpliFly, Cool Baby, KillBiller, Obeo Ltd, Spruced, Athena College of Ireland, t/a Athena College, Body Project, LiveDuel, Usher, Zooki Ltd, Club Colours, FanFootage, Parfumarija, Redrose Developments Ltd.
For prize details and terms and conditions, click here.
