DIT Spin-Out, Fenestra Pro, was named the Best New Start Company at the Dublin final of the 2013 InterTradeIreland All-Island Seedcorn Investor Readiness competition. Fenestra Pro, which is based in DIT Hothouse, Docklands Innovation Park, Dublin 3, beat tough competition from two other Dublin finalists to win a cash prize of €20,000 to help finance the early stages of its ventures. The company will now go on to compete in the all-island final of the competition, which will take place on the 27th November 2013 at the Clontarf Castle Hotel, Dublin.
Now in its eleventh year, Seedcorn is the island’s biggest business competition for new start/early stage companies in any sector, from any part of the island. The competition, aimed at companies who have a new equity funding requirement, has an overall cash prize fund of €280,000 with no equity stake. To date, InterTradeIreland has supported over 1,950 enterprising companies through the Seedcorn process and it is considered an important barometer for new and emerging companies among the investment and business communities.
Established in 2012, FenestraPro is cloud based software for architects to design environmentally efficient building facades more cost effectively. The software enables compliance checking with increasingly rigorous energy and environmental performance standards from an early stage in the building design process, and encourages best practice energy performance and green building design. As a result, by eliminating redesign late in the design process, FenestraPro improves the design process by at least 30%, a €30,000 saving to the architect on a single €5 million project.
David Palmer, CEO, Fenestrapro said; “We are delighted to have won the Dublin Best New Start regional final. We were confident with our business model and strategy going into the competition and it paid dividends. The cash injection will allow us to take version one to the market and to the UK. We enjoyed the experience and are looking forward to the national final later this month.”
Thomas Hunter McGowan, Chief Executive, InterTradeIreland added; “Our Seedcorn competition reaches out to businesses at the early stages in their development and at the stages where they need most support. The competition goes beyond the cash prize as it allows businesses to experience the competitive investor pitching process and equips them with skills they can develop for future pitches. There is a common theme amongst all those who participate – passion. The passion, drive, determination and innovation shown by these companies is heartening because these companies have the potential to be a key driver of economic growth. The Seedcorn competition reaches out to businesses at the early stages in their development and it is exciting for InterTradeIreland to work with these companies at such a crucial stage of their business. The quality of companies in the Dublin regional final was outstanding and I congratulate Fenestra Pro on their win today from this very competitive field.”
Fenestra Pro will go head-to-head with the winners of the Northern Ireland, Munster and Connacht & Leinster finals for the title of overall Best New Start Company.
Finalist companies also benefits from being part of the InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Network – an extensive business and investment community that helps boost their profile, contacts and future potential investment opportunities.
The all-island finals will take place at Clontarf Castle, Dublin on the 27th November, where companies are in with a chance to compete for the overall ‘Best New Start Company’ prize worth €50,000 or the overall ‘Best Early Stage Company’ prize worth €100,000.
Previous finalists of the competition have gone on to secure more than €169 million worth of equity since the start of the Seedcorn competition. Previous finalists have included companies from sectors including technology, online, medical devices, green tech solution, healthcare solutions and consumer products. Further details are available on http://www.intertradeireland.com/seedcorn/
Companies can follow the Competition on Twitter (@ITI_seedcorn) or on LinkedIn (Seedcorn Network) where they can get valuable information and advice from experts.