Judges begin search for participants in third AIB Start-up Academy

The judging has begun to decide who will become finalists for next year's AIB-Irish Times Start-up Academy.

There were 452 applications this year from start-up companies who are vying to get a spot on the eight-week accelerator programme, where a company can win a prize worth €250,000 for their business.

This will be the third year of the academy, which is a joint venture between The Irish Times and AIB to help start-up businesses with an intensive training programme designed to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses quickly and sustainably by providing expertise and networking opportunities.

The academy launched in September putting the call out for applications from start-ups around the country.

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A panel of judges from the entrepreneurial community and from The Irish Times will decide who gets a place. One overall winner will win the coveted top prize package worth €250,000, which includes a substantial marketing and advertising spend.

The judges have been considering the applications and the longlist of 60 will be announced on December 6th. Some of the questions posed to the companies in their applications included “How did you research your market?” and “What are your business/financial goals?”

Overview

All the longlisted companies will be asked to submit a pitch deck – a brief presentation providing an overview of the company – which will then become what the judges look at in the next phase to announce the shortlist.

Shortlisted companies will be invited to pitch in The Irish Times building on January 10th, 2017, to get through to the next phase of the competition. There will be four summit events around the country for the academy early next year and you can book to attend via The Irish Times website. The eight-week academy will begin in February 2017 and the finalists will make a final pitch to win March.

The previous winners of the academy are Fabien Peyaud, who won in 2015 with Herdwatch , a farming app and software package for dairy and beef cattle farmers; and Martin O’Connell, co-founder of Nasal Medical, whose devices alleviate sleeping disorders, won this year’s academy. O’Connell said the prize was “life-changing.”

[ aibstartupacademy.com ]