Mark Rowe and his start-up Dynomed has won the Cork leg of the AIB Start-up Academy Summit in an exciting pitching competition that marks the second stop in an Ireland-wide road trip held in St Peter’s Church in Cork. He was pitted against Cork woman Claire McCarthy of The Bashco and Mel Clohosey of Social Feedia but won out to go forward to join the finalists in this year’s academy starting in The Irish Times next month.
Wexford man Mark Rowe set up his company Dynomed to tackle sleep apnea with the creation of a health care application to improve the effectiveness of therapies for patients using positive airway pressure devices.
The pitching event was one of the highlights of a summit that included expert input from a panel of business experts. Hosted by broadcaster Dara O’Brien, he led the audience through a discussion that got to the heart of the start-up experience. The panel included former Munster and Irish international rugby player David Wallace who is now an ambassador for Statsports which provides GPS tracking and data to Premier League clubs and Six Nations teams.
Joining him on stage was Grainne Dwyer, chief executive of the Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen, an innovation centre with one of the fastest broadband connections in the country. Dwyer is also the co-organiser of Cork’s National Digital Week.
Businessman Tom Durcan, best known for his encounter with the Queen of England in the English Market during her official visit in 2011, his business has been a permanent fixture in Cork since 1985. He has won many awards including a Blas na hEireann Gold Award and is a member of the craft Butchers Association.
The judges for the night were Adrienne Rodgers, Local Enterprise Office, Cork; John O’Doherty, head of AIB, Co Cork; David Murphy, head of digital, The Irish Times
Two further summits will take place in Dublin and Belfast over the next two weeks with expert speakers and pitches from businesses with the last chance to win one of the two remaining places on this year’s Start-up Academy programme.
The eight-week Academy will begin next month in The Irish Times and the finalists will make a final pitch to win the highly coveted prize at a final event in April.
To find out more visit aibstartupacademy.com