Start-up Gathering kicks off a week of almost 400 start-up events
5 October 2015
- Almost 400 Startup Gatherings taking place nationwide between Monday 5 and Saturday 10 October in Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway as well as the North East and North West from 5th to 10th October.
- Startup Gathering Week initiative led by not-for-profit organisation
Startup Ireland with the support of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise
and Innovation and sponsored by Bank of Ireland
The Startup Gathering programme of almost 400 events gets underway in the
Google Foundry today (Monday) with the Dublin Startup Island 2020 Forum,
which will include guest speakers from Startup Commons Global, Intel’s
Internet of Things, Dell, and Startup Gathering sponsor Bank of Ireland.
The event will be addressed by Ged Nash, Minister for Business &
Employment. Supported by Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
through the Action Plan for Jobs 2015 and sponsored by Bank of Ireland, the
Startup Gathering 2015 is set to be one of the biggest startup events in
the world. The aim of the Startup Gathering is to promote entrepreneurship
and help develop word-class regional startup hubs as well as highlighting
Ireland’s startup sector to global entrepreneurs, innovators and research
and development teams.
Close to 400 gatherings will take place in 5 cities over 5 days – Dublin,
Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway, giving participants the opportunity
to showcase their startups, connect to the supports and services they need,
take part in networking opportunities and collaborate with other startups
and established corporates. There are also extensive Startup Gathering
programmes taking place in the North East and North West.
Minister Ged Nash, who chairs the Steering Committee of the Startup
Gathering, said “The next week is a fantastic opportunity for those who are
thinking of starting a business, those who want to scale their business or
others who might want to invest in startups to come together, be inspired
by each other and share new ideas during the 400 events taking place. I
have championed the idea of the Startup Gathering from the outset and am
very pleased to see such an array of events right across the country
celebrating our startup ecosystem and, more importantly examining how
Ireland can truly become a startup hub, to rival any other country
globally. I would encourage any entrepreneurs or those with an
entrepreneurial spirit to get involved and support the Startup Gathering.”
Among the Startup Gathering initiatives, key sponsor Bank of Ireland will
run a dedicated programme of over 70 events across the five cities,
including talks with leading sectorial and industry experts in Bank of
Ireland branches throughout the country as well as Pitching events and
partnerships with Ibec for Speed Networking and Advice Clinics.
To attract overseas entrepreneurs, Enterprise Ireland has established a
dedicated €500,000 startup fund in conjunction with the Startup Gathering
to attract international startups to locate in Ireland.
A sample of events taking place during Startup Gathering 2015 week include:
DUBLIN
The Startup Gathering also has the privilege to host the 12 participating
‘early stage’ companies from the inaugural ChallengeUP programme, a joint
incubation programme supported by Intel, Cisco and Deutsche Telekom. These
12 companies were selected from over 300 applicants across EMEA (Europe,
Middle East and Africa) and are visiting the Startup Gathering as part of
an extensive learning and networking experience offered by the ChallengeUp
Programme. We welcome too the numerous mentors supporting the ChallengeUP
companies from Intel, Cisco and Deutsche Telekom.
Startup Island 2020 Forum - As part of the biggest national startup event
in the world, Startup Gathering 2015, Startup Island 2020 Forum is one of a
series of events that will take place across Ireland. The overall goal is
to champion the growth of the startup sector in Ireland so it becomes a
leading global hub for startups by 2020. A highly interactive forum with
open discussions and breakout sessions. Keynote speakers and forum guests
discuss their roles within the startup community and what their vision is
to make Ireland a Startup hub by 2020.
ISA TechBrew - Run by the Irish Software Association (ISA), ISA TechBrew is
an informal gathering of software company management and technology
leaders, getting together to chat over a bite and a beer.
The Silicon Stroll 2015 - Following on from last year’s successful “Silicon
Stroll” event, DublinBIC are hosting their annual “Current Trends and
Future Insights” Conference as part of the startup Gathering 2015. Join us
for the Silicon Stroll 2015 in the Marker Hotel located in the heart of
Dublin’s Silicon Docklands as tech giants stroll through their perspective
on Current Trends and Future Insights. Multinationals from the Internet,
enterprise software and the Internet of things take to the stage to deliver
presentations on their views of “Current Trends and Future Insights”.
LIMERICK
CoderDojo presents: MegaDojo Limerick - A mixture of CoderDojo sessions,
cool technology talks and some fun science events. The talks will be a
mixture of speakers from multinationals, local businesses and startups.
Local companies and startups will be invited display their products as well
as CoderDojo Coolest Project entries from around the country. A youth
Hackathon will be held over the day with challenges set and prizes given by
sponsoring companies in the region. All Dojo in Ireland as well as the
public are invited to come along and have fun on the day.
WATERFORD
The Enterprise Playground - In partnership with the Waterford City and
Dungarvan Enterprise Centres, The Enterprise Playground is a workshop where
new business ideas are developed, creatively expressed, their market
broadly defined and the financial needs outlined. The workshop is designed
for those in a startup phase or those adding new products/services to an
existing offering.
GALWAY
Bank of Ireland presents: Female Founders – East Side Story. Leading female
business leaders from the surrounding area of Galway share their business
experiences, whilst also discussing the support they have received from
various support networks e.g. GTC which led to their business success.
CORK
Launch of The Entrepreneur Ship - The official launch of The Entrepreneur
Ship in a new co-creation space for maritime and energy startups and
overseas companies looking for touchdown space. The Entrepreneur Ship
fosters the most exciting technologies being developed by talented
entrepreneurs and companies on a co-located campus with world class
research, training and test bed facilities. On the night the finalists of
the IMERC Innovator of the Year Award will pitch to our audience with the
judges selecting the winner.
Some of the speakers throughout the week include;
· Eoin Costello, CEO & Co-Founder Startup Ireland
· Oscar Ramirez Munoz & Valto Loikkanen, Startup Commons Global
· Philip Moynagh, Vice President, Intel Internet of Things
· Niamh Townsend, General Manager, Dell Ireland
· Dermot Berkery, Delta Partners
· Elaine Lavery, Co-Founder Improper Butter
· Carl Power, National Digital Research Centre
· Shane Lynn, Founder & COE KillBiller
· David Tighe, Head of Innovation, Bank of Ireland