Eleven Founders Graduate From New Frontiers In The Border Mid-East Region

Early in November, 11 founders graduated from Phase 2 of the dual-location New Frontiers programme in Dundalk (DkIT) and Dublin (DCU). The theme of this year’s graduation event was ‘You are not Alone’ and the day included a pitch competition as well as an alumni panel discussion that explored funding.

The event was an opportunity to welcome back inspiring New Frontiers alumni for a panel chaired by Maria Johnston, Director of Business Development, Humanities & Social Sciences at DCU:Innovate. Emma Duffy of My Forever Tooth Fairy; Myles McCorry of Galibier Cycle Clothing; and Sinead Crowther and Denise Lauaki of Soothing Solutions explored the funding routes they pursued, from bootstrapping to customer sales to Enterprise Ireland PSSF and HPSU funding. They shared their journeys since completing New Frontiers and how the skills and knowledge gained during the programme helped to shape their success, reflecting on how they’ve continued to grow and stay connected with the entrepreneurial community.

The graduating founders also took part in an exciting pitch competition, presenting their ventures to panel of judges and demonstrating the innovation and passion that defines this year’s cohort. Congratulations to Hugh Staunton of Aura Sports Cream, winner of the pitch competition sponsored by Regional Development Centre (RDC) client company, Overhaul. Hugh received his prize from Overhauls’ Chief of Staff, VP Maryellen Kelledy.

Speaking about the event, Programme Manager Dara Duffy – who has been standing in for April McCrave since May – commented that it “marked the culmination of an exciting six-month acceleration journey, celebrating the achievements of our 2025 Phase 2 founders who have shown incredible drive, creativity, and commitment in building their start-ups. A huge congratulations to all our graduates — the day was a true celebration of your hard work, dedication, and progress over the past six months. Wishing you every success in the next chapter of your entrepreneurial journey!”

New Frontiers cohort in the border mid-east region

The graduates from this year’s Phase 2 programme in Dundalk and Dublin are:

Shane Holohan of Culture Underground

Culture Underground is a digital platform offering immersive, self-guided cultural experiences via smartphones. It connects culture lovers with the vibrant work of local artists, writers, musicians, and performers through geolocated multimedia content.

Sharon Malone of Finerty Data

Finerty provides an open finance portal for consumers to control and share financial data with their advisors in real time.

Dearbhla Lynch of Align Care Focus

Align Care Focus is a digital platform that supports families and care teams by creating personalised care plans, simplifying coordination for older adults and people with disabilities.

Allen O’Donoghue of Face Painted Kids (FPK)

Face Painted Kids is a SaaS company dedicated to building AI-powered, adaptive solutions that improve education and therapy for neurodiverse individuals. FPK operates with a dual-product approach, focusing on both education and therapy and behavioural support, through flagship products, FPK University, CNS App, and FPK AI Dynamic Solutions.

Brian O’Farrell of Divot Pivot

A subscription-based platform where golfers connect to hosts and are hosted at clubs, increasing accessibility and community engagement in golf. The platform will ultimately include features such as golfer matchmaking, a credit-based system for tiered access, and a dedicated section for beginners to connect with teaching professionals.

Hugh Staunton of Aura Sports Cream

Aura Sports Cream is a natural, strong, pain relieving cream intended for young athletes and those dissatisfied with the current available options. Aura helps them to continue to perform and live their lives, by creating a deep, lasting heating sensation unlike other conventional options such as Voltarol.

Hugh Duggan of Mojo Health

A healthcare service platform that supports therapists set up in part-time independent practice (validation, bookings, payments, tax, and medical notes) to increase capacity and provides a single, free, integrated platform for clients (patients, carers, GPs, charities, etc.) so they can find, book, and pay for care.

Ankur Bassi of TopDog Store

The TopDog Store is the largest manufacturer and global exporter of innovative and unique drag lure and wireless timer machines that are used for training canines, raptors, equines and human athletes for competition and general fitness.

David Scullion of DavidScullion.com

DavidScullion.com is an online wellness platform that empowers individuals and organisations globally by providing accessible, expertly created yoga and meditation content that enhances overall wellbeing and fosters personal and professional growth.

Fiona Finucane of Finperiti

Finperiti is a workflow app uniquely embedded in Microsoft 365 to enable the collection and storage of client confidential data (onboarding), engrained in the firm’s BAU and existing architecture at a low-cost price point.

Lisa Gilmartin of Snugz

Snugz creates emotionally supportive products for families, helping them foster children’s emotional development through play.

Best of luck to these founders as they take the next steps with their businesses! Congratulations to the five participants who will now progress to Phase 3 of New Frontiers: Brian O’Farrell of Divot Pivot, Fiona Finucane of Finperiti, Lisa Gilmartin of Snugz, Shane Holohan of Culture Underground, and Sharon Malone of Finerty Data.

Calling startup founders near Dundalk

The RDC (Regional Development Centre) in Dundalk and DCU:Innovate in Dublin jointly deliver the New Frontiers programme in the Border mid-east region. This partnership between Dundalk Institute of Technology and Dublin City University means that New Frontiers participants have access to the expertise, facilities, and resources of both locations. The New Frontiers Programme Manager for this dual location is April McCrave. Learn more about April and the locations (Dundalk and Dublin) or see our upcoming application deadlines.