Showcase Day Celebrates Twelve Ambitious Founders In County Dublin (IADT & NovaUCD)

On 26th September, a new cohort of founders graduated from the New Frontiers programme in Co. Dublin. These early-stage entrepreneurs have startups in AI, medtech, automation, gaming, and the circular economy, and have spent the past six months on Phase 2 of the programme developing their founder toolkit.

Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers programme supports over 500 participants every year across 18 locations nationwide. It helps founders move their business from concept to market and includes a €15,000 tax-free allowance. The programme in Co. Dublin is led by the Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dún Laoghaire (IADT) in partnership with NovaUCD.

Also attending the showcase event were members of the startup ecosystem such as Ciara Concannon, National Programme Manager at Enterprise Ireland; Liam Cronin, Director of Innovation at University College Dublin; Lisa Brown, Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown; and Rachel Gallagher, Enterprise and Innovation Manager at the Media Cube (IADT). The keynote was given by programme alumnus Pierce Dargan of Equine Medirecord. The ceremony also rewarded four standout participants from the programme, as follows:

• Best Pitch award: Daniel Bergin-Holly of Biscuit Factory Games
• One to Watch award: Phuong Vu of Data Buckets
• Most Likely to Scale award: Ming Zhao of Datamnis
• Most Likely to Succeed award: Jo Cheng of Earth Visio

Speaking at the event, Rachel Gallagher remarked on the success of the programme and the partnership with NovaUCD, concluding, “It’s really successful from the point of view of the founder, and watching a founder grow from incubation all the way through to prototype, a real solution to a real world problem that they can market and commercialise and succeed on the global stage.”

Ciara Concannon, National Programme Manager, highlighted that “New Frontiers is incredibly important to Enterprise Ireland, it supports individuals to become entrepreneurs, to take a fledging business idea, and get a really supportive environment around them to help them stand it up as a start-up business concept and grow from there.”

The New Frontiers cohort in Co. Dublin

The graduates from IADT/NovaUCD are:

Alwin Stephen of Neuramodal

Built for enterprise decision-makers, EDGE empowers leaders to make smarter, faster, and compliant decisions across every function.

Kevin Collins of Echofold

LumaHue is an all-in-one health hub that gives GPs and patients clear, actionable health insights – transforming proactive care into something as effortless as checking your phone.

Ming Zhao of Datamnis

Manufacturing process optimisation using advanced analytics and AI to solve problems and optimise processes for sustainable manufacturing.

Phuong Lan Vu of Databuckets

The world’s first AI agent data analytics solution for large-scale mobile apps and games, accelerating the transformation from raw data to actionable insights thousands of times faster.

Sadhbh Wood of Bean Around

Bean Around is a coffee repurposing company that transforms used coffee grounds into innovative and high-value products.

Anthony Fildes of Nixerly

A B2B platform connecting construction professionals with businesses. It offers a searchable database of verified workers and paid job postings, streamlining hiring in the industry.

Jo Cheng of EarthVisio

Google maps for the underground utilities.

Dan Bergin-Holly of Biscuit Factory Games

High-quality, short-session videogames for the PC and handheld console market, with a focus on high-return game genres at competitive price points.

Daniel Smyth of Innerbloom, t/a Tendr

Tendr connects Ireland’s construction industry, empowering contractors, consultants, and clients to build together.

Darragh O’Regan of LifePath Solutions

An online platform to help people with disabilities and their service providers to identify support needs, create support plans, and track progress.

Irial O’Farrell of RoDi HR

An innovative approach to performance management, designing out many of the flaws of the current standard approaches with a more nuanced rating system, clarity on good performance, and a mechanism to keep objectives front-of-mind.

Vaibhav Gupta of Appfend

A B2B SaaS platform to train engineers in secure development practices through browser-based interactive labs.

Calling startup founders County Dublin

The New Frontiers programme in Co. Dublin is based in Media Cube in Dún Laoghaire and NovaUCD in Dublin. The Programme Manager for the IADT/NovaUCD programme is Susanne L’Estrange. “New Frontiers provides entrepreneurs with the time, structure and support they need to refine their vision. At the start of the programme, participants often arrive with early-stage ideas in need of validation. By the end, they leave equipped with a clear plan, a defined direction, and the confidence to move their business forward.” Find out more about Susanne and see our upcoming application deadlines (there’s still time to apply to their upcoming Phase 1) or register your interest in the programme.