€25,000 value prize on offer for one lucky exhibitor at this year’s Irish Innovation Showcase

Dragon’s Den style ‘Pitchcrawl’ competition, with prize of seed funding/equity plus consultancy services, up for grabs

Companies exhibiting at the upcoming Irish Innovation Showcase in Limerick might walk away with a prize worth €25,000 from the first ever ‘Pitchcrawl’ competition staged at an Irish business showcase.

The 150 or so companies showcasing at event, which will be hosted by LIT at Dell Ireland on its Limerick campus on October 4th next, will be in with a chance of securing an equity/seed capital injection of €15,000 from LIT’s Enterprise Ladder Fund, plus a range of consultancy services worth €10,000, in the ‘Dragon’s Den’ type competition.

Dell is supporting the event, which is the high point of Limerick Enterprise boards Business Week, for the second year running.

The ‘Pitchcrawl’ concept is modelled on a new method in the US for startup CEOs to network with investors in which they make an ‘elevator pitch’ at events/showcases of their ideas and concepts to investors. The Irish Innovation Showcase Pitchcrawl will be the first of its kind here and is mainly geared towards start-ups and early stage companies

Only companies who are showcasing at the event will be entitled to enter and can do so by filling out a form, which will ask them to set out why they should be considered for the prize, when booking a stand for the event.

Up to ten companies will be selected out of all the entries to pitch Dragon’s Den style for three minutes in the morning session to a panel of judges. The judges will be tasked with choosing a shortlist of three companies who will then receive some coaching from an expert before going on to pitch again, this time during the lunch-time recess and in front of members of the public, for the grand prize.

Announcing the competition, LIT Enterprise Development & Business Liaison Manager Gillian Barry said that the prize will be a significant boost for a startup or early stage company. “Between the seed funding that will be available to the winner from our Enterprise Ladder Fund and the consultancy services that they will receive as part of the overall prize, this is a really attractive opportunity for startup or early stage companies and at a time when this type of funding and advice can make such a difference.

“We expect this to generate a lot of interest but companies will need to book their stand early to avoid disappointment as we already have a large number of stands taken and only companies exhibiting at the Showcase can enter. This element of the Showcase will also create an additional buzz at the event, not least during the final, which will be open to the public.”

The €10,000 worth of consultancy services, in addition to the €15,000 in funding from LIT’s ELF fund, in the overall prize will be provided by Holmes O’Malley Sexton Solicitors, Grant Thornton, The Discovery Partnership, Bridge PR and Kieran Clancy Photography.

The Pitch-Crawl is one of a number of additional elements added to this year’s Showcase after the successes of the previous five events. The event is now the largest enterprise showcase held annually in Ireland.

Over 150 companies will exhibit their products and services at the event, which will also include break-out sessions/seminars in the morning and evening on Funding for Small Business, Innovation and International Trade.

Companies looking specifically to develop export/import trade with international markets will also benefit from the addition of a unique new element to the Showcase involving foreign embassy representatives from some of Ireland’s leading trade partners being present on stands to give insights into doing business in their countries.

The Innovation Showcase is open to all businesses, from start-ups to long established companies, across a range of sectors, from manufacturing to services. They will be able to exhibit to an expected 3,000 strong attendance that will include investors, other businesses and general members of the public. It will also be an ideal opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to examine the market for their emerging companies.

For further information, including booking stands for the Showcase email innovation@LIT.ie or visit the Irish Innovation Showcase website at www.irishinnovationshowcase.ie

ENDS

About LIT’s Enterprise Ladder Fund

LIT’s Enterprise Ladder Fund, launched earlier this year, is a unique, privately generated fund to support the early and developmental stage for start-up businesses in the Mid-West region. The €1million ‘Enterprise Ladder Fund’ (ELF) is the first seed-fund specifically for start-up companies at an Irish Institute of Technology. Qualifying companies can expect to receive funding of between €10,000 and to €25,000 through the newly established ELF.

The ELF will provide much needed early stage financial equity for start-up companies in LIT’s existing enterprise centres. The ELF will also be open to supporting start-up companies in the greater Limerick region. The fund was instigated by the LIT Thought Leadership and Advisory Group as part of its ongoing endeavours to support entrepreneurship and stimulate job creation. LIT has already secured €350,000 of the targeted €1m through philanthropic contributions from donors around the region. The remaining two-thirds of the fund will be secured by year-end through similar, tax-incentivised means.

Donors who have already contributed to the ELF are Analog Devices, Grant Thornton, Holmes O’Malley Sexton, BDO, Limerick Chamber of Commerce, Ryan Group Holdings, The JP McManus Foundation and M2 Supplies.

For Further Information Contact:
Robert Grealis
t: +353 94 902 9929
m: +353 86 827 0515
e: robert@thediscoverypartnership.com
w: www.thediscoverypartnership.com