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Funked Up Fixies

Sports solutions win the day at DCU Startup Showcase

Funked Up Fixies, providers of cool, customisable bikes, and Twizt Hydration, an innovative athletes’ hydration product, have claimed the top prizes at the UStart and Propeller Showcase Day at DCU.  The two young startups were selected from a pool of 13 companies who have taken part, over the last few months, in the flagship startup accelerators managed by DCU Ryan Academy – UStart which nurtures student entrepreneurship and Propeller, one of the leading start-up accelerator investors in Ireland, which supports early stage startups.

Funked Up Fixies, Propeller 4.0 winner, allows customers to create and purchase funky, customisable fixed-gear bikes online.  Founders Olaf O’Moore and Andrew Casey met while in school and were fellow band members before becoming business partners in 2011.  The company joined Propeller, Ireland’s only angel-funded accelerator, in 2014 and availed of an investment package worth €45k of funding and services.  The web-based company builds and ships bikes all over the world with their biggest markets in bike-friendly cities such as Paris, Berlin and Copenhagen.

The UStart student start-up title was awarded to Twizt Hydration for their innovative solution to the problem of carrying liquids while exercising. Colin Gargan and Dara Lynch, both 3rd year DCU Business students, conceived the idea as a better way of hydrating which would not disrupt high performance runners as much as traditional water bottles and hydration gear.  The product, which is currently in the development stages, has also claimed the Galway Best New Idea title in the Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition. 

The eight student-led companies participating in UStart each received €5k seed funding and free residential accommodation in DCU during the programme.  They joined the Propeller companies in a dedicated incubator space in The Liffey Trust at the heart of Dublin’s ‘Silicon Docks’ tapping into a unique ecosystem of training, mentoring and investment enabled by DCU Ryan Academy. 

Pat McDonagh, founder of Riverdeep, the internationally successful educational software company, and mentor with UStart explained why he got involved with the programme,

“UStart, the first student enterprise accelerator of its kind in Ireland, provides a unique opportunity for DCU students and graduates to make their enterprising ideas a reality.  As a supporter and mentor, I have witnessed firsthand how UStart nurtures entrepreneurial talent, helping students develop business ideas, learn in a real-world environment and successfully launch their products and services to market.  It is great to be around the energy and enthusiasm of these young people.  It is great for Ireland’s future.”

The Propeller acceleration process centres around invaluable support from its angel investors and mentors, a group of highly experienced and successful entrepreneurs investing their expertise, networks and capital in the best emerging startups on the island.   One of the Propeller investors, Patrick Joy, founder of Suretank and EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2013, shared with the startups his experience of building a hugely successful company boasting sales of €91m in 2013.

Niamh Bushnell, addressing the Showcase as her first official engagement in her new role as Dublin’s Commissioner for Startups, spoke of the importance of harnessing successful accelerators such as UStart and Propeller, and existing supports structures to help make Dublin one of the best global startup hubs,

“It is so important for entrepreneurs to have a great, connected start-up community around them and a great start-up city to live in.  What I have witnessed since returning from New York last month tells me that Dublin has arrived.  All the elements required to be great are here.  We have great entrepreneurs as we see today with the UStart student and graduate companies; great award-winning accelerator programmes such as Propeller.  We are the envy of Europe in attracting tech multinationals to our shores and we have great Irish companies who can play a huge part in supporting the indigenous start-up ecosystem.  In my role as Dublin’s Commissioner for Startups, I am confident that we can leverage these substantial resources to truly become one of the great start-up cities of the world.”

Other businesses who pitched at the event showcased the wide variety of innovation and creativity supported by DCU and the Ryan Academy:

UStart – student-led companies
CoconutCabin
 is a digital social media advertising agency working with SMEs in Ireland
Feature Clothing
 creates custom-designed clothing and has generated revenue of €15k, with products stocked in Johnny's Skate Shop, High Rollers and Indigo and Cloth.
GiftPulse
 gathers information from friends' social media profiles and suggests a gift based on the individual's 'likes' and then allows a user to purchase the gift and send it to the recipient's location.
LayerLabz 
have developed their own desk-top 3D printer and have achieved printer sales of €10k to date (UStart).
MyTechBuyBack.com
 allows clients to use their own consumer electronics as assets to sell to MyTech with an option to buy them back after 30 days - an alternative to obtaining a short term loan.
Quota 
is an urban arts-inspired clothing brand which provides merchandise at summer music festivals around Ireland and the UK.
ViralM 
creates viral videos for corporate clients.  It has generated revenues of €15000 and is currently negotiating contracts with some of Europe's top retail chains.

 

Propeller – early-stage start-ups
Way2pay
provides the most effective and efficient way on the market for schools to collect income from parents
Creeper Crawlers
creates products that promote healthy neurological development of infants including ‘The Crawl Suit’
Defiant Games
, a gaming studio focussed on mobile games for hardcore gamers.
Tilltonic
, a smartphone based Point of Sale system which is designed to be user-friendly for small, cash heavy businesses

UStart and Propeller are supported by JP Morgan, Communicorp, Bord Na Mona, Grant Thornton, Intel, private investors and friends of DCU and the Ryan Academy.