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Profitero named IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year
03.02.2012
Profitero named IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year
Pictured: The IBM SmartCamp Finals trophy
Dun Laoghaire-based pricing data and analysis service Profitero has been named the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year and winner of its SmartCamp competition for start-up companies.
Profitero analyses competitor pricing data for retailers to help them maximise profits by adjusting pricing and merchandising strategies.
IBM said Profitero, which was founded by Volodymyr Pigrukh (CEO), Dmitry Vysotski (CTO) and Kanstantsin Chernysh (VP Engineering) in late 2010, represents a new generation of entrepreneurs entering the market with technology designed to capitalise on the big data analytics opportunity. Profitero is currently monitoring 27.5 million products across 2,500 European retail websites, and plans to grow this to 100 million products in 2012.
The company, which is now hoping to partner with IBM to expand its operations in the UK and throughout Europe, recently raised €750,000 million in venture capital from Delta Partners and Enterprise Ireland.
“We are honoured to be named the IBM Global Entrepreneur of the Year,” said Volodymyr Pigrukh, chief executive officer and co-founder, Profitero. “Our solution is a natural complement to IBM’s smarter commerce strategy. We are looking forward to working with IBM and its network of technical experts, business partners, venture capitalists, academics and clients to capture our share of the smarter commerce opportunity.”
“Profitero is a great example of the kind of startup company that IBM is partnering with around the world to build a smarter planet,” said Jim Corgel, general manager entrepreneur programmes, IBM. “We look forward to working with Profitero to combine big data expertise with retail insights and entrepreneurial innovation to create new smarter commerce solutions for retailers.”
The company, which operates out of the Media Cube on the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) campus, currently has 13 full-time employees.
IBM SmartCamps are designed to provide entrepreneurs with the mentoring and insight needed to innovate in their markets. Past participants from IBM SmartCamp competitions have captured the attention of the venture capital community with nearly US$50 million in investments, and have expanded to new global markets.
