Small Business

University College Dublin (UCD) cloud-based spin-out Logentries has secured $10m in Series A financing and named Andrew Burton as president and CEO. Co-founded in 2010 by Dr Trevor Parsons and Dr Viliam Holub, Logentries is a service provider for collecting and analysing huge quantities of machine-generated log data. It currently actively services over 10,000 users across more than 100 countries, processing more the 20 billion log events per day. The financing round was led by Polaris Partners, along with Floodgate, Frontline Ventures and RRE Ventures. Logentries will use the funds to accelerate product development and aggressively drive a go-to-market strategy. Unlike costly log management alternatives that require advanced technical skills…

Increase in Start-ups and New Companies A total of 9,327 company and business start-ups were recorded this quarter – up 8pc on the same period in 2012 – showing an average of 108 start-ups per day, according to figures from Vison-net. Of these, 5,727 were registered business names while 3,600 new companies were incorporated, up 16pc on the same period last year. First-Time Company Directors Almost 4,600 people have become director of Irish companies for the first time this quarter. Based on an analysis of almost 4,600 appointments this quarter, the average age of a first time company director is 42, with men accounting for over 60pc of first time…

Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the Web Summit will host a one-day trading online workshop for small to medium-sized companies on the eve of Europe’s biggest tech event. Entitled ‘Basecamp,’ the workshop will provide businesses with expert advice and insights from digital leaders at Google, PayPal, and Facebook. The event will take place at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday, 29 October. Irish consumers currently spend about €3.7bn per year online, and it is expected to grow to €5.7bn by 2016. However, only a quarter of current online sales goes to Irish businesses, and just 23pc of Irish SMEs are trading online. International research shows that SMEs who adopt online trading…

A survey by Amarach Research commissioned by newly launched web portal MyMoney has revealed that 91pc of Irish employees are in financial stress with 57pc reporting its impact on their ability to do their jobs. When employers were asked about financial stress and its effect on their employees – 78pc of managers believed financial stress was having a direct impact on productivity. MyMoney estimates that financially stressed employees absenteeism costs €850,000 daily in Ireland, or a total of €2.1bn a year. Launched today, 24 September, and founded by Liam Croke, MyMoney is a web portal providing employers with a resource for employees to take control of their personal finances. It…

Founded in February this year by Gillen Joyce, Cork-based Tourism start-up Keyquests has already created six full time jobs and is currently recruiting for a further four positions. Keyquests: Innovative Tourism Start-up Enhancing Visitor Experiences in Ireland Keyquests is a tourism technology application that uses location based marketing to enhance the experience of tourists in Ireland, and to connect various attractions and locations to each other through features and offers. A Unique Concept Inspired by Personal Experiences “The concept behind Keyquests came to me when looking through holiday photo albums last year.  Photos tell one story, but technology allows us now to tell our own unique stories and to create…

Irish SMEs need to start their Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) preparations now to ensure they’re compliant before the 1 February 2014 deadline, Minister for Small Business, John Perry TD, said today. He was speaking following a presentation to the Advisory Group for Small Business on the implications for businesses if they are not SEPA compliant by that date. SEPA is an initiative within a 32-country European zone, which will mean a common way of processing electronic credit transfers, payments and direct debits. It will change the way euro electronic payments are processed across Europe. It will mean that businesses can make and receive payments seamlessly, collect a direct debit…

Four product design students from Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) are to represent Ireland in a global business competition in Hong Kong. They are heading 30 other teams from 16 countries in the “Global Student Challenge” competition, which includes students from India, China, Canada, Australia, Vietnam, the US, and the UK. The DIT students were selected on the basis of their business plan for an image processing unit called ‘Strata Vision,’ used in clean rooms when factory staff is wearing protective clothing. The unit, linked to scanning devices and external servers, can help prevent contamination within the pharmaceutical, medical device, semiconductor, and food manufacturing industries. By analyzing images of the user during the gowning process,…

A team of legal, accounting and IT professionals has come up with a new free online service, SolveMyLegal.com, designed to help consumers find the most suitable solicitor to meet their legal needs. Founder and CEO of the project David Reilly is a practising solicitor with over 15 years’ experience working in the UK and Ireland. He is now running his own commercial law practice, Reilly & Co in Clonakilty in West Cork. “Shopping around for the best solicitor at the best price is something that is becoming more the norm, but it is difficult and time consuming,” he said. “With our unique service we believe we can drastically improve consumers’…

Seven healthcare start-ups from around the world pitched next generation technologies with the aim of securing investment at the HealthXL Dublin Global Gathering Investor Day in Trinity Biomedical Building in Dublin yesterday. The entrepreneurs came from Finland, the US, Australia, Ghana, Canada and Ireland and pitched to angel investors including Silicon Valley Banks and Delta Partners as well as HealthXL mentors and the start-up community. The two start-ups from Ireland were Sense of Skin, a technology-enabled programme to help people with sensitive skin to avoid unsuitable health and beauty products and Nutritics, a tracking and analysis programme for diet and nutrition. As part of the event, HealthXL announced Silicon Valley Bank…