Dublin start-ups are €20,000 richer following regional win at Seedcorn

Dublin based start ups Examfly and e-Seed were crowned ‘Best New Start’ company and ‘Best Early Stage’ company respectively at the Dublin regional final of the 2020 InterTradeIreland Seedcorn Investor Readiness Competition.

Both companies fought off tough competition having delivered an investment pitch via video conference in front of an expert judging panel.

Seedcorn is the island’s biggest business competition for innovative new start and early stage businesses in any sector.

The winners from each of the four regions will go onto compete in the all-island final later in the month where the overall ‘Best New Start’ and ‘Best Early Stage’ companies will be announced winning €50,000 each, and ultimately the ‘Overall Winner’ will pocket €100,000 to contribute to their business growth.

Established in 2018, Examfly designs online learning tools to make study for professional exams in subjects like tax, law accounting quicker and more effective.

Commenting on their win, Deirdre Lyons (pictured above) CEO of Examfly said:

“We entered Seedcorn as we knew the process would provide an invaluable learning experience, regardless of how far we progressed.

“We are thrilled to have actually won ‘Best New Start’ and progress to the overall final next week.

“Covid-19 has reinforced the need for online learning tools and we were ahead of the curve in recognising this.

“Our plan for Q1 2021 involves expanding our product offering, increasing the sophistication of our technology and tackling our first international market, the prize money will be of great help in making these plans possible.”

e-Seed, a spin out company from Nova UCD was established in November 2018 by Dr. Brian Murphy.

The company is the creator of natural microbial treatments for seeds that increase yields and returns for growers.

Sean Daly (pictured above) CEO at eSeed said:

“We are focused on creating natural solutions to mass produce crops.

“Our innovative seed coatings evolved far away from intensive farming practices and are demonstrating an ability to increase yields on average by 10% without the need for chemicals and fertilisers.

“We’re delighted to win ‘Best Early Stage’ company in the Dublin final, the €20,000 cash injection will be a great help in supporting the growth of the company and the continuing fund-raising activities.”

Since the competition’s inception in 2003, more than 3,100 companies have been through the programme and finalists have raised in excess of €256m in equity funding, emphasising Seedcorn’s position as the premier competition for high growth start-up companies on the island.

Congratulating both companies, Connor Sweeney, Seedcorn Programme Manager at InterTradeIreland said:

“It’s a great achievement to win the regional final, the standard of entries from Dublin this year has been particularly high.

“Congratulations to Examfly and e-Seed, both companies demonstrated vision, innovation and passion, all of which the judges look for when assessing the potential and longevity of a business.

“I wish them luck as they go on to compete against other jurisdictions in the competition’s overall final next month.”

Further details are also available on the Seedcorn website at www.intertradeireland.com/seedcorn and follow on twitter @Inter_Trade.