E45 That Great Business Show - Yvonne Comer, Rugby Smarts, Eoin Heverin, FoodieSave, Stephen McPeake, Civic Dollars

That Great Business Show

EPISODE 45 That Great Business Show

Presented by Conall O Morain @ConallOM

2.30' Yvonne Comer, co-founder, Rugby Smarts - former rugby international turned software entrepreneur [plus many, many, many other things]. What Rugby Smarts does in 30 minutes, immediately after a game, is what analysts would have previously spent hours and hours doing. All professional clubs will have analysts but nowadays even amateur clubs have analysts (at a cost - c€300 per match). The Rugby Smarts software will be usable by any sport, though they're starting with rugby. They already have their first trial club (possibly Connacht Rugby, but it's all hush, hush at the moment). They are getting very high accuracy in tagging what the software is looking at. Yvonne says that no other company in the world is doing what they're doing (though it's possible NFL in the US is using something like it). Currently funding, the company has gone through the News Frontiers programme in GMIT and are looking to Enterprise Ireland funding and private funding very soon. She wants TeamGBS to introduce any teams in the USA and they're ready to go right now...and they're looking for business development managers in all rugby playing jurisdictions. She says that switching the software to cover soccer or other team sports is very straightforward. She thought about Nigel Owens as her 'hire in a heartbeat' but then opted for Ronan O'Gara. Find out why...

26.00" Eoin Heverin, founder of Castlebar, Mayo, based Foodie Save. He already founded the 'Tell My Story' book business but is now is concentrating on Foodie Save- a super app that stops perfectly good food being chucked in the bin. He has already launched in parts of the west of Ireland, and is heading for Dublin in September. He has recruited top class companies like Londis, Supervalu, Chopped, Maxol while others like Lidl are likely to follow. 9 out of 10 consumers using his app, who are going into Mulroy's Londis in Castlebar are being 'upsold' to - something not originally expected by Eoin. Businesses using the app are finding that they are getting brand new customers, like young mothers and those who are eco-conscious - people like TeamGBS, who hate seeing good food being wasted. They're now heading for the UK and the US. He has already has €130,000 funding from the Dept. of Agriculture, and now looking for a further €500,000 to expand the team, starting with HBAN and they're looking for others to talk to them about cash. His 'hire in a heartbeat', Eamonn Quinn, Gavin Wall, Des Green...so a full team.

46.00" Stephen McPeake, founder of Civic Dollars, based in Belfast, backed by the accelerator IgniteNI. Already launched in Belfast, it's just about to launch in Dublin and then into the UK. Civic Dollars 'nudges' people to be more active, encouraging them to do something as simple as to head to the local park, for which they earn rewards. It's different to rewarding people for running a 5k as it rewards people for doing something as passive as entering a local park. In just one park in Belfast they already have 1,100 users - far, far better than Stephen imagined. For City Council's they can see the anonymised data that can then be used to improve park areas where there is high usage, or to address areas where there is under-usage. After the UK, he's heading for Australia and the US, wherever there are 'smart cities' initiatives. The software is fully built and at the moment is not funding, though he may need some dollars in the future if they go for what he says could be 'gazelle growth'. Stephen's 'hire in a heartbeat', Seamus Cushley, of Belfast's Bizarre Voice. Find out why.

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