By Business & Finance 
Pictured (L-R): Denise Doran and Ronan Clarke, directors, Smarter Surfaces; and Richard Watson, AIB Seed Capital Fund investment manager, Dublin BIC
AIB Seed Capital Fund and Dublin BIC announced the jobs, which will be filled by June 2017, bringing the total number at the Smarter Surfaces to 44.
Irish company Smarter Surfaces sells products that can turn any surface into a functional white board.
The 29 jobs created will focus primarily on international sales, channel management and e-commerce, with the most immediate hires in channel management. The announcement comes as the company has signed a number of new distribution deals worth approximately €6m over the next two years.
This will see Smarter Surfaces expand its international reach to more than 30 countries including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Brazil, Chile, Panama, Australia, Dubai and Saudi Arabia. The company also has a strong presence in Ireland, with the likes of Ci (Dublin Web Summit), Google, LinkedIn and SAP using its products.
Smarter Surfaces has three product ranges, which can turn any flat surface into a reusable whiteboard, magnetic wallpaper or a projector screen, as well as combinations of these such as any wall that would have both magnetic and whiteboard functionality. The company was founded in 2012 as Smart Wall Paint.
Speaking about the announcement, Denise Doran, director at Smarter Surfaces, said: “These new jobs are a reflection of our strong and fast growth since 2012, particularly in the international market. We owe a great deal of this success to the AIB Seed Capital Fund and Dublin BIC, who have been working with us since 2013.”
Ronan Clarke, also director at Smarter Surfaces, added: “We spoke to a number of prospective investors at first. What impressed me most about the AIB Seed Capital Fund and Dublin BIC was its hands-on approach. It is a highly involved and engaged extension of our own team and has contributed greatly to our growth, especially scaling internationally.”
The €53m AIB Seed Capital Fund was established in 2007 to provide venture capital for companies at the seed and early stages of development throughout the Republic of Ireland. It is one of the most active funds in the Irish market having completed in excess of 120 investments across a wide range of sectors including ICT, healthcare, smart grid and consumer products.
Dublin BIC co-manages the Fund, providing investment to start-up and early stage companies in Dublin city and county.
Richard Watson, AIB Seed Capital Fund investment manager at Dublin BIC, added: “I’ve been working closely with Smarter Surfaces over the past couple of years. What has impressed me most about the management team is their level of energy, commercial tenacity and continued ability to execute on the company’s ambitious growth plans. It is a first class team and is constantly pushing the envelope on their offering and international scaling.”
“Our goal is to develop strong partnerships with the companies we invest in. We are very active at board level and work closely with management teams in a wide range of strategic, operational and financial aspects of scaling and growth.”
