Business & Finance highlights some of the top movers and shakers in Ireland.
Elivar
Elivar develops a range of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals tailored specifically for athletes and active sports people in the over 35 age group.
Elivar’s main markets are the UK and Ireland, from where 90% of its current sales emanate. It also exports to Germany, France, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands.
Who’s behind it?
Elivar was founded in Dublin by Donal Hanrahan and Len Dunne in 2012. Both Hanrahan and Dunne trained and rowed at an international level in their 20s and now, in their 40s are active in endurance sports. They found that while there is abundance of sports nutrition products that support endurance and recovery for young and elite athletes, there was nothing tailored for the needs of their specific age group.
How is it funded?
While initially self-financed, in February 2014 Elivar announced it had raised €700,000 from multiple sources including Enterprise Ireland and private investors, and had become the first company to receive investment from the newly formed HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network).
Future plans?
On the back of the €700,000 investment, Elivar hopes to create 10 new jobs by the end of 2015 and expand its sales channels across Europe in the coming year.
APC
APC provides chemical engineering solutions and technologies to pharma companies to ensure the delivery of robust and scale-independent processes. APC currently works with eight of the top 10 pharma and five of the top 10 biotech companies in R&D, commercialisation and manufacturing support. The company has previously won the NovaUCD 2011 Start-Up Company of the Year Award and in 2013 won two awards at the Irish Laboratory Awards. It has also been shortlisted for the 2014 Irish Times InterTradeIreland Innovation Awards.
Who’s behind it?
APC was co-founded by Professor Brian Glennon and Dr Mark Barrett in 2011 as a spin-out from UCD’s School of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering. Before joining UCD, Professor Glennon worked as a chemical engineer in Merck Sharp & Dohme, while Dr Barrett gained industry experience as a process development engineer with Schering-Plough.
How is it funded?
Enterprise Ireland – APC was a participant of the Campus Company Development Programme (CCDP) at UCD.
Future plans?
The company currently employs 33 people with plans to employ an additional 20 over the next two years. APC also plans to invest approximately €1.2m this year in internal R&D activities.
Logentries
Logentries is a SaaS-based, log management service for collecting and analysing huge quantities of log event data and making that data easily accessible to improve IT and business operations. The company currently actively services over 10,000 users, across more than 100 countries, processing more the 20 billion log events per day. In December 2013, Logentries won the NovaUCD 2013 Innovation Award and also announced plans to create 20 new jobs in Dublin.
Who’s behind it?
Logentries was co-founded in 2010 by Dr Viliam Holub and Dr Trevor Parsons as a spin-out company from UCD’s Performance Engineering Laboratory in the university’s School of Computer Science and Informatics, after a decade of joint research with IBM. Dr Parsons, who is chief scientist at Logentries, is originally from Dublin and is a graduate of UCD, while Dr Holub is chief technical officer at Logentries and originally from the Czech Republic.
How is it funded?
To date, Logentries has raised $11.1m in funding from Polaris Partners, Enterprise Ireland, Floodgate, Frontline Ventures and RRE Ventures.
Future plans?
Logentries is currently using funding to accelerating product development and drive a go-to-market strategy.
Nom Nom Subs
Sub sandwich brand Nom Nom Subs, which opened its first store in Pearse Street Station in December 2013, recently announced plans to develop Nom Nom Subs into a franchise, with procedures already in place to open 10 new stores nationwide and create 60 new jobs in the process over the next 18 months.
Developed by family-run Complete Cuisine – a company that has more than 40 years’ experience within the food industry – the Nom Nom Sub franchise concept began initiation in 2011.
Since then it has since seen an investment of over €500,000 from its parent company to establish itself in the Irish market.
Who’s behind it?
Nom Nom Subs was founded by Dermot Hanrahan. With over 30 years in food production, including roles with Complete Cuisine the Limerick man now serves as sales director of Nom Nom Subs.
How is it funded?
Nom Nom Subs is a 100% Irish-owned company and wholely backed by Complete Cuisine, which has invested €500,000 into the development of the franchise.
Future plans?
Nom Nom Subs is currently in the process of developing its franchise and plans to recruit over 60 people for roles in marketing, store management, retail and production over the next 18 months.
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