By Business & Finance 
Business & Finance highlights some of the top movers and shakers in Ireland.
Pucker
What is it?
Pucker is a platform which mobilises the salon industry by instantly connecting clients with vetted, freelance beauty professionals.
Via the website, customers can book hair, make-up and nail appointments to their home, office or hotel and pay simply and securely online.
Who’s behind it?
The company was founded by beauty professionals Niamh McHugh and Louise Dunne, who have combined experience of 11 years in the industry.
The business originates from a mutual realisation that the beauty industry lacks sufficient support online and has yet to be efficiently disrupted. Early research gave the founders insight into their market, where 97% of women would be willing to book a beauty appointment at their home or office through an app.
How is it funded?
The business has been self-financed to date.
Future plans?
Future plans are to launch an IOS app and ultimately scale globally while growing the team of experts.
McHugh and Dunne believe Pucker has the ability to revolutionise the beauty services industry for both the customer and the professional.
Huggity
What is it?
Established in 2011, Huggity’s core product is the FanPic application, based on a billion-pixel picture of a crowd taken at an event. It allows fans to zoom in, find themselves and share their image on social networks, with a sponsoring brand at the centre of the whole experience. In the last two-and-a-half years FanPic has captured over six million fans across all continents.
Who’s behind it?
Mike Sikorski, an entrepreneur from Poland with experience in running advertising and content creation businesses, founded Huggity. In 2011, Sikorski has been joined by Richard Wheatley, who has previously worked with Deloitte, Vodafone and Microsoft.
How is it funded?
Initially, Huggity was funded by small investments from angel investors. Winning an Enterprise Ireland CSF allowed the company to validate the business model. In 2013, it also received investment from the AIB Seed Capital Fund.
Future plans?
Huggity is working on bringing additional digital engagement apps to market, such as the Snappie app, which enables branded photos of fans to be captured by event staff with their iPads – allowing brands to amplify their message through social media.
Studio POWWOW
What is it?
Studio POWWOW was founded on the principle that young audiences’ viewing habits and behaviours have changed.
It helps entertainment brands to adapt, stay relevant and engage with their audiences on multiple media platforms, bringing award-winning TV-quality animation, design and storytelling to interactive content and games.
Who’s behind it?
Studio POWWOW was co-founded in 2012 by Richard Glynn (CEO), Eoghan Dalton (creative director) and Stephen Kelly (CTO) whose backgrounds included working on major international animated productions for studios such as Brown Bag Films, Boulder Media and Jam Media.
How is it funded?
Having completed the NDRC LaunchPad’s accelerator programme, POWWOW went on to secure backing through the Enterprise Ireland Competitive Start Fund (CSF).
Future plans?
Future plans include bringing flagship property ShipAntics to new platforms, as well as to TV screens.
The company’s slate of digital brand IP is always growing as the emerging trends of user-generated content and creativity in the kids’ space is anticipated.
TruePivot
What is it?
TruePivot acts like a spell check for engineering calculation files by using a combination of statistical analysis and custom engineering algorithms to check all the calculations used to create an engineering design. 45% of all structural failures in the built environment are due to design error so it’s an issue that needs addressing.
Who’s behind it?
TruePivot was founded by CEO Adrian Culliney. Having a passion for the latest technology and techniques to enhance the architectural environment, Culliney had the idea of using the huge processing power of cloud computing to analyse structural designs more comprehensively than ever before.
How is it funded?
TruePivot has received funding from both the NDRC and Enterprise Ireland. The company also won the InterTradeIreland Seedcorn ‘Best New Start Company’ at the end of 2014, which included a cash prize of €50,000.
Future plans?
The priority for TruePivot is to expand its customer base while continuing to develop and refine the software. There are also plans to roll out efficiency alerting to engineering firms in the next six months, which would reduce the amount of concrete and steel used in construction.
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