Pictured at Enterprise Ireland’s Start-Up Investor Day at Dublin Castle: Julie Sinnamon, CEO Enterprise Ireland; Hilary Foley, Nua Naturals Galway; David Carey, Nutroplenish Kildare, and Terence O' Rourke, Chairman Enterprise Ireland.
This week over 300 Start-Up companies, investors and entrepreneurs gathered for the annual Enterprise Ireland’s Start-Up Investor Day.
Research conducted by Amárach Research on behalf of Enterprise Ireland published to coincide with the event showed that last year was a record year for Enterprise Ireland supported new start-up companies with the highest number of funding approvals with a total direct Enterprise Ireland investment commitment of €31m in start-ups. We've the three key things to know about these start-ups, known as Enterprise Ireland’s Startup Class of 2015.
1. 105 new High Potential Start-Up businesses were set up in 2015
112 new early stage businesses were also supported under the Enterprise Ireland Competitive Start Fund in 2015 – up from 81 in 2014 – which injects critical early stage funding into new businesses.
47% of the high potential start-ups are from outside Dublin. And over 10% of the founders of the Class of 2015 are under 30. 15 new start-ups established by entrepreneurs from overseas, involving a range of sectors and with founders who have moved to Ireland to establish their businesses from Singapore, India, Switzerland and Germany.
11 spin-out companies from higher education institutions were supported in 2015. These businesses are built on publicly-funded research to become new HPSUs.
2. 61 new female-led start-ups were supported by Enterprise Ireland
That’s up from 43 in 2014. Up to 2011, female-led enterprises accounted for just 7% of new start-ups. Participation by female entrepreneurs in Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Start-Up programme increased to 22% in 2015, surpassing our target of 18%. This reflected the expansion of Enterprise Ireland’s support for female entrepreneurs which included the development of a dedicated competitive start fund to encourage more females to start businesses.
3. Over 1,500 jobs will be created over the next three years by 105 startups
9 out of 10 ten start-ups surveyed plan to increase staff in 2016. 6 in 10 expect substantial growth this year with the main export markets being the UK, Europe and USA.
8 in 10 HPSUs see growth coming from new clients, while three quarters expect to grow by launching new products.” According to the research, the main barrier to growth is access to talent (for 55% of HPSUs), followed by competitive pressures and regulation/compliance requirements.
What’s a High Potential Startup?
HPSUs are start-up businesses with the potential to develop an innovative product or service for sale on international markets and the potential to create 10 jobs and €1m in sales within 3 to 4 years of starting up.
For more information
Find out more about HPSUs on Enterprise Ireland's website.
Thinking about starting a business? Check out Supporting SMEs online tool for information on over 80 Government supports for business.
Find your Local Enterprise Office.