Irish Government launches 10million Euro Fund

The Irish government has launched a EUR10m (USD13.69m) International Start-Up Fund, aimed at encouraging overseas entrepreneurs to locate start-up businesses in Ireland.

Unveiled by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, the fund will be open to company promoters anywhere in the world, but will be targeted particularly at the Irish diaspora, international expatriates, the “New Diaspora” (people from overseas who have previously worked or studied in Ireland), as well as serial and mobile entrepreneurs. It is to be administered by Enterprise Ireland, and, to support its overseas marketing, a number of high profile successful Irish entrepreneurs will be appointed to act as International Start Up Ambassadors.

Key geographical targets will include North America, the UK, Europe and Australia. Target sectors include Internet, Games, Cloud Computing, Medtech and Financial Services. It will focus on investor-ready projects seeking between EUR200,000 (USD273,000) and EUR500,000 and offer funding in the form of an equity stake taken by the State in the company.

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The real tech successes from the Dublin Web Summit 2011

The main thing that is so exciting about the Dublin Web Summit, apart from the excitement of all the International Tech leaders from the world who have been successful in their fields, is the buzz that surrounds the startups either visiting or showing their services. These are the real unsung heros of this event.

We will be featuring a range of these start ups and telling there stories. We hope that you will find it interesting.

We would also just quickly like to thank everyone who has read the blog of the last 12 months, this is our 500th post. Which feels like a milestone itself.

PaybyMobile

As you know we're at the end of 2 years hard work building www.paybymobile.net and about to launch to the UK market. We're doing that live on stage at the IIBN conference Nov 11th and we're also in the running for a prestigious http://theeuropas.com/ award, which is now open to public voting. I would really appreciate your vote and it's very easy to vote. Just click "payByMobile" in the "Best Commerce, Finance or Payments Startup" category at
http://eu.techcrunch.com/2011/10/26/voting-in-the-europas-awards-for-european-tech-startups-goes-live/

You only have one vote per category but don't have to vote in all categories. Thus will only take 2 seconds. Please lend your vote

The Propeller Venture Accelerator launched 2012

The Propeller Venture Accelerator was established in 2010 with the funding of €1 million from Irelandia Investments. The aim is to accelerate early stage technology startup companies, both Irish and international, in Dublin. The Propeller Accelerator has taken the successful US accelerator model and adapted it to the Irish context. In early 2011 the Propeller Accelerator became a charter member of the Techstars Network, only one of five outside of the US and only one of three in Europe.

The Propeller Venture Accelerator has an emphasis on software, Web 2.0, applications, informatics and cleantech startups. The accelerator programme is a mentor-led, three months incubation with free space and services and an additional €30,000 cash investment in each company. This is in return for 6.5% equity stake.

The first Propeller Programme which started in February 2011 had an initial six companies - who were:

Associate Mobile
Fantom
GreenEgg Technologies
Healthcomms
Simple Lifeforms
Vendorshop

Approximately seventy early stage companies either applied or made an expression of interest in the accelerator, including applicants from Brazil, US, UK and Europe. These companies are in areas such as social media, cloud-based software, online gaming, cleantech, Facebook applications and mobile applications.

Propeller startups will have access to and advice from mentors, which is a key part of the programme, the mentors are senior corporate executives as well as seasoned entrepreneurs in the technology area. Another benefit of the programme will be a package of corporate and service support including marketing, accounting, legal and intellectual property advice. Companies such as Sage, Arthur Cox (largest law firm in Ireland), Tomkins IP (intellectual Firm of the Year in 2010), Enterprise Ireland, Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME), the HALO Business Angels Network, the Irish Technology Leadership Group and Arizona State University in the US have agreed to partner on the programme.

f.ounders Dublin 2011 - 'Davos for geeks'

After the first full day of the Dublin Web Summit, the action moved on to the f.ounders event. This event brings those company heads together. The Guardian writes the following :-

'Liam Casey is one of more than 100 founders of internet companies gathered in Dublin for F.ounders, a two-day networking event that has been dubbed "Davos for geeks" designed to reinforce Ireland's position as the Silicon Valley of Europe.

It is running in parallel with the Dublin Web summit, which is hosting 100 speakers and 1,500 internet entrepreneurs and investors ranging from old-timers such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and Goldman Sachs to newbies such as SoundCloud and crowd-funding site IndieGoGo.'

The event also brings stars like Bono, Dave Fanning and Gavin Friday, to see what the tech industry has to offer. Maybe he is looking to fund the next 'big' thing in Ireland. Bono even lead execs to Long Hall at Trinity.

All in all it continues to add to the image of the Silicon valley of Europe for Ireland.



More on Founders Here

Tech founders flock to Web Summit

Dublin Web Summit - a review



Tech founders flock to Web Summit

Pivot AC Canadian firm announces 100 jobs for Galway

Pivot AC to establish shared services centre in Galway

Our Galway-based shared services team, in collaboration with our North American operating companies, will become a centre of excellence providing world-class operations support and technology solution development.

Ted Glahn, Pivot Chief Integration and Operations Officer

Galway, Ireland, 26th October, 2011 – Pivot Acquisition Corp, one of North America's largest value-added IT solutions providers, has announced it will open a Shared Services Centre to support the company’s rapid international growth and expansion. Based in Galway, Pivot Shared Services will build a high skilled team, creating 25 jobs in 2011 and up to 75 additional jobs in 2012.

“Pivot AC was founded with the idea that Stakeholder value is maximized when the right focus, strategy and people are brought together to create and execute transformational strategies,” says Pivot Chief Integration and Operations Officer, Ted Glahn. “Our Galway-based shared services team, in collaboration with our North American operating companies, will become a centre of excellence providing world-class operations support and technology solution development.”

Welcoming the announcement, IDA Ireland CEO, Barry O’Leary said “IDA is very pleased that Pivot has chosen Ireland as the location for its new shared services centre which will create high quality job opportunities across a range of functions. The investment endorses Ireland’s international reputation as a leading location for global business and IT services. Pivot is an excellent and most welcome addition to Galway’s expanding FDI network and IDA looks forward to supporting and working with the company as it establishes and grows its operations here.”


Read More

Greenhouse Project Ireland Support

Support Evert Bopp and the Greenhouse Project



As you probably know one of my projects is the GreenHouse Ireland Start-up Accelerator. The Greenhouse assists start-ups by providing mentoring services, development assistance, fundraising assistance and more.

For the second year in a row we have been nominated in the "Best European Startup Accelerator" for the TechCrunch Europas Award.

We're up against some stiff competition so I am pulling out all the stops to get votes for this one.

If we come out on top it would raise our profile and subsequently help us in assisting more great start-ups.
So don't delay and give us your vote!

http://eu.techcrunch.com/2011/10/26/voting-in-the-europas-awards-for-european-tech-startups-goes-live/

Thank you!

Regards, Evert Bopp.
Founder, GreenHouse Ireland.
www.greenhouseireland.com

Ireland needs a Philip Kaplan

This unassuming man (not) who walked on stage at the Dublin Web Summit, immediately got the crowd going when he suggested he do his presentation while 'planking' on the stage couch.

His story is one of trying, not listening to often to advice and even when he failed he started something new, his ideas churning out of him like a conveyor belt. His use of language (sometimes colourful) made the crowd bring him in close, and his story is something of a 'boy makes good'.

A name we may not know but a success in a range of companies. His story was simple, if it fails try and try, or as he said build, build, build.

His last slide was the best, a list of all the companies he started and failed in.

After his speech his time was spent talking to reporters and entrepreneurs.....

If we had a few more people like that in Ireland we would be the envy of Europe, thats for sure.......

DWS App and Micro Site

Here is the link and blog for DWS7 App

http://blog.hushvine.com/2011/10/27/track-dws7-on-iphone-and-other-smartphones-too/

Live broadcasting from DWS 2011 from RDS

Watch live feed now

Overview from Eventbrite at Dublin Web Summit

Eventbrite is revolutionising ticketing online.

Tripple digit growth rate

hope for the best, plan for the worst, plan for survivial

Eventbrite offers low cost acquisition , delight customer, obsession with product/design

bootstrapped for first two years.

No customer acquisition cost

virial hooks



Philip Kaplan

'everyone is freaking out, all the time'

Dublin Web Summit update

Notes from Dublin Web Summit

Great talk from Klout founder. Really simple idea with some great potential for deliveing direct info for advertisers for delivey.

Now listening to talk by Maples Solicitors about details of raising funds and corporate governance.


Just heard the Belfast based Schmooze listed in Euopas. Great news - Great product

Online advertising info also plan a campaign ....

CrowdScanner comes a long way in 5 months

CrowdScanner comes a long way in five months

Five months after receiving the Competitive Start Fund (CSF) from Enterprise Ireland, Galway start-up CrowdScanner’s gaming software is being used in one of the largest consultancy firms in the world.

Co-founders Adrian Avendano and Ellen Dudley, a developer and biomedical engineer, respectively, launched their first start-up, meetforeal, in February 2009.

They built a social network and organised more than 26 events in Galway and Dublin. By the time they had finished, there were plenty of events, but a problem persisted - there were no tools to make it easier and more fun for people to connect with new people, face to face.

They decided to focus their attention on tools that make every social gathering more social, instead of creating a social gathering from scratch.

Inspired by SocioPatterns

At a Science Gallery exhibition, ‘Infectious’, they were inspired by an RFID game and, at the end of 2009, travelled to Italy to meet the creators, SocioPatterns.

“We realised that games were one of the ways they could get people to interact better. On a subsequent visit to Berlin, we were highly influenced by the hacker movement and became very active in the creation of the Galway hackerspace, 091Labs,” Dudley said.

In 2010, they developed their first iPhone application for starting conversations with strangers, and made connections around the world, at finals in competitions at TechHub, London, and at eComm, San Francisco.

“Although the application never reached more than 2,000 users, we learned how new people build trust, create connections, and the importance of diverse, healthy, human networks,” Dudley noted.

First game on CrowdScanner platform

In April of 2011, they deployed their first game, PeopleHunt, built on the CrowdScanner platform, at the MindField Festival, in Dublin.

Raising money through the CSF in April 2011 was a major milestone, according to Dudley. “We decided to open an office in New York to have access to event planners and technology-driven events so they could rapidly test and iterate.

“In just five months, we have improved the product, created key partnerships and have deployed it at multiple events. Just two years after being inspired by SocioPatterns, we are finally building games that get people interacting in fun ways, solving a problem in one of the largest consultancy firms in the world.

“The future involves continued deployment of PeopleHunt, alongside building out the platform to enable the development of custom games for gatherings of people in places.”

Article courtesy of Bizstartup.ie
 

3 IDA announcements today at DWS 7

Three announcements today have made at the Dublin Web Summit




Pinger establishes EMEA HQ in Dublin.

Cloud telecoms company Pinger from San Jose California announces an EMEA HQ centre in Dublin with the creation of up to 15 jobs.

'Dublin offers a young and talented workforce and a cluster of emerging technology companies which is attrative to us' said Greg Woock, CEO Pinger











Engine Yard also to establish EMEA HQ in Dublin

Engine Yard is expanding globally, and we are excited to open our EMEA HQ in Ireland and support the regions thriving tech community, said J Dillon CEO Engine Yard









Commence Corp sets up Int office in Dublin

'Commence complements the growing cluster of early growth multinational tech companies which have established recently.

Direct reporting from the DWS

Silicon Ireland is reporting directly from the Dublin Web Summit in the RDS in Dublin. The event is the largest tech event in Europe and puts Dublin firmly on the map as the centre of the tech industry in Europe.

The event was sold out a few weeks before the event and shows the appetite for technology events of this type.


We have decided to live blog from the speeches, and also interview as many people in the startup room as possible.


Current speaker is Tristan Nitot from Mozilla Europe.

Busables.com post about being part of Startup Academy

Of all the pitches that won through for the Startup Academy we picked busables.com

You can read his recent post here

Share flood news via social media

The equivalent of a month's rainfall in 24 hours and the resulting flooding in areas of Dublin has residents taking to social media to share news, photos and videos of last night's downpour and its aftermath.

Read more

Wexford Ireland's New Silicon Valley?

A NEW initiative in Wexford is seeking to make the town in the south east the Silicon Valley of Ireland.

The new enterprise initiative called TechOvate plans to create an innovation start-up hub for technology-based companies in the south east that will mirror the working environment and best practices of renowned Silicon Valley companies in northern California.

TechOvate has been launched in association with FUSE from Innovation Wexford and will seek to identify early-stage technology companies within the south east and help to develop collaborative relationships with entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley.


Read more

Facebook faces data protection Audit in Ireland

Facebook is facing a data protection Audit next week in Ireland, claims a number of news sources. The original complaint stems from an Austrian law student.

It is the first time this has happened to Facebook in Ireland, and will be interesting to see where this leads to and if any changes will be implemented from the audit.


You can read more

Finalists for Irish Web Awards 2011

Finalist's For the Irish Web Awards this Weekend.

Best Online Publication

The Cork News
Limerick Post
Click Magazine
Irish Times
Cork Independent
Nós Mag


Best Web Only Publication

irishtheatremagazine.ie
mayotoday.ie
thejournal.ie
lecool.com/dublin
stylesiren.ie
state.ie


Best Radio Website

98FM
RTÉ 2FM
Spin 1038
Phantom 1052
RTÉ Doc on One
TodayFM


Best Independent Podcaster

SPEAKCast
Wicklow TV
SodShow
The Comic Cast
Irish Fireside
Entertainment and Arts

Best Sports Site

thescore.ie
sportsnewsireland.com
kilkennytriathlonclub.com
irishprocycling.com
GAA
Arseblog

Best Music Site – sponsored by Poll Daddy

goldenplec.com
itma.ie
oxegen.ie
state.ie
swearimnotpaul.com
nialler9.com


Best Entertainment Website – Sponsored by Entertainment.ie

averagefilmreviews.com
scannain.com
Click Magazine
popculturemonster.com
vicarstreet.ie
Movies.ie

Best Arts Website
nch.ie/online
fringefest.com
irishtheatremagazine.ie
templebargallery.com
axis-ballymun.ie
ewaneumann.com
Technology and Social

Best Technology Site – Sponsored by BH Consulting

sociable.co
Click Magazine
techtv101.com
TechCentral.ie
syncni.com
siliconrepublic.com

Best New Web Application/Service – Sponsored by Red Cardinal

sociallocality.com
exordo.com
luas.ie
diarymonitor.com
siternitylite.com
lokofoto.com

Most Innovative Website – Sponsored by ESOF2012, Dublin City of Science

SafeText.ie
thejournal.ie
giftgenies.com
luas.ie
youreport.newstalk.ie
winetimes.ie
Government, Education and Community

Best Discussion forum

politics.ie
photographyireland.net
mrs2be.ie/wedding-forum
foot.ie
Www.Thumped.com
iwf.ie

Best Government and Council Website – Sponsored by Exigent Networks

weigh2live.safefood.eu
military.ie
idaireland.com
cervicalcheck.ie
disabilitybray.ie
enterprise-ireland.com

Best Education and Third Level Website

tcd.ie
ncad.ie
wandesforde.ie
ucd.ie/library
Science Gallery
itcarlow.ie

Best Student Web or Social Media Project – Sponsored by National College of Ireland

Maths Online Facebook App
Safe Text
Gamewise
NMCI
Course Hub
Just Caption It
Studenty.me
UCD Students Union

An Suíomh Gaeilge is Fearr

foinse.ie
rrr.ie
lurgan.biz
cic.ie
nuacht24.com
gaelport.com
cailindeas.ie
gaelsceal.ie
Nós Mag

Best Microsite

heritageweek.ie
thescore.ie/rugby-world-cup-2011
waterfordharvestfestival.com
cheffactor.ie
sciencegallery.com/elements
safefood.eu/christmas
Commerce and Mobile

Best eCommerce / Services Website – sponsored by OnlineAdvertising.ie

hairybaby.com
fatcheese.ie
sendmypostcards.com
business.ie
hautemama.ie
organicsupermarket.ie

Best SME/Small Business Website – sponsored by Pivotal Communications

mooregroup.ie
organicsupermarket.ie
daveydavey.com
giftgenies.com
cinnamoncottage.ie
blacknight.com

Best Mobile Site – sponsored by iQ Content

m.sciencegallery.com
rte.ie/storyland
dublinbikes2go.com
thejournal.ie/?switcher=mobile
daft.ie/mobile
DublinBusLive.com
Technical Awards

Best Practice – Sponsored by Surveys.ie

exordo.com
luas.ie
riverdance.com
dunamaise.ie
bonkers.ie
lost.ie

Most Beautiful Website in Ireland – Sponosored by Kooba

sciencegallery.com
The Cork News
giyireland.com
sendmypostcards.com
firestation.ie
organicsupermarket.ie

Most Useful Website in Ireland – Sponsored by DoneDeal.ie

citizensinformation.ie
giyireland.com
fatcheese.ie
RTE.ie
DublinBusLive.com
lactosefree.ie


Web Agency of the Year

Pixel Design
pridedesign.ie
webtrade.ie
emagine.ie
refresh.ie
ican.ie
Arekibo
xcommunications.ie
RoomthreeDesign
Spoiltchild.com
Modus
Grand Prix

Best Website in Ireland – Sponsored by Realex Payments

Seedups investment platform to reap Obama Benefits

Donegal based investment platform Seedups are set to reap benefits after President Obama’s law change: look set to revolutionise startup financing.

Irish crowdfunding platform Seedups is in pole position to benefit from a recent Congressional law change which makes it easier for early stage startup companies raise money from investors. Until recently “crowd-funding” for equity was illegal in the US, but efforts are ongoing to ensure that the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act passes, which would provide an exemption for crowdfunding.

Seedups is at the forefront of this: with offices in Ireland, the UK and in the heart of Silicon Valley, and with a self governed system which fits the exceptions the SEC is proposing. This places the firm ahead of the competition, and is good news for investors and startups here at home.

The innovative crowdfunding platform brings a virtual Silicon Valley right to UK, Irish and US investors, bringing new and exciting tech based businesses right to their browser.

The company, founded by Michael Faulkner last year, aims to open up the funding pipeline for Seed stage investors, as well as enabling armchair investors find an easy way into turning themselves into the next Dragon’s Den panel.

Seedups uses micro-investments and the “wisdom of the crowd” to ensure that the value of the company is decided by the investors, who can contribute anywhere between €250-€10,000 into businesses, who can raise anywhere between €25,000-€250,000.

Seedups offers a safe, secure and user friendly means of browsing opportunities, the matching engine being supported by a social network that allows users to ask questions, interact, form groups and discuss investments and conduct due diligence on startups.

Since launching in February, Seedups has been nominated for the Innovation Award at the Derry Business Awards, and been named as one of the 50 best Irish American small businesses for 2011, as well as launching the US service at the prestigious SxSW festival in Austin, Texas.

Registration is free for both entrepreneurs and investors. For more information, please visit www.seedups.com.

Co Working space in Belfast

If you are a new thinking of starting a new technology business in Ireland and are looking for office space, then you might be interested in a new space in Belfast.

If you are interested in finding out more, prices from £20 per week, then email siliconireland@gmail.com

Startup Academy to become a Not for profit Foundation

We have decided that Startup Academy Ireland will become a Private Foundation for the benefits of Startups across Ireland for the coming years.

This means that there will never be a conflict of interest between the ideas, business development and launch for the new startups. We feel that this is very important to the Classmates.

Further details will be announced shortly.

Silicon Valley meets New York from Ireland

OnMedia 2011: Where Silicon Valley Meets Madison Avenue

Feb 1st-2nd, 2012
The Paley Center for Media, New York, NY

Register now at 50%-off—early bird rate!


Technology entrepreneurs are talking and Madison Avenue is listening. And what’s emerging will change the face of advertising, branding and content publishing.

Reserve your seat at 50% off the regular price (a $1,000 savings) today, before this offer expires on October 30th!

Meet the companies that are at the forefront of the next digital media wave at OnMedia 2012, where the world’s most innovative and influential players in media and technology will gather to debate and shape the future of marketing, advertising, branding and PR.

Dozens of industry leaders, global executives and investors will be in attendance this year, adding to the roster of notable speakers who have joined us onstage at OnMedia in previous years, including:
Mark Cuban, Chairman & Owner, HDNet & Dallas Mavericks
Mike Afergan, SVP Advertising Decision Solutions and CTO, Akamai
Jeff Bussgang, General Partner, Flybridge Capital Partners
Tim Cadogan, CEO & Co-Founder, Open X
Gurbaksh Chahal, CEO, RADIUMONE
Owen David, Managing Director, NYC Seed
Bob Davis, Managing General Partner, Highland Capital Partners
Paul Donato, SVP & Chief Research Officer, Neilsen Media Research
Jorge Espinel, EVP Strategy and Corporate Development, NewsCorp
Paul Gunning, CEO, Tribal DDB Worldwide
Robert Hayes, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Digital Media, Showtime Networks
Rick Heitzmann, Managing Partner, FirstMark Capital/NYC Entrepreneurial Fund
Carla Hendra, Co-CEO, Ogilvy North America
Jon Hsu, 24/7 RealMedia & Head B3, WPP
Walker Jacobs, SVP, Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital
Josh James, CEO and Co-founder, Omniture
Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman & CEO, Gibson Guitar Corp.
Rachal Lam, SVP, Time Warner Ventures
David Lawee, VP Corporate Development,, Google
Charles Lax, Managing General Partner, GrandBanks Capital
Jeff Litvack, GM, Mobile & Emerging Products,, Associated Press
Lance Maerov, SVP Corporate Development, WPP
Jean-Philippe Maheu, Chief Digital Officer, North America, Ogilvy North America
Jon Miller, Chief Digital Officer, News Corporation
David Moore , Chairman, Founder & CEO, 24/7 Real Media
Dr. Tero Ojanpera, CTO, Nokia
Ahmet Ozalp, Partner, Atlas Venture
David Pakman, Partner, Venrock
Paul Palmieri, President & Chief Executive Officer, Millennial Media
Satya Patel, Partner, Battery Ventures
Byron Perez, SVP & GM of Dogotial, NBA
Avner Ronen, CEO, Boxee
Dan Rose, Vice President, Business Development & Monetization, Facebook
Ira Rubenstein, Executive Vice President, Global Digital Media, Marvel Entertainment Inc.
Bill Rusitzky, SVP & Head, Strategic Alliances Group, Adobe
Marc Ruxin, Chief Innovation Officer, Digital, McCann Worldgroup
Jessica Schell, SVP Digital Strategy and Business Development, NBC Universal
Tim Schigel, Founder and CEO, ShareThis
Vivek Shah, Group President, Digital, Time Inc. News Group, Time Inc.
Michael Siegenthaler, , Director, MSN Branded Entertainment & Experiences Team,, Microsoft
Paul Sinclair, Senior Vice President, Digital Media and Business Development, Atlantic Records
Lisa Stone, CEO, BlogHer
Richard Toranzo, Global Program Manager, Branded Entertainment, IBM Corporate Advertising
Louis Toth, Senior Managing Director,, Comcast Interactive Capital
Denmark West, SVP, Head of Operations, MTV
Tim Westergren, Founder, Pandora
We are open for new ideas and speakers and will keep you posted on the event program. If you have suggestions or would like to recommend speakers, please feel free to contact me and I look forward to hearing from you.

Attendees like you are a key reason why AlwaysOn has become the premier brand covering top trends and break-out companies in the Internet space. Whether you are looking for new investments, strategic partners, or clients, OnMedia 2012 is unparalleled in the power of its program and audience.

Click here to purchase your ticket at 50% off the standard price before this offer expires at the end of the week.

For more information on group rates or to purchase tickets at the lowest possible price over the phone, please contact John Schwartz at 310.721.9451 or by e-mail at john@aonetwork.com.

Tech Entrepreneurs week

Tech Entrepreneurs Week invites technology companies from all fields of technology, from consumer and enterprise software, hardware and architecture, to all web services and mobile applications businesses. All technology businesses are invited, particularly companies that are at the seed or venture stage if entering the Investment Competition.

Event Benefits:

• Investment Competition
• Investor Networking
• VIP Investor Reception
• Keynote Speakers
• Industry Seminars
• Industry Advisors
• Talent Searching

Quick Facts About Tech Entrepreneurs Week:

• Leading UK national tech conference.
• High media focus: BBC, Sky, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, The Times, Evening Standard, The Telegraph to name a few, plus blogs/online news like The Next Web.
• Broadcast TV covering us: booked with Ch4 News, ITN (ITV), Tech Crunch, Wired - strong positive PR around the event.
• Largest investor/entrepreneurs technology conference in Europe.
• 500-600 tech entrepreneurs in attendance.
• 200 investors (all major venture capitalists, institutional investors, angels, and FS firms like Silicon Valley Bank).
• 200 professional, agency and web services firms servicing technology.
• Event focus: investment funding, investor networking, visionary speaking (through keynotes), tech growth advisory, tech seminar education.
• Two locations: Tech Entrepreneurs Week Camp (Decorium, London), Final's Day (Dorchester Hotel, London).
• Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia, Chair of Wikimedia and President of Wikia Inc is our Head of Jury.
• Many prolific professionals have signed up from leading VC's to highly established super angels to be on our Jury Panel: http://www.techentrepreneursweek.com/jury.html.
• Keynote Speakers, there will be 7 slots: http://www.techentrepreneursweek.com/speakers.html.
• Event target audience, tech entrepreneurs, tech investors, professional, agency and web services firms servicing tech in Europe, 80% UK demo.
• Entrepreneurs from tech coming from seed innovation and venture stage positions

For more details or to register, please visit http://ow.ly/6ZCbO.

MindMeister for Android

Mindmeister sent over this to us today - Its exciting for the Android market.


We're very happy to announce the public availability of MindMeister for Android! It's been quite a while in development, and we hope that you'll find it worth the wait. In this month's newsletter:

Introducing: MindMeister for Android
Updates to the all new MindMeister
A Video Tour of MindMeister - New!
Best of the Blog
By the way, if you haven't already done so and want to stay in the loop with up-to-the-minute MindMeister news, be sure to join us on Facebook.

Some thoughts on October and November 2011

We wanted to post so information that might be of interest to you.

1) From November we will have a base for reporting the Belfast and Northern Ireland News. We have an office base that has been established to work with Silicon Ireland and the Startup Academy.

2) We will be reporting from Dws7 in October

3) We will also be reporting from Bizcamp Belfast in November

4) Startup Academy will hold it's first meetings in November to prep our Startups for the Class of 2012.

5) For Startups we will offer co working space in Belfast and open a new office in Dublin in 2012. If you would like to find out about our co working space please get in touch.

6) We have relaunched our old events site because we will hold some small focus group events before Xmas.


That is all for now but from the team have a great couple of months......

Ireland's special relationship with the USA

I watched with great interest at the speeches by the many people at the Global Irish Economic forum. I watched as President Clinton spoke about the relationship between the US and Ireland. That American's wear the 'Irish American' badge like a badge of honor.

Now I know that the UK spends a lot of time talking about 'its' special relationship with the US, but I am not sure if that really is the case. I don't think I have ever seen the same type of euphoria in the UK for a US President as we saw when Clinton and Obama came to Ireland.

Now I know that the US Irish Americans have a big role to play in US elections, but I realised for the first time after the Global Irish Economic Forum that Ireland and the USA are partners, friends and linked in a way no other European country.

There are also factors that make Ireland a European centre for American companies.

If we take a few well known names like Ebay, Paypal, Microsoft and Google all have centred themselves in Ireland over other European nations. Irish startups spend a lot of time developing links with Silicon Valley.

So as we move forward we see a more developed relationship with Europe and America. As Government policy makes the Irish economy look more attractive, both for inward investment and within Europe we can only hope that this relationship grows to see Dublin become a Silicon Valley like centre in Europe.

Ireland's relationship can only grow and with a willingness from American advocates like Bill Clinton in the US we can hope that it will allow a more positive international vision of the future for Ireland.

Irish Export Cooperative transforms exporting for Small Irish Firms

Irish Export Cooperative transforms exporting for Small Irish Firms

- New Cooperative group aims to bring global markets to small Irish firms
- Allowing small exporters

A new cooperative is creating innovative opportunities for small firms exporting from Ireland, by coming together to reduce prohibitive delivery costs.

Up to now small firms in Ireland could not negotiate on the cost of exporting because they could not guarantee future large volumes of exported goods. Many smaller retailers and craftspeople were charged exorbitant quotes to ship their products internationally. This left many barriers for retailers who saw the cost of exporting in excess of the cost of the products themselves.

Now, Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise Exporters in Ireland have the opportunity to join forces with other similar organisations to collectively reduce the costs of these exports and begin selling abroad at fixed fees at greatly reduced prices. The Co-Operative aims to achieve this by utilising the group purchasing model to create economies of scale thereby reducing cost of export for the individual member business. The Co-Operative will also bring in expertise in export markets, customs, finance, and insurance. The Co-Operative will be run by a committee of its members and managed by SME Capital Funds.

What started as a Twitter conversation has grown into a proactive initiative to help and support small, medium and micro sized enterprises to export their goods and enter new foreign markets. This initiative was sparked off by an order received from the USA by Chris Gordon, owner of an Irish firm called www.TrophiesAwardsandGifts.com. Chris needed to ship a small package and found that the cost was prohibitive. This got Chris thinking and sent him on to Twitter to see if other SMME business owner/managers found the same problem. From this Chris got linked onto the website of SME Capital Funds (www.smecapitalfunds.ie), a business consultancy firm based in Cork which specialises in providing consultancy services to SMME’s. Following a number of phone calls between Chris and SME Capital Funds the Irish Export Co-Operative was born.

Chris Gordon, Founder of the Co-Operative stated:
“This cooperative breaks down the barriers faced by too many SME's on the island of Ireland. We have personally faced these problems and now we have a concrete solution. This opens up new markets for small firms and crafts makers on the island of Ireland. We are using time tested approaches of democratic cooperatives to create a real game changer in exports in Ireland.

By creating a better platform to work together to create this initiative, we have gained the interests and support of Enterprise Ireland, the Small Firms Association, ISME, The Irish Exporters Association and the Cooperative Development Society amongst others."

David O’Brien, SME Capital Funds Added:
“This initiative is a proactive response to the current economic situation in Ireland. Government and politicians can only do so much, to get ourselves out of the current mire we are in, businesses must help themselves and each other. This Co-Operative is one manifestation of this ideal, it is a positive response and SME Capital Funds are delighted to be involved in such an initiative.”

Membership of the Co-Operative will be registered on an annual basis and an annual membership fee of €30 per member business to cover the costs of running the Co-Operative. To register your interest in becoming a member please log on to www.exportcoop.ie
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



The Irish Export Co-Operative is an organisation set up to aid small, medium & micro enterprises to enter new markets and achieve cost savings on export costs. The Co-Operative will utilise the group purchasing model to achieve economies of scale in the area of shipping & courier services both exporting to foreign markets and domestically.


For more information on the Co-Operative contact David O’Brien at SME Capital Funds on 083 1166137, or email info@smecapitalfunds.ie or contact Chris Gordon on 0872700369

Startup Academy Announces its 6 companies for class of 2012

Well its finally here!







We hereby announce the 6 candidates for the Startup Academy Ireland 2012.

Startup Academy is an Irish based virtual incubator school, which helps small Irish based technology entrepreneurs develop their business ideas into fully fledged businesses.

Mary Dilon announced the list today and here it is below:-

1) John Byrne

2) David Tuite

3) Ciaran Maguire

4) Thomas Morgan

5) Corinna Hardgrove

6) Joe Varley


Each of these candidates will announce their business ideas individually via Silicon Ireland.

'It is a very exciting time to be an entrepreneur. Each candidate will receive a mentor and will be working with them by 2012' said Mary at the launch!

More news to come!

Visit Startup academy site here

Startup Academy Launches blog to give you up to the minute news on the startups

Startup Academy has launched a blog today to track real time news from the developments of the class of 2012....

You can read news on Startup Academy here

Dublin Web Summit 2011 - Join the Waiting list

Paddy Cosgrove and his team want to make sure that everyone can make it to their event, so as they are sold out, they have created a waiting list for people still wanting tickets.

Here is the info:-

Waiting List

We've reached capacity at 1,200 attendees for the Dublin Web Summit, but have created a waiting list. If any additional space becomes available you'll get first option on a ticket. It's free to add your name, and you can do so here.

In other news, if you want to follow the build up on Twitter the hashtag is #dws7

Finally, speakers include the visionaries and leading figures behind Skype, Angry Birds, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and over 100 international experts - October 27-28

Startup Academy Short List Announcement tomorrow

Tomorrow we will be announcing the Startup Academy Short-list from the applications received. You will be notified prior to the announcements.

We are very excited about the start of this process. This initiative will allow us to launch 6 new start-ups, document the progress and watch as they launch into the Irish market.

Our partners will be notified of the 6 start-ups selected and mentors will be assembled together with the chosen companies, and the Academic year will commence.

More info on Startup Academy here

Paddy Cosgrove ' DWS is a SELL OUT'

Amazing to sell this out. Well done to Paddy and the team. Cant wait !

_____________________________________________________



Hey Silicon Ireland

It's a sell out

The Dublin Web Summit will sell out at some point later today. At the time of writing we have 57 tickets remaining. Sales have exceeded all expectations and huge thanks is due to an incredible team, great speakers and wonderful sponsors.

1 of our 10 new speakers this week is Intel's Global Director of Innovation and Research. For the full list of speakers see our website>>

They join the visionaries behind Skype, Angry Birds, Digg, 4Chan, YouTube, LinkedIn and over 50 other speakers announced so far.


Check out Paddy talking on RTE from the Global Irish economic Forum

40 Pilot networks for GrowVC

GrowVC goes from strength to strength. Here is an update from them.



'This fall has started with a bang and we have some great things lined up for the fall, including the "networks" public launch. Let's talk about those later and meet up as we reserve time in select locations for our extended community.

40 Pilot Networks And counting..

In the last newsletter, we highlighted some of the networks partners in the Exclusive Networks Pilot Program. We have now got several more applications and there are over 40 Pilot Partners actively running their own networks on top of the Grow VC platform.

The networks pilot partners span from angel networks, incubators, institutions, bootcamps, student communities, universities, niche or industry specific networks, business communities among others. In geographical terms, the networks represent several states in the US including New York, California and Massachusetts, countries such as Brazil and South America, the UK and other European countries, Russia, India, Korea and South East Asia and the list goes on. It's a diverse and wide spread, all pioneers in building the future of funding.

Networks on the Grow VC platform are actively involved in the development and several of their suggestions have already been implemented. Ultimately, we believe they will direct the networks in the most beneficial direction, so we are all ears.

As you know there are plenty of things to develop and work to help startups grow, managing your network you can provide something unique for your community. The Pilot Program is free for partners and the planned future pricing also built for purpose. Networks partners can also either choose to manage the transactions themselves, but Grow VC will naturally be glad to take care of these for the network partners.

Interested? Sign up for free for the Pilot Program!

See link from rendezvous353 for Bill Clinton at Global Irish Economic Forum

Here is Bill Clinton speaking about ideas, thoughts and Ireland.



http://rendezvous353.com/videos/view/president-bill-clinton-at-global-forum-2010_7824.html

Speech by Taoiseach at Global Irish Economic Forumon Friday 7 October 2011 – Dublin Castle

Silicon Ireland has been following the reports and commentary of the 'Global Irish Economic Forum' and we thought that this speech was worth reprinting on our blog for those who may not of heard reports on it or read details of it.



Speech by Taoiseach at Global Irish Economic Forumon Friday 7 October 2011 – Dublin Castle


'In the long history of this small country there has never been such an unprecedented challenge nor such an extraordinary opportunity. I’m delighted to open this Global Irish Economic Forum, here at Dublin Castle this morning. Fáilte roimh go léir – welcome to you all.

In May of this year, bealtaine, the first month of the Celtic Summer, we welcomed Queen Elizabeth II, to Ireland, in this very hall. A sight – an event- we thought we might never see. The English monarch sitting beside the Irish President.
Two words in conversation between those two Heads of State our two nations a kind of ‘healing charm’ across the centuries:“a cháirde…..

Today, those same words,that same intimacy, apply to all of you who have joined us in this gathering.

Those same words we offer to all members of the Irish Diaspora wherever they may be.
A chairde. Ar muintir.

It’s not often I get to talk to over 300 emissaries for and of Ireland…..on one occasion, in one place.

But that’s what you are here today. Emissaries, with outstanding reputation and generosity, bringing Ireland’s message of regeneration and resurgence to and from no fewer than 37 countries.

For many of you, it’s a return visit. Catching up, giving, yet again, since your first visit in 2009. You are not just giving us your time. You are giving us of yourselves. Your energy, your ideas and your passion for this country. Because you believe in Ireland and in our potential. Thank you for that.

It would be impossible to stand here today and ignore the passing of Steve Jobs.
The man who so spectacularly chose to celebrate and succeed in life and set the bar at a phenomenal level for the next generation to follow. And they will. And some of these leaders will be from this country. People of spirit, creativity and ingenuity. It is that same spirit, that same creativity, that same love of Ireland, belief in Ireland, that brings us here to Dublin Castle today.

Yes, today, we live in an uneasy and an uncertain world.

We face unprecedented challenges. But, we Irish have been and are resilient. Remarkably so. Always capable, ready to reinvent even our own ideas of who we are.
When President Obama stood in College Green in May, he told us our best days are ahead of us. I believe he is right. They are ahead of us. That is not to ignore the pain of our people. Their shock, their hurt, their sense of loss. Far from it.
It is to recognise that hurt, to respect it, to say to all our people, here at home and across the globe, that in the seven months since we came to Office, the new government that I lead has worked day and night, we have not stopped, nor will we ever, in our efforts and our intent to rebuild our economy, regain our financial independence and to restore our society.

As the elected leaders we can do no less – politically, or morally. The road is long. But we have made our start. A difficult start. But a good one.

The mandate of this new Government – a partnership between the Fine Gael and Labour parties – is the strongest in the history of our State. It is a mandate to face up to and tackle the country’s problems and to get Ireland working again. A mandate to deal with reality and not illusion.

In fulfilling this mandate, we have focussed on a small number of key priorities:
To restore Ireland’s place as a respected and influential member of the international community.

To tackle the crisis in our banks so that they will become a contributor to the economy, rather than a drain on it.

To address the fiscal crisis through reform and ensuring value for money in public spending, and to put the protection and creation of jobs at the heart of our economic plan.

We promised to take action in pursuit of these priorities.

We said we would restructure and recapitalise our banks – we have done that. We said we would seek better terms and interest rates for our EU/IMF loans – we have done that. We said we would protect Ireland’s corporate tax rate – we have done that.
We said we would introduce a jobs initiative within our first 100 days in office – we have done that too. In the very short time since we took office, there are clear signs that our plan is working.

The spread between Irish and German bond yields has more than halved since July. The budgetary situation has stabilised with tax revenues slightly ahead of target in the first nine months of the year, and spending staying within budgets;
GDP growth rates in the second quarter of this year were the second highest of the 27 EU countries, and the Central Bank has just revised upwards its growth forecast for this year;

Wednesday’s s Live Register figures showed a seasonally adjusted monthly drop of 5,400 and the first annual decrease since April 2007.
The funding situation for Irish banks has stabilised and overseas deposits are returning to Irish banks. These are positive developments but while we have much more to do, international commentary in business, in economics and politics reflect an Ireland of increasing confidence.

We will implement our plan in partnership with the people.

Yes…. this is new. This is difficult. Meeting goals. Setting targets.

Keeping faith with the people.

Restoring our country….. reclaiming its place in the world.

So yes,…. For now… you… …we… are the leaders…. in business and politics.
You bring energy, expertise and entrepreneurship… this still-new government brings a determination to listen and to engage… to develop and to follow through the concepts and ideas that are proposed.

This passion, this genius, are at the very heart of our recovery.

My vision is to make Ireland the best small country in the world in which to do business by 2016.

To make my country synonymous with genius, with entrepreneurship, with vision and innovation.

I intend to make that vision a reality.

We are glad you are here for this crucially important event. We want to hear your ideas on how together we can grow Ireland.

For our part, we are doing our level best to tackle the small things that bring big problems to your business…

For example, in improving competitiveness, reducing business costs, providing access to credit…driving productivity and innovation.

We know that despite the success of many Irish firms in global markets, we can do
much more to broaden and deepen the footprint of Irish firms in overseas markets.
We will invest more on instilling and recognizing and promoting genius….
All in the name and cause of Innovation Ireland.

Your leadership, ambition and vision are vital to this end.

These characteristics have never been lacking in the Irish people.
That is whey this weekend will see the Irish diaspora connect together in a way never been possible before.

Think about that. A tiny Atlantic island… with 70 million family members.
Conclusion

Colm Toibin who addresses this gathering tomorrow writes of The Empty Family.
With 70 million members worldwide, that is far from the case, when it comes to Ireland.

Right now, our stars might be difficult….., but this is not the first time.
They have been before.

But I believe that by working together, for the good of Ireland that we will prevail.
That’s why you are here, that’s why you have come here.

I believe a new age for Ireland lies ahead. The potential of this new age is there to be grasped. The people who grasp it freely will stand out from the crowd, whether that be based on the traditional strengths of Ireland or the realisation of what we can achieve in data analytics, cloud computing, the nano world and so on. It is the marriage of the old and the new that will differentiate the average from the brilliant, the stellar from the mundane.

You will be asked what it is that you want to do and you will be challenged to work with us on particular ideas. This is what you expect and that’s what you will get.
I want you to be able to tell your children…your grandchildren…you were here…right at the beginning…..

A chairde, gabhaim buíochas libh ó chroí agus guím gach rath ar obair an Fhoraim/ Thank you.

Our own friends. Our own people.'


Read More here on Global Irish Economic Forum

Looks like the Apple iPhone 4S will be a massive hit afterall

So even though the initial reactions were muted looks like the 4S will be a success, based on pre-orders from AT&T, after the death of Steve Jobs.

I imagine it will be the same in Ireland.

Read More

Belfast's Sixteen South feature debuts in USA

Pajanimals, a new series co-produced by Sprout, The Jim Henson Company and Belfast's Sixteen South debuts exclusively in the U.S. on 24-hour preschool television channel Sprout on Monday 10th October at 8pm ET.

Pajanimals was designed to help parents and caregivers with a bedtime routine for their preschoolers. Through their imaginary journeys, the Pajanimals model the skills preschoolers need to move through their days and nights successfully.

Pajanimals was produced earlier this year in Belfast with the assistance of the Northern Ireland Screen Fund supported by Invest NI and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

Steve Jobs Tech Visionary & Icon 1955-2011

I wanted to say something about the passing of Steve Jobs. Even though I did not know him he played a major role in my life. You see my very first computer was an Apple IIe, it gave me a passion for computing. This passion has stayed with me all of my life. It is this very passion that started this blog and gave me a love of computers that created a hobby and business.

As I passed into adulthood I watched as the computer company he co-founded grew and faltered and dip, and then after his return watch it grow and in many respects 'change the world.'

He has left a legacy of products and design,like a modern Leonardo da Vinci.

He will be missed, his iconic speeches and presentations will be missed and his famous, 'One last thing' will be missed.

Even more Speakers for Dublin Web Summit

More announcements from Dublin Web Summit for Speakers :- What a couple of days it is going to be!


Today we're annoucing the founder of Skype, Niklas Zennstrom, as one of our keynotes, and John Vechey, who sold PopGames this year for $1.3 billion.

Niklas & John join Kevin Rose, Amazon's CTO, the founders of YouTube & LinkedIn, Facebook's global head of developer relations and marketing.


Read More

Trinity's Innovation Showcase - Update

Trinity researchers will showcase 35+ innovative ideas, technologies, products and processes at different stages in the commercial pipeline and derived from a wide range of disciplines across College.



Why attend?

With Trinity’s record of over 18 spin-out companies in the last 3 years, this showcase is a must-see for business partners, investors and entrepreneurs alike. This year’s projects promise real commercial opportunities, demonstrating the benefits of research to the economy and the community.



Example Projects featured:

Peptides Biomarker: Breast Cancer

Atrial Fibrillation Scan

Beer Spoilage Prevention: Antimicrobial Peptides

Ulcerative Colitis ProDrug

Novel Mecamylamine Compounds: Neuropsychiatry

Aspiration Efficiency Reducer

Nanohelices for energy harvesting

Diamond patterning

A new chromatographic media for bioseparations

Wingwatch: Collision Avoidance for Aircraft on the Ground

UNITE: Cross Site Web Personalisation

Endoview: Measurement of Endoscopy Quality

PBOC: Primary Care Admission Prevention (PCAP)

Impartio: Enhanced Cloud Security



For more info:-

Audrey Crosbie,
Industry Liaison Manager
Trinity Research & Innovation
Taighde agus Nuálaíocht- Coláiste na Tríonóide Innovation Centre,
O'Reilly Institute
Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

Tel: +353 (0)1 896 3839
Mobile: +353 87 979 2726

Web: http://www.tcd.ie/research_innovation/technology/
e-mail: acrosbie@tcd.ie

Irish firms take part in Oracle's Openworld San Francisco

Oracle OpenWorld in San Francisco will be graced by the presence of 12 cutting-edge Irish technology companies all eager to make a difference in the burgeoning world of cloud computing.

The 12 companies will be taking part as part of a mission led by Enterprise Ireland.

Read More

More Speakers for Dublin Web Summit 2011

20 New Speakers for Dublin Web Summit



The founders of Digg, Eventbrite, Yahoo Mail and Wonga are among a long list of speakers just announced for October’s Dublin Web Summit. The two-day summit will features over 100 speakers, the majority of which are international.

Kevin Rose, the founder of user driven social content site Digg and now Milk will be speaking to Irish startups at the summit, giving them the benefit of his knowledge. Rose is also an investor in gamming company Zynga and the social networking Path.

Speaking alongside Rose is another prolific entrepreneur and investor, Kevin Hatz of Eventbrite. The online ticketing firm is predicted to reach over $1bn in sales by 2012. Hartz has previously invested in Friend.ly, Milo and Paypal.

The founder of one of the most successful UK Startups Wonga will also be speaking at Dublin Web Summit. Errol Damelin started the website which issues short-term cash advances to consumers only three years ago and has received considerable backing from Balderton Capital.

Also confirmed to speak at the Summit are Mark Read, Head of Strategy at advertising behemoth WPP and CEO of WPP Digital, John O’Farrell, partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Diann Eisnor of GPS navigation startup Waze and Mark Little of Storyful.

David Kelly, co-organiser of Dublin Web Summit says: “this will be our biggest summit yet and with over 100 speakers, many international, we’re starting to see a lot more Europeans booking tickets”

Dublin Web Summit takes place in the RDS, Dublin on October 27-28. Tickets are available from DublinWebSummit.com

Moneybookers becomes Skrill

If you have been looking for alternatives to paypal, then you may have encountered Moneybookers. We got this update from them yesterday, informing us that they are undergoing a name change. Here is what they said.


'Moneybookers is becoming Skrill. You can already take a first fresh look at payments on our website.

We are now displaying Skrill on the Moneybookers website to give a glimpse of our new look & feel.'

You can check them out here

NI Knowledge Economy: On-track or Off the Rails?

OCT 27 NISP CONNECT Enterprise Forum Presents: NI Knowledge Economy Index

Thu, 27 October from 17:00 to 20:00 at Northern Ireland Science Park, Belfast
"NI Knowledge Economy: On-track or Off the Rails?"

Thursday 27th October, 2011
5.00pm - 8.00pm
The Northern Ireland Science Park
How does Northern Ireland stack up against the other regions of the UK and Europe in:

Initial and follow-on public equity offerings
Private placement investment
Mergers and acquisition activity
Venture capital investment
Northern Ireland's technology start-ups new job creation figures
The number of new innovation start-ups
New patent applications and patents granted
Research employment and wages
UK and EU research grants awarded
What lessons can Northern Ireland learn from regional transformation in California?

NISP CONNECT, in association with Northern Bank and Oxford Economics, has adapted CONNECT San Diego's Innovation Report for Northern Ireland. The NI Knowledge Economy Index provides a set of indicators of the strength and impact of the Knowledge Economy in Northern Ireland versus other areas in the UK or Europe depending on the indicator. PRESENTERS:

Neil Gibson, Oxford Economics
Mary Walshok: "Closing America's Jobs Gap" - lessons for NI?
PANELISTS:

Angela McGowan, Chief Economist, Northern Bank
Steve Orr, Director, NISP CONNECT
Others TBA


Read More

It is important for Government and agencies to remember the home grown Irish Tech Firms

The last few weeks have been brilliant for the 'tech' community in Ireland. But one thing to remember is that the home grown talent often is overlooked by the bigger stories from the larger IT firms. Obviously these bigger firms are important and Silicon Ireland tries to report a range of these announcements but the smaller start
ups in Ireland are the life blood of our future and our recovery.

Ireland has such an amazing history, and I know that sometimes we focus on the negative but Silicon Ireland sees a real shift in the way people feel about the 'Silicon Valley of Europe'. It is becoming a reality even when many people tried to argue that the difference between Ireland and Silicon Valley were so different, to I think it is more than this.

When we say the 'Silicon Valley of Europe' what we mean is that Ireland can be the focus for the future of the European 'tech' focus. We do not have to be a mirror of the Valley, we can have our own way of doing things. We may not have the same amount of VC's or angels but it is improving, and the work that IDA and InvestNI do along with the many government schemes help start ups to launch.

This is also why we established the StartUp Academy Ireland to help mentor 6 tech startups with the help of mentors and partners, to allow documentation of the way businesses helped in this way achieve within the market.

We also think that the work that conferences like the DWS help to focus media and sentiment to the new Irish question? Is Ireland Europe's Silicon Valley? We think yes..... what do you think?

Has Apple let slip the name of its new iPhone ?

According to reports the new iPhone's name is called 'iPhone 4S'. The reports come from name references in the new developer release of IOS 5.

AppleInsider reports

'With just days to go before the company is expected to detail its latest iPhone offerings, Apple has let slip references to an Phone 4S in its latest iTunes beta.

References to the much-used iPhone 4S moniker could be found in the Info.plist file of the MobileDevices bundle that was included with the ninth beta of iTune 10.5 released Friday. However, Apple pulled the software from its developer site shortly after it became aware of the blunder. '

Read More