IBYE 2014 Dublin Region Finals

Two young Dublin City LEO entrepreneurs have won a place at the first-ever national final of ‘Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur’ competition, for a chance to share a €100,000 investment fund.

Lukas Decker from Coindrum (Best New Idea) and Jamie White, Youth Nation (Best Established Start Up) will represent the region at the national final in Dublin in December 2014.  Lukas has already won €10,000 and Jamie €20,000 in investment from the Local Enterprise Office Dublin city.

Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition is an integral part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 and is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through the 31 Local Enterprise Offices around the country.

At yesterday’s Regional Final, twelve local business owners and new start-ups from the Dublin region, all under the age of 30, went head-to-head for a chance to compete in the national finals.

Speaking at the event, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton T.D. who presented the awards said: “I am delighted to see the quality of young entrepreneurs here today.  Startups create two thirds of all new jobs in Ireland, and these entrepreneurs here today certainly have the potential to create employment in our economy.  Central to the Government plans for jobs and growth is supporting more businesses to start-up. Part of this plan is also fostering a stronger culture of entrepreneurship and promoting start-up business as a career option for young people. That is what is behind this new competition to find the best young entrepreneur in Dublin and also ultimately Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur. I wish the finalists every success for the future.”

The local winner now faces tough competition from 23 other finalists, emerging from eight regional finals. The €100,000 investment fund in December is divided up across four prizes:

-        Best New Idea (€20,000 investment)

-        Best Start Up (€30,000 investment)

-        Best Established Business, with New Add On (€30,000 investment)

-        Overall Winner of ‘Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur’ (an additional €20,000 investment)

Importantly, over 400 business owners and start-ups from around the country have benefitted from intensive business bootcamps and mentoring programmes at local level, as part of the competition.

The Head of Enterprise with the Local Enterprise Office Greg Swift said: “Dublin City has been very fortunate to have two Winners representing the Dublin Region in the National final. The competition was very competitive in the Dublin Region with 230 applicants for the 3 places available. We hope that all business, friends and family will get behind the finalists and fly the Dublin flag through their social media connections to encourage them to win what will be an investment fund of an additional €50,000. The feedback from those who took part in the competition process is that the networking aspect with other likeminded young entrepreneurs has created friendships that will be of great benefit to their businesses in the future.”

For all the latest news and updates about the ‘Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur’ competition, visit www.ibye.iewww.localenterprise.ie or see #ibye

WHAT IS THE IBYE COMPETITION? Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur is run by the new Local Enterprise Offices, and the winners at county level are eligible for an investment in their business of up to €20,000, while the winners at national level can receive an additional investment of up to €50,000. Investments in winning businesses will be determined according to business prospects and investment needs.

 Mentoring, marketing and other supports will also be available to participating businesses at various stages of the competition. The competition was open to individuals aged 30 and under and was be judged under three distinct categories:

• Best new idea (best idea for a new business)
• Best start-up business (in business for 18 months or less)
• Best established business with new add-on (in business for longer than 18 months and is adding a new dimension to their business).

The first stage was a county-based competition (run by the 31 LEOs) which led to the naming of the Best Young Entrepreneur in each county. This stage also included bootcamps and mentoring programmes. This was followed by eight regional finals and one national final, with one business-person being crowned Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur in December 2014.

The nominees were all interviewed by a three member judging panel and had to deliver a business pitch, live. Assessed on criteria such as business innovation, job creation potential and financial planning, the announcement of the national finalists was made at an evening reception last night. The Judging Panel were Sean Gallagher, Entrepreneur, Mary Fitzpatrick, Head of Enterprise Kildare and Tom Banville, Head of Enterprise Wexford.

Finalists from Dublin Local Enterprise Offices were:

Best New Idea

Lukas Decker, Condrium, Dublin City

Patrick Hayes, Sportiful, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown

Norma O’Mahony, Effi.ie, South Dublin

Joseph Kuye, Touchtech Payments

Best Start Up

Eamon Keane, Xpreso

Ciara Clancy, Beats Medical

Elaine Lavery, Improper Butter

Ben Millett, Stayhold

Best Established Pitches

Jamie White, Youth Nation

Ruth Hussey, Pure Food

Dan Davern, DX2 Training

Ruth Hussey, Pure Food