Five startups to watch in the West

Ireland’s west coast has become a hub for a number of Ireland’s fastest growing startups. Here are five companies working in Startlab Galway worth keeping an eye out for.  

Amicitia

Amicitia was founded in 2015 and is a not-for-profit social enterprise providing connected devices to support the elderly, disabled and those with long-term health conditions. Profits from the sale of their products and services are redistributed to support community development initiatives. The problems facing towns and villages are manifold. For example, 42% of those aged 65 and older live in rural areas in Ireland, social isolation and loneliness are prevalent due to outward migration and the pace of technological change leaving generations behind. This increasingly ageing and disabled population are confronted with the challenge of finding adequate care in later life.

The social business model brings together community and technology to create data-rich civic participation networks that promote safety, health and wellbeing. The home is protected by a range of sensors linked to a social hub in the heart of the community which empowers people of all ages to spend time and coordinate care together. This approach builds resilient communities by anchoring jobs locally and expanding the provision of social services to support the most socially disadvantaged groups.

Kollabro

Kollabro is a client communication and task management software that instantly saves time and money for digital and creative businesses though clear client communication. The company was formed in 2016 and provides an effective time saving solution that keeps projects progressing and enables payments, approvals and sign off to be received in time which in turn saves time and money for consultants and their clients. Kollabro eliminates the need for phone calls, emails and meetings during a project by having all the project communication in one place.

Frankli

Frankli is a HR software product designed to provide management with areal-timee pulse of their organisation from an employee perspective. It does this by facilitating a continuous, two-way feedback loop between individuals, management and teams. Information gathered is analysed and presented in a way that gives management insight into the feelings and opinions of employees.

For growing companies, ensuring staff remain engaged is a challenge that can result in poor retention levels. Frankli addresses this by involving all employees in meaningful and regular two-way dialogue, while also empowering employees to connect with their colleagues around both personal and professional interests. By providing a constant up-to-date read on the sentiment of employees, Frankli enables management to both identify and address staff-related problems at an early stage, helping resolve issues and retain staff.

SalesWolf

SalesWolf is a mobile-based software platform designed to help coordinate sales teams. Using a map, SalesWolf takes advantage of the fact that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual and processes 60,000 times faster than text. The map can be filtered to gain insights into what’s going on in the field, in terms of activity, the sales pipeline, overdue sales or even geographical trends with customers. Touching on a map pin brings you inside the business, where everything about that business is accessible. SalesWolf allows the presentation of information from a field sales team and an accounts package, to be displayed on a live interactive map. “There is no other competitor who is presenting business intelligence on an interactive map like this,” according to founder JP Heneghan.

StoryTracks

StoryTracks has previously featured on ThinkBusiness. It is a dynamic, mobile-enabled, audio-guide app. A unique feature on the StoryTracks app is the ability of the local person, to upload their own unique or interesting story, from exactly where it took place and then pin the exact location, digitally to the map. StoryTracks founder Fergal Nealon said; “We at StoryTracks, believe we can significantly enhance your product offering, ensuring continued visitor engagement and digital interaction with your brand.”

Main photo courtesy of Happi Digital. 

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