Acres Machinery is an award-winning agri-machinery design and engineering company, based in Co. Roscommon. Here, CEO David Doran outlines some of the significant progress being made by this innovative agtech startup.
Recent developments
One of our latest developments is the Supercrop 1 crop conditioner. It’s a machine designed to reduce both the time and costs involved in the wilting of silage and hay and targeted at both silage contractors and large-scale farmers. Wilting grass reduces the moisture content of the crop in the field and plays a vital role in the process of quality silage and hay preservation, prior to it being baled or placed in the silage pit. The machine is now for sale worldwide across sixty countries in cooperation with leading Italian agri machinery manufacturer Sitrex. Recently, we were also delighted to have been selected as an Enterprise Ireland-backed HPSU company.
How does the machine work in practice?
Supercrop 1’s innovative design eliminates the need for three separate machines – the rake, conditioner and tedder, combining all three functions into a single machine. This design combination brings greater efficiencies such as the ability to simultaneously rake and condition altogether, in one go. This is quite a compelling proposition and means that you get better-quality forage, higher dry matter digestibility, better formed bales, eliminating at least one field pass, along with the ability to get your crop off the ground a day earlier.
“Supercrop 1’s innovative design eliminates the need for three separate machines – the rake, conditioner and tedder, combining all three functions into a single machine.”
What problems do you solve for the contractor?
The silage contractor gets paid per bale or per acre and looks to get in and out of the field as quickly and efficiently as possible. Most contractors don’t get paid for raking, which they carry out for their own

Farm Tours Ireland was set up in 2012, by long established Louth-based agricultural advisors, dad Gerry and son Aonghus Giggins. Here, Aonghus gives some background to the story of operating in what is a niche but burgeoning marketplace.
What is your target market?
We concentrate on incoming visitor trips to Ireland which generally makes up ninety-nine per cent of our business. Internationally, Ireland is known as the Food Island and our initial focus has been on the technical agricultural-tour sector, hosting international farm discussion groups, producer groups, veterinarian groups and university groups that wish to visit Ireland.

What has been a key factor in helping you grow?
Getting the word out to potential clients and creating awareness that our company exists has been key to both our commercial success and our on-going growth. We operate in a specialist sector with farmers travelling to Ireland from a range of continents and countries from across the globe. We have a limited marketing budget and tend to use the strategy of social media and word of mouth to get the message out there. In September, we were lucky to be selected to be the Louth Local Enterprise Office representative in the L.E.O. Village at the Ploughing Championships which proved very successful in helping promote our brand within Ireland.
“It’s quite a unique offering, visiting a real-life working farm, talking to the farmer and engaging with local communities to experience the real Ireland.”
How many work in the company?
There are three of us altogether – myself, my father Gerry and last year we were joined in the company by my sister Siobhan. Siobhan had been working in tax consultation in Dublin and since she returned home to join us, she has been a great addition to the family business.
What’s unique about your company?
We feel we are offering a different type of

Techstars Startup Weekend will return to the Hatch Lab in Gorey in March and is open to anyone to come along.
The Hatch Lab in Gorey will host its second Techstars Startup Weekend from 1 to 3 March 2019, in partnership with Wexford LEO and Bank of Ireland.
Participants will have the opportunity to explore and develop new business ideas in a fun and inclusive environment.
Startup Weekend is a 54-hour event, where attendees pitch ideas, form teams and start companies. The weekend is community focused and provides a place for entrepreneurs to find co-founders, mentors and the momentum needed for their ideas.
In addition to developing their own ideas, participants will also be tasked with coming up with solutions for challenges relevant to Gorey, the surrounding region, and beyond. The goal of the weekend is to create an environment where passionate people can come together to get things done; to learn, network, bridge the gap between trades, expose potential weaknesses in their business models and see actual results.
Participants can bring their ideas to the next level and connect with like-minded people. Last year’s event saw 35 participants, and some Startup Weekend graduates, such as Vicki O’Donnell of Wilder Wander have turned their Startup Weekend idea into self-sustaining businesses operating from the Hatch Lab.
Some of the experts who will be in attendance over the weekend include Colin Keogh, a mechanical engineer and designer, who featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2016 and was one of the JCIs Ten Outstanding Young People in 2017, Cyril Byrne, a software innovator and mentor and Szilvia Szabo, CEO of Impacter.
The event is open for anyone to attend and you can book your place here. Alternatively you can email emer.cooney@boi.com or tina@thehatchlab.ie.

On February 12 and 13, 2019, Startup Boost, the number one global pre-accelerator program, will host a virtual demo day.
What’s a virtual demo day, you may ask? Simple. It’s a demo day of pitches but this time the startups will pitch their ideas in an online, virtual environment. Investors and interested viewers can ‘tune in’ and watch what happens.
“The virtual demo day breaks down the geographical and temporal barriers of a traditional demo day.”
“For the upcoming virtual demo day, investors, accelerators and corporate businesses will be able to watch 25 pre-seed and seed tech startups pitching ideas in areas including health, fintech, AI, e-commerce and more,” says Startup Boost founding member, Gene Murphy.
This is a first
This is a first-of-its-kind demo day for a pre-accelerator. The virtual demo day gives investors, accelerators, and potential partners access to view pitches by Startup Boost’s Fall alumni.
The alumni consist of 25 pre-seed and seed-stage tech startups from the Fall programs in Detroit, Dublin, Los Angeles, and New York.
Viewers will need to register to join the 48-hour virtual event.
You can register here: http://startupboost.org/virdemreg19
What is Startup Boost?
Startup Boost, now in its second year, has helped to pre-accelerate over 80 companies from six locations around the world.
The program is unique in that it doesn’t take equity or fees from startups. Top entrepreneurs, investors, and mentors come together to volunteer their time to work with these promising startups who stood out from a pool of over 1,500 applicants to gain acceptance into Startup Boost.
“The purpose of Startup Boost is to help pre-seed investment teams make the next big step.”
How to apply for Startup Boost programs
For those wishing to apply to a program, applications just opened at startupboost.org/apply. Pittsburgh is officially launching its first program, which will join Los Angeles, NYC, and Toronto as programs running this Spring.
Other programs running this Fall

FutureScope’s One2Watch finalists have raised a combined total of €6.2 million in the last two years.
FutureScope, Ireland’s number one innovation event specifically designed to promote collaboration between the tech and entrepreneurial ecosystems, announced that applications for FutureScope One2Watch 2019 are open.
The competition seeks to find Ireland’s most scalable business idea and awards the winning company with a platform to support its growth. FutureScope 2019 will take place in the Convention Centre Dublin on Thursday, 28th March.
The entrepreneur crowned the FutureScope One2Watch 2019 will win €2.5k in cash; a place on the Dublin BIC Investor Ready Programme; office space at CoWork@GEC including full GEC member benefits as well as expert legal consultancy from Dublin law firm, OBH Partners. 
“One2Watch is a fantastic competition that offers expert business support for ambitious start-ups looking to make their entrepreneurial ideas a reality”
The brightest and most innovative start-ups and entrepreneurs in the country will compete for the opportunity to present their business idea on the FutureScope stage where 1200 of those most involved in Ireland’s tech and start-up ecosystem converge to explore business and collaboration opportunities arising from emerging technologies.
One2Watch, a Dublin BIC initiative supported by OBH Partners, seeks to identify and promote the most scalable business idea. The winner will present with the biggest market opportunity and the most capable team to realise it.
Entry to the competition is open to entrepreneurs and start-ups from any sector whose idea is beyond the concept stage and is under five years since incorporation. If you meet this criteria, you can apply for the One2Watch here.
Michael Culligan, CEO of Dublin BIC, said, “One2Watch is a fantastic competition that offers expert business support for ambitious start-ups looking to make their entrepreneurial ideas a reality. It provides the winner a fantastic opportunity to pitch their idea to a very influential

Having started out as a journalist with The Irish Times, Paula Newenham created GirlCrew, a support and advice platform for women all over the world. 
I studied law in Ireland and the United States, before completing a master’s degree in journalism. I began my career as a general news reporter with The Irish Times mostly covering the courts but it got depressing after a while as there were never really any positive stories. When I made the move to business reporting, I wanted to write about more positive things, so I focussed on technology, startups, innovation and entrepreneurship. Interviewing entrepreneurs every day made me realise I wanted to start my own business. GirlCrew was the perfect opportunity to do so.
“We are not truly global yet, but we plan to be.”
We’re all about supporting women. Our principle guideline as a company is one of respect, and that feeds into our community and the support we offer each other. This can be something small like people just chatting through problems online. Or something bigger like helping each other find suitable housing, find a job that’s good for them, or helping them to settle into a new city. We’d like to build on this principle and become a community for women all over the world. We want no woman to ever feel alone. No matter where they are, they can join us and chat to other women for support. Even if we haven’t launched in their city, they can do this.
“Interviewing entrepreneurs every day made me realise I wanted to get back to that.”
Unlike other social networking sites, GirlCrew immediately connects women with others in their city for nights out, hikes, brunches, holidays and more. It also has in-built careers, entrepreneurship, and personal interest groups, where women can share knowledge and advice on everything from getting

The ShowerGem might just be the perfect present this Christmas. We caught up with the company founder Sean McGarry to discuss the product.
I believe you had trouble naming the company?
Choosing the name ShowerGem was a pretty laboursome task. Originally, the product was to be called The ShowerBoss Shower Caddy but when we applied for a trademark we ran into difficulty from Hugo Boss, who in their cease and desist letters stated that they “are a company with a turnover of four billion dollars annuall”, not exactly someone a startup wants to be messing with. After seven months arguing with their German legal team, an agreement was reached where we could use ShowerBoss, but it left some red tape over the company which was less than ideal if we were to begin selling internationally in the future. So we parked ShowerBoss and began looking for something different. I met with Graham Clarke from Bank of Ireland and after a few cups of coffee I found myself staring at a bag of ‘GEM’ sugar. I looked up the domain www.ShowerGem.com, it was available so hey presto, The ShowerGem Shower Caddy was born.  
Why was the company started?
ShowerGem was created pretty much by accident back in 2015. I have two teenage sisters which meant razors were left on the shower floor, soaps thrown everywhere and bottles were balanced on top of the Mira shower unit. I tried using the metal caddies but the suction always failed leading to everything crashing to the ground. My dad thought there must be a better way so he went out to his workshop and created the ShowerGem. He made it just for our own shower but when I saw it I thought it was genius so I began turning it into a proper business.

What need is your

Trinity sent six startups to New York on a week-long international accelerator programme, called Tangent Pioneers. They went, they saw, they pitched – did they conquer?

Aisling Byrne, The Nu. Wardrobe
The Tangent Pioneers programme taught me a lot about myself as an individual.
I learned that there is just no use in paying attention to people who think it is acceptable to disregard my business because I speak about its environmental impact alongside its profitability. I find the thinking on the matter similar between both Ireland and the US – there is an understanding by many business people (often older white men) that it’s not a businesses’ responsibility to consider their impact until they are held accountable by some sort of third party. This damaging thinking is not reflected across Europe, where sustainability is far more progressive. I also learned that I have a responsibility to talk about gender inequality in entrepreneurship when I can. It’s not going away.
On a more personal note, I learned that I’m capable of meeting, pitching, or talking in front of any given audience. It doesn’t phase me anymore. I’ve grown up so much since I did the LaunchBox programme. Bringing my company, Nu. to the States was huge, and I was shocked at how far Nu. has come since then. 
“There seems to be far more support for startups in Ireland.”

Jack Dooley, Greener Globe
Based on my experiences working in NY as a Tangent Pioneer, I think the main difference between the US vs Ireland, aside from scale obviously, is that there seems to be far more support for startups in Ireland compared with the States.
There is an attitude in the U.S. where you are either a student or an entrepreneur. In Ireland, we seem to support students’ entrepreneurial dreams more. As an individual, this programme showed me

Six Irish startups went to New York to network and pitch for a week. This is what happened.
Six Irish startups that met at Trinity, went through LaunchBox, Tangent’s Student Accelerator, and received help and support from Bank of Ireland, travelled to New York in October for the inaugural Tangent Pioneers programme.
The Tangent Pioneers worked for one intensive week in the heart of the New York startup scene, basing themselves in the Bank of Ireland Innovation Lab in Midtown. During the week, in addition to setting up customer and investment meetings, they pitched to the Digital Irish; learned from Enterprise Ireland about taking their startups global; had office hours with Techstars and Blackstone VC; and got a sense of what it is to work, network, and lead a startup in the US.
From a mix of industries and backgrounds, the Tangent Pioneers represented Trinity, and Ireland on a global stage for the first time. Here they describe their experiences of the week’s work.
Sebastian Kuehn, co-founder & CTO, Work Smarter
For us, a successful trip would mean a positive reception of our concept here in New York and I’m happy to say that we’ve been able to achieve that so far. While we’re not ready to scale out to the US market but it’s valuable feedback to know that there is potential for us here. Meeting businesspeople in New York has definitely underscored what we already know – Ireland is a small market, but it’s an excellent testing ground and a great place to start. For the pitch events we’re participating in, we adjusted our numbers to reflect the US market. It’s a great feeling to have such massive numbers up on the screen.
“I can highly recommend grabbing a coffee and watching the city slowly wake up.”
New York surprised me in a very positive way. The city

The Delivery Guys was founded by Eric and Mike Gargiulo after the Irish economic downturn, and allows customers to order from their favourite restaurants online.
What is The Delivery Guys?
The Delivery Guys (TDG) is a full-service online restaurant ordering platform and delivery service with a unique approach that will be irresistible to restaurant owners everywhere. We currently handle in excess of 30,000 orders per annum and growing that number month on month.
When was the business started?
The business was founded originally in 2013. However, the original concept was flawed in its business plan for expansion and was abandoned in July of 2017. It was replaced later that year when QSRS Ltd was formed. Since launching, we have re-invented how we conduct our business including our pricing structure, driver relationship and roll out strategy. We have made changes to our software that will allow us to expand and scale quickly, and have plans for further development that will not only make our application more user friendly but will also increase productivity and driver delivery ratio. We have investigated, beta tested and secured estimates on creating a ‘White Label’ version of our software platform that could be sold to large international chains such as Domino’s to better manage their delivery fleet.                                                
How does the business work?
Simplicity and ease of use is at the core of the entire technology solution. Many may suggest it’s like Uber crossed with JustEat and Deliveroo, with a few unique differences. It works in three steps.
“Many may suggest it’s like Uber crossed with JustEat and Deliveroo, with a few unique differences”
Orders are placed online at www.thedeliveryguys.ie or using The Delivery Guys App on Google Play Store or Apple store by the public to a restaurant of their choice for collection, delivery by TDG, or delivery by the restaurant staff itself.