Six Irish startups that met at Trinity, went through LaunchBox, Tangent’s Student Accelerator, and received help and support from Bank of Ireland to get their start, are going to New York for the inaugural Tangent Pioneers programme.
The Tangent Pioneers will work 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 this week, in addition to setting up customer and investment meetings, they will pitch to the Digital Irish network; talk to Enterprise Ireland about taking their businesses global; meet with Techstars and Blackstone VC; and get a sense of what it is to work, network, and lead a startup in the US.
The Tangent Pioneers will be representing Trinity, and Ireland on a global stage for the first time. We spoke to them about their hopes and aspirations before their trip to the Big Apple.
Sebastian Kuehn, co-founder & CTO, Work Smarter
Work Smarter started on a very personal note for me, as my father was self-employed in the construction industry for over 30 years. He was great at his job, but when customers paid him late or not at all, it brought him to the brink of bankruptcy a few times. When Anika, my co-founder and I got out there and started talking to freelancers‘ customers, we realised how tough it can be on them as well. Now we’re building a tool that helps both sides manage contracts and payments fairly and securely.
I’m originally from Germany, so English doesn’t come naturally to me. I’ve been living in Ireland for a little over a year, and I’m just getting used to the Irish English. The New York accent will be a new challenge.
As a German programmer, I’m a very direct person. If I can say something in three words, I don’t use four.
