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Pictured are David Merriman, Head of Enterprise Development at Bank of Ireland; and Stephen Dillion, Founder of the Startup Awards.
BANK of Ireland together with Startups.ie are calling on Kerry startups to enter the 2016 Bank of Ireland Startup Awards competition as the deadline of March 31 quickly approaches.
The awards recognise and reward Irish startups for their success in business across 12 categories including digital, food and drink, retail and technology.
Last November, an Ardfert man’s company won a Gold Award at the ceremony in Dublin. Martin McGowan’s business, Ullcatch, won the Product Start-Up Of The Year category, mainly due to his product, the Bait Weaver.
Martin McGowan (centre) of Ullcatch is joined by Steven Buckley (left) and David Brophy of sponsors FR Kelly (right) at last November’s awards.
The competition is open to companies and organisations across all sectors as awareness for the Startup Awards continues to grow annually, with almost 650 entries received in 2015. Urging startups to get entering, Bank of Ireland together with Startups.ie shared the following five Top Tips:
1. Tell a story within your entry; get the emotion behind your startup journey across to the judges. Show us your passion.
2. Remember the audience; the judges will not have all of the technical knowledge and skills that you do. Don’t assume that the judges know everything about your business.
3. Bring your story to life; the judge will have a lot of entries to go through.
4. Plot the story carefully; Remember to include a beginning middle and end to your entry, if you refer to goals or targets at the beginning; don’t forget to refer to what actually happened.
5. Proof read, proof read and then proof read again. Also watch the typos, they count.
Companies can enter the awards on their own behalf or can be nominated by a friend or colleague. Entries are judged in their respective region, which includes Dublin, the rest of Leinster, Munster and Connacht/Ulster.
Regional finalists are then shortlisted for the national final which takes place in Dublin in May. The competition is open to both Bank of Ireland customers and non-Bank of Ireland customers and the regional finals will take place during April with the national gala final taking place in Dublin on Thursday, May 26, 2016.
To enter or nominate someone for a Startup Award visit: www.startupawards.ie.. Entry into the awards is free and is open to sole traders, partnerships and companies that have been set up in Ireland that are in business for three years or less with up to 30 employees. The awards judging committee will comprise representatives from Bank of Ireland, Startups Ireland and leading Irish entrepreneurs.
Further information on the awards is also be available via the Bank of Ireland Twitter account @BOIbusiness and a dedicated hashtag has been created for the event #boistartupawards.
