Trinity start-up places third in international Techstars competition

Zorin OS was one of two Trinity start-ups competing in the event

Zorin OS, a Trinity start-up, has placed third at the international Techstars Training Camp showcase in New York. Zorin OS offers an alternative to Windows and Mac OS, and is designed to make a computer faster, more powerful and safer from viruses.

Zorin OS was one of two start-ups supported by Trinity’s entrepreneurship programme, Blackstone LaunchPad, competing against start-ups from 20 other institutions around the world.

The other Trinity representative was Appetize, an app-based company centred around social dining. It allows people to discover, host and partake in dinner parties and pop-up events. The company was founded by Padraic Rowley, last year’s Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Ents Officer, Glen Byrne, last year’s TCDSU Communications and Marketing Officer, and Robin Fitzpatrick, a Management Science and Information System Studies graduate from Trinity.

Speaking before the showcase, the programme manager of Blackstone Launchpad at Trinity, Stuart Fergus, said: “Both Zorin OS and Appetize have done extremely well to earn a place on Blackstone LaunchPad’s Techstars programme this week.”

Brothers Kyrill and Artyom Zorin are the founders of Zorin OS. Kyrill graduated from Trinity’s Computer Science and Business programme in 2016, while Artyom is currently on leave from hist studies to focus on the development of their project. To date, Zorin OS has been downloaded over 17 million times with users in homes, schools, and organisations around the world.

Kyrill and Artyom Zorin praised the support and mentorship provided by both Trinity business alumni and members of staff in helping entrepreneurial-minded students start up their own ventures. “The support and mentorship that’s available from the staff and alumni makes the first steps of starting a new venture or scaling up an existing company that much easier. It’s refreshing to see a formal educational environment that encourages entrepreneurship, rather than getting in the way of it,” they told Trinity News.

Cian Mac Lochlainn

Cian Mac Lochlainn is an Economics and Politics student, and a Contributing Writer for Trinity News.