Ten Trinity based student entrepreneurial teams will pitch their company plans next week, at the LaunchBox 2018 Demo Day. Trinity will host the event in the Stanley Quek theatre, with Provost Dr Patrick Prendergast officially opening the event.
The day will see speeches from Bank of Ireland Dublin Director, Colin Kingston, and LaunchBox Programme Manager, Alison Treacy. The groups will then pitch to expert judges, before answering questions on their ventures. Following this, an overall winner will be announced.
The event is sponsored by Bank of Ireland, and is managed by a group of experts in Tangent. The Demo Day also follows 12 weeks of the LaunchBox programme.
According to Trinity, this years participants tackle a “variety of unmet market needs, including an online booking platform for performers, a product that identifies, prevents, and treats healthcare associated infections, and a hub that connects SMEs with a talented student workforce”.
The event will see the companies Applaud Events present an online booking platform, Biological Optical Prevention (BOP) present a method of combating and identifying infections, and Change Donations outline their free app to bring charities a new and easy method of donation.
Dockit will introduce an app to allow waiters and waitresses to take orders more efficiently, while Enablearm will release an assistive facial care device for those with limited manual dexterity. FUMI will also present their social mission to reduce the overconsumption of single use plastics.
The company Greener Globe will present an LED timed shower head, with Luminary Hub also outlining a platform to outsource work at affordable prices. The father-son business Seashore Veg will show its method of harvesting Ireland’s finest wild seaweed to create natural products. Work Smarter will also present a comprehensive toolbox for small business owners.
According to Trinity, the programme provides transformative learning environments “that foster innovation and entrepreneurship” in university. It notes that the programme is “at the forefront of promoting entrepreneurship as an engine for economic growth and for social and cultural development”.
LaunchBox is a part of Trinity’s Ideas Workspace provided to Trinity students with early stage businesses. It has seen 50 student ventures create 122 jobs and €6.3 million in both investment and funding since 2013. This includes companies such as Artomatrix, Touchtech and Foodcloud.
