Firms Shine at Enterprise Awards
DreamDev Technologies was the overall winner at a ceremony that recognised innovative and dynamic businesses, writes
Renowned for our entrepreneurial outlook, Ireland boasts more than its fair share of innovative and dynamic businesses.
Every year Enterprise
Ireland recognises the companies that have excelled in their areas of expertise and show a promising future.
There were 31 finalists at the 24th annual Local Enterprise Office National Enterprise Awards late last month, competing for the top prize fund of €50,000.
Along with an overall winner, there were also awards for Best Start-Up, Best Export Business, an Innovation award, a One-to-Watch award and a Sustainability award.
There was also an Outstanding Achievement award for a business which started with the help of their Local Enterprise Office and has gone on to achieve international growth.
John Magee, chair of the Network of Local Enterprise Offices, said the awards “serve to highlight the very best businesses” that local enterprise offices work with across the country.
“The diversity of sectors and innovation shown again this year is outstanding and the winners will no doubt produce businesses destined for international success,” he said.
“These businesses have excelled in their areas and have the potential to follow in the footsteps of previous winners to become successful global companies.”
DreamDev Technologies was the overall winner. The innovative technology-first business specialises in applying modern software engineering practices to drive transformation for its clients.
Its flagship product, the dot-star enterprise software platform, enables software engineering teams to deliver results with significantly reduced resource requirements through tools and functionality which streamline technical delivery processes.
This enables teams to achieve a significantly faster timeto-market compared to traditional approaches. It also promotes enhanced productivity and efficiency through automation and streamlining workflows and improved environmental performance by reducing development waste and optimising resource utilisation.
With the help of former colleague Douglas Aguiar, DreamDev was founded by Eoin Barry from Kildare, who was thrilled with the win.
“To be named overall winner is absolutely fantastic,” he said. “It’s great to get this recognition after five years of hard work. We have an excellent team and it’s great to see the hard work and endeavour recognised.
“We are getting huge visibility now, which is great, and we’re launching a new product in the coming weeks so it’s great to have this win behind us.”
Taking home the gong for the One to Watch award, Drinks Botanical Ireland Ltd specialises in premium dried garnishes, natural-based syrups and cocktail ancillaries to retailers, offlicences, bars, restaurants, and hotels, supplying both B2B and B2C markets (see pages 14&15).
Having a robust environmental policy is vital in today’s business world, and Living Green took home the Sustainability award. Based in Donegal, the environmentally friendly company
offers diverse, environmentally conscious, and health-enhancing products which promote sustainable living and healthy choices.
Its diverse product portfolio ranges from organic compost products such as the All Plant Peat Free Certified Organic Compost, and 100% Certified Organic Wormcast, to Frozen Turmeric Shots.
Largely focused on the domestic market and selling primarily to B2B, the business has delivered a solid 148% year-on-year growth since 2020. It was founded by Neil Crossan, who has a long history of sustainabilityfocused entrepreneurship. His previous ventures include Worm Farm and Northway Mushrooms, and he also founded the MIANI Mushroom Industry Association of Northern Ireland.
Proving that sustainable businesses are the way forward, Crossan attributes his success to several factors, including championing the circular economy, producing innovative products and processes, healthy profit margins, and sustainable growth.
“We are absolutely delighted to have won the sustainability award,” he said. “It means the world to us and really personifies what we’re about; we’re green, we’re living and we’re trying to keep the planet alive.”
Being innovative is one of the key factors for success and this year’s Innovation award went to cyber intelligence and risk prioritisation platform, Cytidel.
Created by Matt Conlon from Mayo, the service enables customers to identify vulnerabilities most likely to lead to
a breach and then prioritise the fixes necessary to prevent them.
Conlon has wide-ranging experience assisting companies across policing, banking and large tech in various areas of cyber defence. The idea for the company came when he became frustrated with outdated risk prioritisation methods based on incorrect metrics leading to regular incidents of late-night response calls. This was a widespread issue in the industry.
Cytidel is seeking to expand and is developing offerings aimed at the UK, US, Canada and wider European markets. Conlon said that “winning the award means everything”.
He added: “We got going as a business with the support of the Local Enterprise Office and they believed in us right from the start, so this recognition is the culmination of all our hard work.”
Taking the initiative to establish a new venture is what business is all about and the Start-Up award was won by
Ltd in Dublin.
Set up by John Larkin, the company manufactures and produces a range of handmade natural soaps and deodorants for men.
The company has experienced extensive growth, with revenue increasing 6.5 times in 2023 amid an expansion into global markets. As it stands, only 33% of its sales are in Ireland.
The products are made with an Irish slant, and soaps including the Black Stout are made with Guinness instead
The Black Stuff
of water. Although he’s no stranger to success, the sector is a departure from Larkin’s previous role as a professional online poker player.
After ten years in the industry, he entered the world of e-commerce, spending €30,000 during the pandemic lockdowns to create soap for men.
“It’s wonderful to win the Best Start-Up award,” he said. “It has been the culmination of three years of really hard work and we’re delighted to see it paying off.”
Expanding business to international markets is an end goal for many companies and Eskimo Software Ltd won the Export award for its expertise as a virtual sales manager which helps auto dealers convert more online leads into sales.
The company solves the issue of auto dealers receiving web enquiries from numerous online publishers, through integration with all online advertising publishers. It allows dealers to open lines of communication with potential customers at the peak of their interest, increasing sales conversion rates and reducing lost leads.
Founded by Conor Moran in 2017, its customer base is worldwide with a presence in Ireland, UK, Australia, Spain and the UAE. It is seeking to expand across North America, the Middle East, and mainland Europe.
“Myself and the team are over the moon to win the Export award,” Moran said.
“We work extraordinarily hard all year round to grow the business internationally and I’d like to thank the whole team for all that hard work.”