Pre4Seed launches today

Prep4Seed is a 12 week intensive programme for Enterprise Ireland startup clients that prepares them for seed investment opportunities. It is delivered nationally by the Irish Business Innovation Centres (BICS): WestBIC, Furthr, South East BIC & CorkBIC.

Prep4Seed consists of four Masterclasses which are specific in content, practical and benefit from the inputs from successful startups. The programme then takes a tailored approach with the opportunity for regular 1-2-1 reviews, which ensures content from the Masterclasses is applied in a relevant way to each company. The six tailored cliend-led 1-2-1s differentiate Prep4Seed from other programmes.

Individual company focus – for which the BICs are well known, brings these startup clients through the investor readiness process quickly and effectively.  Participants are given an opportunity for an investor pitch preparation session and trial pitches. The trial pitches and feedback ensures the promoter focusses the pitch on what investors want.

The programme finishes with an Investor Day – gathering Ireland’s top pre-seed and seed investors - a considerable incentive for companies to participate and move quickly through their milestones– it focusses the participants on the end goal, instils confidence in the founders and opens doors for future conversations with investors.

Check out the companies kicking off their Prep4Seed journey today;

Dogdry: DogDry | Drying robes for wet dogs

Genicity: Genicity

Babogue: Babogue Sleep Solutions | Certified Child Sleep Consultant

Klearcom raises €1.5million in investment

In its most recent fundraising round, South East BIC client Klearcom, a startup that tests voicebots used in customer support, raised €1.5 million to further expand the business.

Based in Waterford, Klearcom tests interactive voice response (IVR) solutions to assist businesses in managing incoming calls. The solution is particularly helpful for teams with limited resources that are trying to manage and filter high call volumes without losing clients.

The IVR market is rising quickly, according to Liam Dunne, co-founder and CEO of Klearcom.  

“At the same time, they are having to deal with constrained budgets coupled with high competition for customers, putting greater pressure on them to ensure call centres are operational and reachable 100pc of the time,” Dunne said.

“This has increased the demand for Klearcom’s services and we expect continued significant growth in our customer numbers and revenues for the foreseeable future.”

Registration Now Open: Investment Fundamentals Masterclass

South East BIC returns with another in a series of webinars about investment fundamentals. We are delighted to host this Masterclass with InterTrade Ireland's Drew O'Sullivan who will provide an insight into seed funding fundamentals with a focus on valuations.

Drew is a Lead Equity Advisor, venture capitalist and business development advisor with Intertrade Ireland, and offers one-to-one advice for early stage high growth ventures that intend to raise funds in the next 12 months. He is also Managing Director of Serafina Capital and a Member of the Expert Jury on the European Innovation Council’s SME Instrument. Drew has a wealth of experience on how to raise seed finance and will share his knowledge on

For any startup, early stage or scaleup company this short Masterclass will equip you with knowledge around funding fundamentals - explaining how business models impact on the fundraising process and how to arrive at valuations for both the founder and investor.

Registrations are now open: https://tinyurl.com/yy7dnwf5

South East BIC launches Strategic Plan 2023-2025

South East BIC, a certified EU|BIC is a public private company, limited by guarantee and a registered charity, was founded in February 1995. Its purpose is to support innovative early stage start-ups and existing SMEs with the ambition to innovate and grow and to work in partnership with relevant agencies supporting job creation and enterprise. It also provides limited physical incubation space at its offices in Waterford. South East BIC is a fully accredited member of EBN, the European Business Innovation Centre Network.

South East BIC’s primary role is in the identification and support of innovative start-ups and SMEs in Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary and Carlow, through the provision of consultancy supports. The BIC’s role is to support entrepreneurs at various stages of their business development – from concept, through start-up and early-growth phases. In undertaking this work it also works closely with other stakeholders, namely, Enterprise Ireland, the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN), Seed Funds, VCs, the South East Technological University (SETU) and others in the Region.

Our 27 year track record working with innovative and entrepreneurs can be seen when reviewing the most recent strategic period and highlighting the impressive success of startups in the region.

The South East BIC strategy for 2023-25 is now launched and alligns closely to Enterprise Ireland’s strategic ambitions as set out in the EI Strategy “Leading in a Changing World” for the period 2022–2025.

The key themes of the new South East BIC strategy are as follows:

1. We will build on our 27-year track record of working with innovative entrepreneurs and startups
2. We will continue to collaborate and partner with key international, national and regional stakeholders to ensure that the South East is a great place to start a business
3. We will ensure that South East BIC is well run, relevant and responsive to the needs of our clients and partners

To achieve this, South East BIC will pursue the following 4 strategic pillars:

1. Provide consultancy, guidance and intensive support to innovative entrepreneurs throughout their startup and early-growth journey
2. Assist with access to funding – the right funding at the right time for startups
3. Encourage and stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation across our region
4. Ensure that South East BIC has the structure, capacity and resources to deliver this plan

Tony Ruane, Chair of South East BIC, said “South East BIC’s 2023-2025 strategic plan sets out our high-level strategic direction for the next 3 years.  The plan will deliver impact here in the South East, working in partnership with our regional partners and stakeholders.  The plan’s strategic intent is aligned with the BIC’s mission as a certified member of the European BIC Network (EBN), and with Enterprise Ireland’s 2022-2025 Strategy, to support and grow innovative, export-focused high potential startups in the Region.”