NovaUCD welcomes innovative trio to expanding startup hub

Pictured(l-r): Tom Flanagan, UCD Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation; Matt Johnston, Epic Conjoint founder; Paul O'Conner, This Is Seaweed founder, and  Brian Whelan, Travacoin founder Credit: Nick Bradshaw, Fotonic

Posted 13 June, 2018

Three new start-ups have become the latest additions to NovaUCD, joining the ever-growing community of entrepreneurs at University College Dublin’s Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs.

The companies - EPIC Conjoint, This is Seaweed and Travacoin - have moved to the hub in order to benefit from increased engagement with the university.

All three are very different in terms of what they do, with software-as-a-service developer EPIC Conjoint focusing on enabling companies of any size to rapidly conduct market research, and deliver customer insights on products and pricing.

Organic food brand This is Seaweed aims to encourage consumers globally to engage with seaweeds and to understand the benefits this ‘superfood’ possess with regards to nutrition and taste.

Established in 2015 by Paul O’Connor, a marine biologist, each seaweed in the company’s range has its own suite of beneficial vitamins and minerals.

Meanwhile Travacoin is developing an application to enable airlines to use Blockchain-based coins, rather than fiat currency, to refund and compensate passengers in the event of flight disruption.

Between them the companies are planning to create up to 30 new jobs and raise up to €7.5m in funding over the next two years.

The trio joins over 25 companies, employing some 200 people, who are already based at NovaUCD.

Welcoming the latest additions, Tom Flanagan, Director of Enterprise and Commercialisation at UCD, said that at the helm of each was an "experienced entrepreneurs, who will be a great addition to our community.”

“These companies have global ambition and significant plans for job creation and fund raising over the next few years and we look forward to assisting them to achieve these goals,” he added.

To date, NovaUCD has supported the launch of over 200 successful high-tech companies which have attracted over €200 million in equity investment.

By: David Kearns, Digital Journalist / Media Officer