Lisbon, 9 November 2017
Today, Dublin-based start-up Coroflo has won the highly coveted ESB Spark Of Genius Award at Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. Coroflo fought off tough competition from fellow Irish tech start-up finalists Electrical Analytics and Mobility Mojo to win the €25,000 cash prize.
Coroflo are developing the world's first accurate breastfeeding monitor. In a tight contest, they fought off Mobility Mojo, an award-winning website that works like TripAdvisor but focuses on Accessibility and Electrical Analytics, which enables the Smart Grid using data and automation to provide actionable intelligence on the health and performance of power transformers.
Photos (5) of Coroflo CEO Rosanne Longmore with Paul Mulvaney, ESB Innovation Director and the Spark of Genius judging panel attached. Higher res photos available via the contact details below. Photo credit: Filipe Tombo, AFFP
Coroflo along with runners up Electrical Analytics and Mobility Mojo were selected after an intensive process which saw them compete within a group of five other Start-ups live on air on 2FM’s The Eoghan McDermott Show. The final stage of the competition saw the three pitch to a world class judging panel on Web Summit’s Pitch Stage in Lisbon. Judges included Paul Mulvaney, ESB Executive Director Innovation, Brian Caulfield, Draper Espirit, Stephen Shortt, EO Accelerator and Kathleen Warner, Techstars.
Rosanne Longmore, CEO at Coroflo, commented: “This is a massive achievement for Coroflo. From exhibiting here at Web Summit, to pitching our product to global investors and media, this has been a game-changing opportunity for us to grow our business. Seeing off stiff competition from the competitors to win the ESB Spark of Genius Award is the pinnacle of our experience here. The €25,000 prize will make a big difference to Coroflo.”
Paul Mulvaney, Executive Director Innovation, ESB, commented: “Each year, The ESB Spark of Genius Award recognises the exceptional standard of technology-led start-ups in Ireland. Coroflo is a deserving winner and a perfect example of a company that has innovated to harness the opportunities that new technologies bring. It’s that commitment to innovation that ESB shares and seeks to champion at every opportunity - this ethos and collaborative approach underlines our ambition to develop future customer solutions for our own customers.”
The ESB Spark of Genius Award provides a platform for high potential technology start-ups who have been in operation for less than three years and have received under €1 million in funding. Entrants are judged on the uniqueness of their idea, their level of development thus far, and their potential for future growth. Past winners of the ESB Spark of Genius Award include OpenBack, Bizimply, Viddyad, Datahug and SmartThings.
More than 60,000 people from over 170+ countries will attend Web Summit this year in Lisbon. Keynote speakers include Margrethe Vestager; European Commissioner for Competition, Brian Krzanich; CEO Intel, Al Gore; Former US Vice President, Mark Hurd; CEO Oracle and Sean Rad; Co-Founder, Tinder.
ENDS
EDITORS' NOTES:
Previous winners:
OpenBack (2016): OpenBack enables any App to deliver powerful personalised notifications to users, increasing engagement and retention of lapsed users.
BizSimply (2015): An employee management start-up which has secured over €1.95m in funding. Co-founded by Norman Hewson, John Forde and Mikey Cannon.
Smart Things (2012): Internet of Things start-up which has been purchased by Samsung for approximately €177m. Founded by Alex Hawkinson, Jeff Hagins, Scott Vlaminck, James Stolp, Andrew Brooks, Ben Edwards and Jesse O'Neill-Oine.
Datahug (2010): A data science company which has raised €4.87m ($5.5m) in funding to date and has offices in Dublin and San Francisco. Founded by Connor Murphy.
About ESB:
ESB is Ireland’s leading energy company, operating across the full spectrum of the electricity market: from generation, through transmission and distribution to supply. In addition, ESB extracts further value at certain points along this chain: supplying gas, using our networks to carry fibre for telecommunications, developing electric vehicle public charging infrastructure and an international consultancy arm which has worked in 120 countries globally. More information at www.esb.ie
ESB embraces start-ups and collaboration to co-develop future energy solutions for customers
Free Electrons:
The mission of Free Electrons is simple, to connect the world’s most promising energy start-ups with globally recognised utility companies and the global investor community. The aim of the programme is to recruit and support the next generation of ideas in clean energy, energy efficiency, electric mobility and on-demand customer services. The Free Electrons mission statement is “We envision a future where smart, clean and accessible energy will transform every aspect of our lives”
ESB co-hosted module 2 of the programme with Portuguese utility EDP and hosted a pitch off event in Dublin in June 2017, Aperio was the winner. The overall winner was BeON, a company that has developed a highly competitive offer for the residential market. In 2018, Free Electrons will launch its second accelerator programme
Innovating @ X_Site
At the start of 2016, ESB launched X_Site, an off-site innovation hub where radical or potentially disruptive ideas to today's existing businesses can be further developed into proven business concepts. Project teams, both internal and external, at X_Site will embrace the innovative culture and ecosystem at Dogpatch Labs. The team will learn the agile techniques that start-up companies follow to quickly co-create and prototype new business propositions in conjunction with customers