South Dublin Start-Ups Soar with New Frontiers Programme

The showcase was the culmination of the Founders hard work within a six-month programme that saw participants receive the financial support of a €15,000 scholarship as they focused on moving their business from concept to market. Funded by Enterprise Ireland, this is the fourth year within a five-year programme where IADT in partnership with Nova UCD have committed to spending €1.6million to support 265 entrepreneurs in the region.

Pictured: (L-R) Sadhbh Wood, Bean Around; Irial O’Farrell RodiHR; Darragh O’Regan, Lifepath, Anthony Fildes, Nixerly; Daniel Smyth, Tendr; Daniel Bergin Holly, Biscuit Factory Games; Kevin Collins, Echofold; Alwin Stephen, Neuramodal; Vaibhav Gupta, Appfend; Ming Zhao, Datamnis; Phuong Vu, Data Buckets; and Jo Cheng, Earthvisio.

“New Frontiers provides entrepreneurs with the time, structure and support they need to refine their vision. At the start of the programme, participants often arrive with early-stage ideas in need of validation. By the end, they leave equipped with a clear plan, a defined direction, and the confidence to move their business forward,” said the New Frontiers Programme Manager Susanne LEstrange.

Speaking during the New Frontiers Showcase, Ciara Concannon, National Coordinator for New Frontiers at Enterprise Ireland said, “New Frontiers is incredibly important to Enterprise Ireland, it supports individuals to become entrepreneurs, to take a fledging business idea, and get a really supportive environment around them to help them stand it up as a start-up business concept and grow from there.”

Achievements were recognised across a number of award categories, including:

• The Best Pitch award went to Daniel Bergin Holly of Biscuit Factory Games, which makes small snackable game experiences for PCs
• The One to Watch award was presented to Phuong Vu of Data Buckets, a Big Data Platform-AI Agent for the mobile first companies
• The Most Likely to Scale award was given to Ming Zhao of Datamnis, which combines Data Science & Process Engineering Solutions for AI-driven sustainable manufacturing
• The Most Likely to Succeed award went to Jo Cheng of Earth Visio, which is building Google Maps for underground utilities

Outlining the significance of the impact of the New Frontiers programme, Dan Bergin Holly, of Biscuit Factory Games commented, “The New Frontiers programme has given me the head space to stop and think about the structure of the business, to think about the future and it’s also great to be in contact with other founders during the emotional rollercoaster that running a business can be.”

Applications for the next programme at IADT’s Dún Laoghaire campus are now open. Please email newfrontiers@IADT.ie for application details. The hybrid Phase 1 programme commences in October 2025 and the full-time Phase 2 starts in April 2026.

For further information on New Frontiers please contact Susanne L’Estrange: Susanne.lestrange@iadt.ie.