Start100 - Bringing Ideas to Life

It’s that time of year again – time to start thinking about Start100, IdeasLab newest student accelerator programme.

Start100 helps students with an early stage start up transform their ideas into potentially investible innovations. The programme provides physical space, expert mentorship from?NUI Galway Alumni?and enterprise, skills training and key networking opportunities to students just beginning their innovation journey.?

Throughout the Start100 programme students have the chance to hone their business model and connect into a vibrant start up ecosystem in the West of Ireland.

Start100 offers students the chance to link with a fantastic bank of?NUI Galway?mentors and speakers to inspire, advise and support the next generation of entrepreneurs. This programme also links students into a thriving community of innovators and entrepreneurs in the West of Ireland, such as?BioInnovate?who support and partner with IdeasLab on the University of Galway campus,?Portershed?and?Galway City Innovation District?who run programmes in partnership with IdeasLab.?

Spring 2023 University of Galway IdeasLab will kick off our second Start100 programme with a whole new cohort of students but first, we thought we would look back on the success of last year’s programme and what our Start100 2022 alumni had to say about their experience.

2022 saw our first batch of 9 Start100 teams kick start the programme. Teams were selected through a competitive process, chosen for their unique approach, business model and potential to grow. Over the six week programme the 9 teams took part in design thinking sprints, learned about investment and funding terms, the importance of the perfect pitch and what to know when validating an idea. Our teams worked together, offering feedback and working on group tasks to enable them to better define and validate their ideas.

At the end of the programme teams had the opportunity to pitch their ideas in front of a panel of Irish industry leaders – Vanessa Creaven of Spotlight Oral Care , Helen McBreen of Atlantic Bridge , Finn Hegarty of ABC Glofox , Paul Dodd Vice President of Engagement 爱尔兰国立高威大学 and Michelle Millar , Dean of Students 爱尔兰国立高威大学 .

In the final Start100 showcase in July 2022 our panel of experts announced ICTUS Medical, led up of Peter Best-Lydon and Ciarán McDermott , as the overall Start100 winner and IRIS, made up of Keelan Rowley and Michael Dillon , as ‘One to Watch’.

Lead for ICTUS Medical Peter Best-Lydon described the Start100 programme as ''a massive help to us with all the connections that we made. There was a buzz every week in IdeasLab and it was great to get a sense of working in a start-up.''

Keelan Rowley of ‘One to Watch’ IRIS, described Start100 as ''critical in the development of our product. From the very beginning we were mentored throughout the entire process of the 6 week programme. We had brilliant tutors and lecturers. Winning this prize will be very important for our prototyping and validating the solution we have developed.''

Vanessa Creaven of Spotlight Oral Care , one of the members of our expert judging panel, described the winning team's focus and determination to improve outcomes for patients/users.

''In the overall competition the winning team really stood out in terms of their passion and ingenuity. ICTUS Medical have a huge opportunity to make a real difference on an individual patient level but also on the healthcare service as a whole. They presented a very structured and thoughtful plan and were seriously impressive Start100 participants. Both ICTUS Medical, as overall winners and 'One to Watch' IRIS were really patient focussed and would make a huge difference to the quality of life of patients.''

The IdeasLab team are excited to launch Start100 2023 and see what innovative ideas our University of Galway students are hoping to develop in this year's accelerator programme. Start100 2023 will kick off on the 22nd of May and run for 6 weeks, with student teams receiving €4,000 on successful completion of specific milestones throughout the programme.

Now is the time to bring your idea to life with the Start100 programme at University of Galway IdeasLab

Find out more about the Start100 programme

Apply to the Start100 2023 programme by 17th Feb