An Inside Look

Trinity Business School was well-represented at the annual showcase for LaunchBox, Tangent’s Student Accelerator in September. Open to teams of Trinity students with an early-stage business, the three-month summer programme, backed by Bank of Ireland, provides mentorship, funding, access to alumni and investors, and the ideal collaborative environment to launch new startup ventures. Now in its seventh year, the 2019 programme featured 11 teams of finalists who pitched to the six judges for prize funding and a place on Tangent’s four-day international accelerator, Tangent Pioneers, taking place in New York in October.
Of the 11 teams, the top two both featured MSc in Entrepreneurship students. Wellness app KeepAppy, the brainchild of MSc Entrepreneurship graduates Aimee-Louise Carton and Will Ben Sims, was announced as the overall winner. Equestrian brand Two White Socks - founded by their classmate Katelyn Prendiville, was named the runner up.

In September the Enactus TCD team of student entrepreneurs focused on making a social impact represented Ireland at the Enactus World Cup in Silicon Valley. Trinity’s first ever representatives finished in the top 16 worldwide out of over 1600 teams, putting them in the top 1% in the world! The team included Irish wellbeing start-up KeepAppy, which was founded by MSc in Entrepreneurship students Aimee-Louise Carton and Will Ben Sims.

Game of Thrones actor Ciaran Bermingham visited our students in orientation week to teach tips on presentation skills, presence building, role development and teamwork. Students undertook tasks designed to develop newfound confidence in their ability to communicate and inspire both colleagues and clients, with the view that the corporate world is just another acting exercise!

Graduates from Trinity College Dublin founded more venture-backed companies than graduates from any other European university for the fifth successive year that independent research conducted by private equity and venture-focused research firm, PitchBook, has been highlighted in its Universities Report.

The Irish Export Industry Awards 2019 was opened this morning for applications with a breakfast briefing by Dr. Giulio Buciuni, the Director of the MSc entrepreneurship programme, who provided insights on how entrepreneurs can become global. The breakfast briefing was sponsored by Trinity Business School and KPMG Ireland, with the awards taking place this coming October.

The MSc Entrepreneurship Demo Day 2019 was a great success last night, with a multitude of great pitches given by our students. They pitched their business ideas developed over the academic year to a panel of potential investors, with the winner Keep Appy securing prize money and a sit down with the investors about taking their business to the next level.

We welcomed back UCLA Professor George Geis who delivered a lecture on entrepreneurial finance to our class. Professor Geis has a wealth of experience in mergers & acquisitions, entrepreneurship, and accounting. Students learned how to utilise their value proposition to create a narrative that will resonate with their audience.

MSc Entrepreneurship students pitched their ideas at Launchbox, Tangents Student Accelerator for a place in its incubator programme. The incubator programme is a summer programme open to early-stage startups where student entrepreneurs are provided with funding, access to networks of investors and mentors, an elite structured programme that aims to progress their idea, and a transformative experience for them and their company.

MSc Marketing student Francesco Tai Bernardelli claimed first prize for his idea ‘Talka’ at this years Dragons Den. His pitch was a pioneering platform solution for curing speech impediment by increasing engagement, collaboration and data between patients and their speech therapists.

MSc in Entrepreneurship Programme Director, Dr. Giulio Buciuni, spoke at Trinity’s Innovation Festival, a range of events in the month of February showcasing successful student start-ups and alumni. Professor Buciuni gave an insight into the realities of entrepreneurship and validating an idea. The innovation festival included 28 events throughout the month of February and will showcase some of Trinity’s most successful student start-ups and alumni.

Winner of one of the highly competitive ‘Education in Ireland’ scholarships, MSc Entrepreneurship student Michelle Galvin speaks about her grá for Ireland and her experiences in the MSc Entrepreneurship programme. Read about her ‘Irish love affair’ here: https://bit.ly/2FvpGzs

Trinity Entrepreneurial Society (TES) held another great event for aspiring entrepreneurs with their first ever Incubator Open Night.

Two of our MSc in Entrepreneurship students Anika and Sebastian, came joint third with their venture Work Smarter! as part of the LaunchBox programme open to teams of students with an early-stage business or social enterprise. View the highlights here: https://bit.ly/2ux4KTw.