Last night saw the open night for the NDRC LaunchPad programme take place in Dublin’s Digital Hub. A host of men and women chomped down on pizzas and drinks, chatted and shared their ideas and then sat down to listen as Gary Leyden detailed what they’re really looking for in applications and how to show them that in your online application and in your pitch.
Gary is the director of NDRC LaunchPad and specialises in supporting new ventures to create value propositions that can contribute to building repeatable and scalable business models. Gary founded Computer Gym and Vrising, and has advised numerous start-ups in a personal capacity and as part of Enterprise Ireland’s Mentor Network. Amy Neale then went through a slidehshow of how to put together the perfect pitch, even if you weren’t ready to launch the ‘Next Big Thing’, it was a great rapid-lesson in what to consider when starting your own business, especially if you want to de-risk it and make it investor ready at some point in the future.
NDRC is an early stage investor in innovation, making ventures happen by investing in startups and improving the environment in which ventures can grow. This LaunchPad, beginning in September will be their tenth, so as well as their team having bucket-loads of experiences with their own companies or valuable skillsets, they have a lot of experience to draw on in actually working with start-ups from this angle too.
The application closing date is the 4th of July, after which time, all eligible hopefuls will be brought in for a five to ten minute pitch and a Q&A. One thing that could rule you out? You must have a minimum of two people on your team.