our vision our mission our model -...

CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17 1

Connect Annual Report 2016/17

Pushing possible

2 CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17

..

Our visionCatalyst Inc is Northern Ireland’s next generation science

park. An independent, non-profit organisation, our vision for

Northern Ireland is

“a community of innovators so powerful its people

can change the world.”

Our missionTo provide the home, networks and empathy to nurture anyone

with the talent and ambition to produce world leading products

and services.

Our model200 companies employing over 3,000 engineers, researchers,

entrepreneurs and executives work on our campuses – Belfast,

Derry/Londonderry and Ballymena - enabling us to invest the

surplus generated from our property operations to provide

the underwriting necessary for Connect, the community-led

support ecosystem that supports over 600 entrepreneurs per

year in Northern Ireland and Capital Match which provides

intelligent and highly focused sources of fund-matching for

high-growth-potential companies.


Our core purposeWe help science and tech entrepreneurs push the limits of

possibility to reach their full potential.

Alec McRitchieChairConnect is a platform that enables Northern Ireland’s most

experienced and most connected people to help our most

promising entrepreneurs, pro bono. So, it is inspiring to see the

value of pro bono contribution increase so dramatically from

a value of £222,000 in 2011 when we first recorded it to over

£1.6m last year.

This has been made possible by the contribution of many

organisations, Connect member companies, who are helping

to create the right conditions and foster entrepreneurship.

Connect’s member companies not only give resources, they

give their time, their brain power and their connections. The

return on their involvement enables the whole process of

supporting and scaling start-ups work incredibly well, and is

helping to ensure that Northern Ireland’s Knowledge Economy

continues to be the second fastest growing of the UK’s regions.

A special thank you must be made to Catalyst Inc, the home of

Connect. Underwriting from Catalyst Inc enables Connect to

operate 100% independently with no public funding, enabling us

through our programmes to move quickly, experiment, build on

good ideas or fail fast with ones that are not so good.

Join us. Support the cause. Get involved.

Steve OrrDirectorOur vision for Northern Ireland: “A community of innovators so

powerful its people can change the world”.

We have come a long way since we launched a pilot of Connect

in April 2008. While it is nice to hear entrepreneurs speak so

positively about the support they get in Northern Ireland, we know

we can do better and if we are to achieve our vision and our

BHAG of becoming one of the most entrepreneurial knowledge

economies in Europe, we need to address two key challenges:

• we need to engage our unengaged talent: the restless

10% of academic researchers, corporate intrapreneurs

and every day people bursting to develop an innovative

product and take it to market

• we need to help startups with great teams and great

products to scale

Last year was all about getting the resources in place to enable

the next phase of Connect to support those two priorities.

Through incredible collaboration between our universities’

research leaders, our Connect member companies and the

vibrant community of entrepreneurial networks and meetups,

the foundation has been laid to see Northern Ireland raise its

game significantly in the quality and quantity of new products

and companies being created here over the coming years.


..w

Connect by numbers April 2016 −March 2017

£1.6m Estimated value of pro bono support

570 Young people engaged

482 Frameworks attendees

2,500 Average unique reads per topic

608 Unique number of entrepreneurs engaged on programmes

175 Events and forums organised and delivered

‘Excellent’ Average feedback across all programmes

93.5% 99% of programme participants

met someone new & helpfulwould recommend Connect to others


The Team

Trudy Parry

Business Development & Membership

Co-ordinator

Steve Orr

Director

Elaine Smyth

Head of Programmes

Thomas Rooney

Generation Innovation Programme

Assistant

Peter Edgar

4IR Challenge and Congress Programme

Manager

John Knapton

Director of Springboard

Diane Morrow

Generation Innovation & Frameworks

Programme Manager

Laura McCarry

Springboard Programme Co-ordinator

Tierna Byrne

Digital Marketing Co-ordinator

Sonya Kerr

CEO Peer Support & Co Founders

Wanted Programme Manager

Kerry McGarvey

Invent Programme Manager

Leadership Board

Alec McRitchie, Vice Chair

Prof Cathy Gormley-Heenan, Ulster University

Dr Paul Beaney, Ulster University

Tim Brundle, Ulster University

Brian McCaul, Queen’s University Belfast

John Mathers, Barclays

Austin Coll, Danske Bank

Julie Ann O’Hare, Bank of Ireland

Philip Maguire, Catalyst Inc

Alan Watts, Halo

David McHugh, Seagate

Clare Colhoun, 8over8

Gina O’Leary, Allstate NI

Gavin Campbell, Bombardier

Katie Doran, Lanyon Communications

Kieran O’Neill, Deloitte Digital

Mark Campbell, Randox

Mary Jo Kurth, Randox

Alan Taylor, Arthur Cox

Norman Apsley, Catalyst Inc

Steve Orr, Connect


Members and Major SponsorshipThank YouB E N E FAC TO R P L ATI N U M £1 0 K

PLATINUM

Northern Ireland’s Enterprise Bank

Colour Logo for use on darkbackground

Colour Logo for use on white background

Mono Logo for use on white background

Mono Logo for use on darkbackground

G O LD £ 5 K

S I LV E R £ 2 K

Visit connect.catalyst-inc.org if you would like to find out how you could make a contribution to the development of young entrepreneurs and the economy of Northern Ireland.


The Programmes


SummarySpringboard is Northern Ireland’s most powerful, personalised,

accelerator programme for innovative companies.

Open to innovation companies with high growth potential,

Springboard is a personalised accelerator programme, based

around a unique network of experienced entrepreneurs, whose

collective knowledge will challenge and coach to help maximise

opportunity and reduce go-to-market risk.

Providing a globally proven format, successful for over 25 years

in building sustainable, growing businesses...


Springboard willChallenge

Springboard provides a network of Critical Friends who stress-

test your product idea, helping to refine the proposition and

avoid costly mistakes.

Support

Our approach is uncompromising, our support is unconditional.

Experienced Entrepreneurs in Residence give valuable insight

freely to help your business succeed.

Expedite

Agility is important. Springboard takes just 16 weeks to help

you build a robust business model, reduce risk and create a

commercialisation strategy that investors will love.

Steering TeamJude Lynch (Chair), Connect EiR

Austin Coll, Danske Bank

Noel Culbert, PwC

Chris Guy, Mills Selig

Andrew Jennings, Arthur Cox

Scott Kennedy, Cleaver Fulton Rankin

Mark Cunningham, Bank of Ireland

John Knapton, Connect

Peter Lorimer, Monk’s Hill Media

Leona McAllister, PlotBox

Brian McCaul, QUB

David McHugh, Seagate

Neil O’Hare, KPMG

Aisling O’Hare, Carson McDowell Solicitors

Kieran O’Neill, Deloitte

Clare Passmore, Connect EiR

Brian Reid, BR Consulting

Jonathan Sloan, Barclays Wealth

Alan Watts, Halo

Hal Wilson, Techstart NI77Alumni

260Jobs directly created

1000 Jobs supported

Springboard isUniquely Customised...

to maximise potential and help to resolve weakness in your

market frame, value proposition and commercialisation strategy

‘In-business’ Process...

that won’t disrupt your core business activities

Complete Process...

that can support you right through to securing investment capital

£28MInvested

97%Graduates still in business

90%Graduates funded


SpringboardGraduates 2017

Corkscrew

A cloud based platform that enables bars, hotels and other

hospitality businesses to better manage their workforce and business.

Founder: Patrick Duff

EiRs: Miceal O’Kane and Yvonne Smyth

Fortress Diagnostics

An established IVD manufacturer supplying more than 100

international markets. They develop, produce and support a portfolio

of clinical diagnostic test kits, across a spectrum of disciplines.

Founders: Rosita Zolnourian and Morteza Afrasiabi

EiRs: Jim Irving and Roisin O’Neill

Fieldmotion

Field management software that allows field workers to access

information at the touch of a button and managers to monitor

employee performance, while significantly cutting down the

use of paper.

Founders: Jim Finnegan and Jerome Finnegan

EiRs: Guy Bucknall and Ronnie Geddis

Kraydel

Intelligent TV set-top monitor enabling independent living and

efficient compassionate care for the growing elderly community.

Founder: Paul Moorhead

EiR: Paul Murray

Fluent Technology

Ground-breaking grant management software (Flexi-Grant)

helping organisations worldwide to manage complex grant

administration tasks.

Managing Director: Keith Turkington

EiR: Bill McCluggage

Locate a Locum

An alternative to agencies and trusted by over 8000

pharmacies across the UK and Ireland. The Locate a Locum

online platform connects pharmacy owners and locum

pharmacists to communicate and helps efficiently fill open

locum positions.

Founder: Jonny Clarke and Michael Budden

EiR: Ian Browne

Clinisent

A secure data sharing tool, enabling patient healthcare data and

educational material to be accessible, whenever and wherever

you need it. Clinisent aids physicians, empowers patients and

improves laboratory efficiencies.

Founder: Andrew Cuthbert

EiR: Clare Passmore

DATE IDEA

The DATE IDEA App is a new and free way of quickly finding out

what Events and Offers are available in your city. Search, Filter,

Shortlist, save to Calendar or even book tickets via the direct

website links so you never miss a perfect night out.

Founder: Niall McDermott

EiR: Guy Bucknall

CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17 1 1

Purple Apron

An on-line service for the Hospitality Trade. The service helps

connect employers with employees in the hospitality industry.

Founder: Ian McCue

EiR: Benjamin Fellowes

TapSOS

Contacting the Emergency Services is often overwhelming.

TapSOS is an app designed to bring calling the Emergency

Services into the 21st Century.

Founder: Becca Hume

EiR: Stephen McVittie

Right Revenue

Powerful forecasting and business analytics software designed

specifically for the Hospitality Industry. Right Revenue will help

maximise every revenue opportunity and add profit straight to

the bottom line.

Founder: Adrienne Hanna

EiR: David Campbell

The Good Food & Wine Company

An innovative approach to delivering artisan bespoke and

prebuilt hampers for any occasion and price range. The owners

know what good artisan food should taste like and work every

day to translate this into every recipe developed and every

product produced.

Founders: Michelle Lestas and Nicholas Lestas

EiR: Andrew Logan

TakeTen

A stress control training app that’s designed to give you a

head start. By training your body and mind to work together

to become more resilient to stress, you can improve your

performance in work, in school or in life, a little every day.

Founder: Fintan Connolly

EiR: Peter Guest

Titanic FX

Ireland’s very own SFX and Prosthetic Makeup outlet providing

the very best of SFX materials and tools.

Founder: Nuala Campbell

EiR: Eoin Lambkin

Uleska

Assisting companies to secure their software. The product

saves client’s time, while increasing their security posture

through a new and all-inclusive approach.

Founder: Gary Robinson

EiR: Denis Murphy

Zymplify

All in Marketing Software for Small Businesses. Zymplify brings

the entire marketing funnel together in one place.

Founder: Michael Carlin

EiR: Peter Lorimer

Surecert

Enabling employers and recruiters to access a lean system

for verifying qualifications of candidates instantly, as well as

creating a pool of verified candidates available for work.

Founder: Ian Savage

EiR: Bill McCluggage

12 CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17 12 CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17

SummaryInvent is an annual competition that showcases and rewards

local innovations that promise the greatest potential. It’s an

opportunity to gain high-profile exposure; to market-validate

your idea; to unlock a quality network of influencers and to win

a place on the NI Tech Mission to California. There’s also a prize

fund of £33,000 shared by the winners and the opportunity to

feature on BBC ‘Made in Northern Ireland’ series.

Overall WinnerJumpackInvented by Philip McIntosh (Downpatrick) and Mike Crowe

(Belfast), Jumpack is a tough, portable and foldable extreme

sports jump ramp. It enables BMXers or skateboarders to ‘get

air anywhere’.

Headline Sponsor101Entries

610Invent Awards attendees

CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17 13 CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17 13

Category Winners

Steering TeamClare Passmore, EiR (Chair)

Steven Orr, Deloitte Digital

Kathryn Walls, Mills Selig

Andrew Jennings, Arthur Cox

David Brownlee, HSC Innovations

Neil Buchanan, ECIT

Neasa Quigley, Carson McDowell

John Macrae, Ulster University

Jason Wiggins, QUB

Niamh Griffin, Bank of Ireland UK

Kathleen Garrett, Techstart NI

Agri Science SPONSORED BY

Dip Fast‘Dip Fast’ was created by the Kelly Family of

Beragh, County Tyrone. Sheep dipping is a

necessary, but time consuming and labour

intensive process. Dip Fast’s moulded sheep-

showering unit improves efficiency while reducing

health and safety risks.

Consumer & Creative InternetSPONSORED BY

Locate a LocumFounded by Jonny Clarke and Michael Budden

from Belfast, Locate a Locum helps pharmacies

source locums online who are available and

eligible to work.

EngineeringSPONSORED BY

JumpackInvented by Philip McIntosh (Downpatrick) and

Mike Crowe (Belfast), Jumpack is a tough, portable

and foldable extreme sports jump ramp. It enables

BMXers or skateboarders to ‘get air anywhere’.

ElectronicsSPONSORED BY

Point Energy Founded by Prof. Kang Li, Dr. Joe Devlin and

Dr.Jing Deng based in QUB. It provides an energy-

saving service to the manufacturing industry

through monitoring every component’s energy use

in a factory.

Enterprise SoftwareSPONSORED BY

ElementalFounded by Leeann Monk (Derry) and Jennifer

Neff (Dubai), Elemental is cloud- based software

that enables social prescribing, connecting

patients and clinicians with community health

providers.

Life and HealthSPONSORED BY

TakeTenFounded by Fintan Connolly (Belfast), TakeTen is

a gaming app that monitors stress levels through

real-time biofeedback, allowing users to regulate

and manage their anxiety.

Student CompetitionSPONSORED BY

EmbedAn emergency bed made entirely of cardboard

for those in need.


Innovation Founder

Martin Naughton, Glen DimplexThe 2016 Innovation Founder is Sir Martin Naughton, Founder

of the Glen Dimplex Group.

In 1973, Sir Martin Naughton opened a small electrical

manufacturing operation with just seven employees, making

oil-filled radiators based in Newry. Naughton’s company

acquired partners and rivals including Dimplex, Morphy Richards

and Bianella to become the world’s largest manufacturer of

domestic heating appliances. Glen Dimplex Group now employs

more than 10,000 staff across 22 manufacturing facilities all over

the world. The business has annual sales of €1.5 billion

Dr. William Wright

2014

Brian Conlon

2015

Dr. Peter Fitzgerald

2013

Tom Eakin

2012

Dr. Hugh Cormican

2011

Prof. John Anderson

2010


Connect is future-focused, but that’s not to say we can’t learn

a thing or two from the past. Our annual Innovation Founders

Award is given to a local innovator who has successfully pushed

the possibility of their business idea beyond boundaries. They

come from a wide variety of sectors but all share a common

characteristic: having the tenacity and vision to develop home-

grown innovation into remarkable success stories. They are all

testament to the fact that in Northern Ireland we are as capable

as anywhere in the world at creating outstanding breakthrough

businesses.


KnowledgeEconomy Index

– Knowledge economy employees

– HEI research grants and contracts

– Private equity investment

– Knowledge economy business

– Knowledge economy exports (£M)

9

– VC investment: total £ amount

– Number of publicly listed companies

– Number of science and tech graduates

– Knowledge economy wage premium

– Number of PhDs per annum

– Knowledge economy productivity (nominal £)

– Knowledge economy GVA (nominal £)

We’re doing goodahead of target on 9 indicators

We’re doing okayon target with 5 indicators

We could do betterbehind target on 7 indicators

– Number of knowledge economy start up businesses

– Number of VC investment deals

– M&A and ECM deals

– Proportion of innovation active firms

– Number of R&D personnel

– Number of patent applications per head of population

– Number of high tech patent applications per head of population

– Total expenditure on business R&D

– Total expenditure on R&D

We’re doing good

ahead of target on 9 indicators

– Number of knowledge economy start

up businesses





– Number of patent applications per

head of population

– Number of high tech patent

applications per head of population








9




















We’re doing okay

on target with 5 indicators











9




















We could do better

behind target on 7 indicators






– Knowledge economy productivity

(nominal £)



The knowledge economy generates wealth and provides

highly paid jobs throughout Northern Ireland. It’s a fundamental

building block for sustainable success, which is why we put it

at the heart of our ambition. We are half way to achieving the

target of delivering 80,000 high earning jobs by 2030, and

creating an additional 40,000 downstream jobs.

Steering TeamScott Rutherford (Chair), Queen’s University, Belfast

Graham Bailie, Barclays


David Roberts, Invest NI

Alan Bridle, Bank Of Ireland

Niamh Griffin, Bank Of Ireland

William Curry, Arthur Cox

Neal McNamara, Allstate NI


SummaryGeneration Innovation energises the imaginations and

aspirations of local young people by increasing their awareness

of future careers as innovators. Over the past year, 560 young

people and 75 teachers participated in Generation Innovation

events and initiatives, including:

Night of Ambition took place at St. Georges Market in March

with 150 young people and 50 teachers attending.

Day of Ambition was held at Bloomfield Collegiate School in

December. 250 year- 11 pupils from 7 schools attended the

event

Judging the Invent Student pitches. 70 year-11 pupils from

six schools participated in the Invent Student pitches. The

young people challenged the ideas and voted for their best

innovations.


SponsorsDeloitte – Headline sponsor

Aepona, Liberty IT, Ulster University – Lead sponsors

Student Enterprise QUB – Supporting sponsor

Department of Communities – Key sponsor


Steering TeamMark Dowds, Trov, Chair

Brian Byers, Ulster University

Bill Connor, Sentinus

Liguori Dobbin, Bank of Ireland

Columb Duffy, Allstate NI

Carol Fitzsimons, Young Enterprise NI

Rachel Gawley, AppAttic

Lynsey Mallon, Arthur Cox

Rachel McAllister, Carson McDowell

Cathy Moore, St. Mary’s Grammar School

Euan Isles, Deloitte

Joanne Stuart, Catalyst Inc

Kathryn Walls, Mills Selig

Deodatta Deshpande, Aepona

Design Thinking – Generation InnovationMark Dowds, Chief Strategy Officer, at Trov Inc and Chair of the

Generation Innovation steering team, along with his Business

Development team, facilitated an inspiring design workshop

for Generation Innovation in January. 30 participants including

teachers, young people, and representatives from corporate

and partner organisations were actively involved in generating

ideas which are now being tested, with the help of a team from

Deloitte, to develop the programme further.


Connect Young FoundersFunded by the Northern Ireland Science Park Trust, five 16 - 18

year olds were mentored on an adapted Springboard journey

over the summer. The final pitch competition was won by David

Hatton whose product, Hindsight, will be a web-based platform

available to primary carers and family, utilising reminiscence

therapy to stimulate dementia patients’ memories and assist

with everyday tasks and personal interaction.

David Hatton an 18 year old from Ashfield Boys High School is

developing a product to support families and relatives suffering

from Alzheimer’s disease.

Dermot Savage an 18 year old from South Armagh is graduating

Southern Regional College in Newry and is developing an agri-

tech product to reduce mortality during lambing.

Georgia Hamill an 18 year old from Southern Regional College

in Armagh is developing an app that intervenes to support

young people with stress and mental illness.

Megan Doherty aged 17 years, from St Mary’s College Derry/

Londonderry is developing a healthier option to tackle over

exposure to the sun.

Niall McGrath aged 17 years from Wellington College Belfast, is

developing an app to fundamentally change the way children

learn languages.

18 CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17 18 CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17

In 2016, Connect, on behalf of Ulster University and LYIT, facilitated an exploratory

process involving Connect and Catalyst Inc stakeholders to collaboratively identify

shared value that could be created from a new research institution in the NW region

specialising in analytics. New models of highly integrated and collaborative academic

research are providing a disproportionately high and sustainable contribution to the

economic growth of their regions.

CARL, Ulster University’s research institute in Cognitive Analytics launched in March 2017.

A big thank you to Patricia Flanagan of Rejig for facilitating the design thinking process

that led to the co-design of the new Lab, and to Seagate Inc., for setting the challenge

of identifying a new strategy to catalyse the knowledge economy in the NW region.

CARL: Cognitive Analytics Research Laboratory

Pipeline VisitIn September 2016, Pipeline, the elite CEO programme from the

Mid West United States, brought 30 US CEOs to Belfast for two

days of intense networking and collaborative mentoring events

with Northern Irish Founders/CEOs. As well as being hugely

enjoyable, the NI CEOs greatly valued the quality of the new

relationships made and the opportunities arising from the visit.

One of the US CEOs, Jason Tatge praised the visit to Ireland

“The Pipeline module in Ireland was a great experience from

both a business and bonding standpoint. From a business

standpoint anytime I can get in a room with other like-minded

people, the value of the entrepreneurial collisions that occur is

massive. From a bonding standpoint the ability to spend some

quality time with other entrepreneurs and their families was

awesome. And to do all this with like-minded entrepreneurs

from Ireland and Northern Ireland was great.”

Pipeline Member, Jason Tatge.


Topic Main Speaker Panellists Attendees Rating

Startup guide to accounting Darren McDowell, Harbinson Mulholland; James Fair, Harbinson Mulholland

Leona McAllister, Plotbox; Joanne Casey, GlowMetrics

14 4.5

Startup fundamentals Eoin Lambkin, Groupe-Intellex Steve Sarowitz, Paylocity; Henry Cleary, Bank of Ireland; Christine Boyle, Senergy

29 4.8

An introduction to SBRI Eoin McFadden, Department of the Economy

Rachel Gawley, AppAttic; Paul Donachy, QUB

37 5

New Director Bootcamp Colin Coffeey, Digital Venture Group; Eileen Mullan, Strictly Boardroom; John Knapton, Connect

Bill Beers; Declan Gromlet, Brookvent; Louise Guido; Mandy Gilbert; Elizabeth Filippouli

35 N/A

Product Development Trevor Knox, Bombardier Gavin Campbell, Bombardier; Noel McKenna, TitanIC; Jon Sawdon-Smith; Richard Furey, Yelo

51 4.3

Developing a business model Marie Doyle and Gregor Law, Deloitte Kevin Donaghy, SaltDNA 36 4.5

The investment process Mark Stockdale, A&L Goodbody Jamie Andrews, TechstartNI; Philip McAleese, See.Sense

20 4.7

Licensing for startups Rory Campbel, Forde Law Paul Brown, Displaynote; Jonny McClintock, Qualcomm

20 4.8

Sourcing technical talent Barry Donnelly, Aepona Gillian Colon O’Leary, Women Who Code; Paul Moorhead, Kraydel; Kerry Boden, Automated Intelligence

23 4.5

The art of selling Ronnie Geddis, TotalMobile Andrew Fulton, Dawson Andrews; Siobhan Gallagher, Cloudmigrator365

33 4.7

UX Design in association with Belfast Design Week

Raymond Bond, Ulster University Lee Riley, Deloitte; Christine Boyle, Senergy

38 4.5

Startup fundamentals Eoin Lambkin, Groupe-Intellex Fergus Wallace, Performance Active 20 4.8

Finance for startups and beyond Peter Edgar, Connect Paul Clancy, Halo; Alister Quinn, Southern Regional College

12 4.7

Doing business in the US Alan Taylor, Arthur Cox Bernadette Roberts, US Consulate; Michael Curran, Dave Patterson, Boxfish

33 4.8

Being prepared for an exit Stuart Anderson, Carson McDowell Michael Black, Des Speed, Terry Canning, Farmwizard

20 4.9

Creative marketing for your startup Dr Andrea Reid, Ulster University Adrienne Hanna, Right Revenue; Philip McAleese, See.Sense

21 4.7

Building the dream startup team Dr Karise Hutchinson, Ulster University John Armstrong, Armstrong Medical; Leo Mullan, Camilla Long

15 4.8

Bringing on a co-founder to your startup Andrew Jennings, Arthur Cox Denis Murphy, Anaeko; Colin Mitchell, Sixty5; Trevor Graham, Ampliphae

21 4.5

Calendar of Events 2016/17


Steering TeamMichael Black, Chair

Jamie Andrews, TechstartNI

Paul Beaney, Ulster University

Henry Cleary, Bank of Ireland

David Croft, Danske Bank

Chris Guy, Mills Selig

Judith Maguire, QUB

Lynsey Mallon, Arthur Cox

David Moore, QUBIS

Eileen Moughan, Carson McDowell

Claire McCombe, Barclays

SummaryFrameworks provides innovators with a grounding

in business fundamentals. The workshops run for

two hours, either at breakfast or lunchtime, and

are designed to plug business knowledge gaps

through insights shared by subject matter experts

and experienced entrepreneurs.


CompaniesAmphion

Audit Comply

SureCert

Point Energy

Spatialest

TakeTen

PGY Group – PiggyPot

Humain

Neurovalens

Cardinal Analytics

MakeMatic

Flyte

Jumpack

Knight Systems


SummaryInvest Northern Ireland and Connect jointly organised a

Northern Ireland Tech Mission to San Diego and San Francisco

in January 2017.

It provided an opportunity for 14 of our most promising local

tech startups to travel to San Diego and San Francisco to

showcase and network with leading companies, investors and

venture capitalists from the West Coast of America, including,

Amazon Web Services, WeWork and a workshop at the

D School at Stanford. It promoted the region as one of the

leading, digitally connected locations in Europe and a prime

location for international investment.

The Tech Mission is open to all NI-based technology

companies who offer a globally focused product or service and

are considering expansion or increasing sales and

investment opportunities.

Tech WatchTechWatch is a fortnightly digest of the most significant NI tech.

In the past year, as we’ve grown our reach, our articles have

received up to 1,500 unique reads each across our main blog,

Sync NI and Silicon Republic.

DATE TOPIC THEME

April 2016 Agri-Tech Where is our Foodchain Most Vulnerable?

May 2016 Transport Is the Hybrid/Electric Revolution Real? The Quest for Clean Transport

June 2016 Connected Health Taking our Health into our Own Hands. Can Tech Lead to Better Health?

August 2016 INVENT Finalists It’s Time for NI to Shine

September 2016 INVENT Finalists Software Innovation in NI. From Electronics to Life and Health

October 2016 Renewable Energy Can Northern Ireland be a Leader in Renewable Energy?

November 2016 Creative Media It’s Not Just Show Biz. Digital, Creative, Media. All the Buzz

February 2017 Agri-Food Disruption to Food Models and How We Eat

March 2017 Blockchain Unpicking the Blockchain Revolution

Emily McDaid

TechWatch Editor

NI Tech Mission

CONNECT ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17 2 1

Tech Watch

Emily McDaid

TechWatch Editor

We couldn’t do it without you.

The Directory


A huge thank you to...SpringboardENTREPRENEURS IN RESIDENCE (ACTIVE THIS YEAR)

Aidan McGrath

Alan Pollock

Andrew Logan

Andrew Walmsley

Benjamin Fellowes

Bill McCluggage

Brian Reid

Brian Baird

Bruce Douglas

Charlie Tuxworth

Clare Marie Passmore

Clare Patterson

Colin Coffey

Colin McEvoy

David Campbell

David Mawhinney

Denis Murphy

Eoin Lambkin

Gareth Dunlop

Gareth Neill

Geraldine Gordon

Guy Bucknall

Ian Browne

Ian Wright

Jeff Harris

Jeff Hearst

JG Doherty

Jim Irving

Jude Lynch

Julie Taylor

Karl Mulligan

Les Curran

Mary McKenna

Miceal O’Kane

Michael Keltai

Michael Wilson

Neil MacDonald

Nick Reid

Norbert Sagnard

Padraig Canavan

Paul Millar

Paul Lemon

Paul Campbell

Paul McKeever

Paul Murray

Paul Rothwell

Peter Guest

Peter Lorimer

Richard Furey

Richard McMullan

Richard McConnell

Roger Johnston

Roisin O’Neill

Ronan Cunningham

Ronnie Geddis

Sean Curran

Siggi Saevarsson

Sinclair Stockman

Stephen Seawright

Stephen Gunning

Stephen Houston

Stephen McClelland

Stephen McVittie

Suneil Sharma

Ted Laverty

Yvonne Smyth

SpringboardDOMAIN EXPERTS (ACTIVE THIS YEAR)

Aisling O’Hare (Carson McDowell)

Alan Gourley (PwC)

Alan McNally (Page Setup Design)

Andrew Jennings (Arthur Cox)

Andrew Kirke (Tughans)

Anna Valli

Ashok Songra (3fivetwo Group)

Austin Coll (Danske Bank)

Barry Lynch (NiftyNosh)

Barry Reynolds (Reynolds Sports)

Brian Cummings (Clarendon Fund Managers)

Camilla Long (Bespoke Communications)

Caroline McGoran (Techstart NI)

Christina Captieux (Big Film Productions)

Christine Adams (Tughans)

Christopher Murray (Barclays)

Ciaran Harkin (KPMG)

Ciaran Rafferty (Danske Bank)

Clare Galloway (Magic Beans)

Colin McDaid (Fujitsu)

Damian Donnelly (Adman)

Daniele Delahunt (Danske Bank)

Darren McDowell (Harbinson Mulholland)

Dave Patterson (Boxfish)

David Crozier (QUB)

David Hill (Hill Business Growth Consultants)

David McCurley (WhiteRock Capital Partners)

David Ramsey (Bank of Ireland)

Dawn McKnight (Carson McDowell)

Des Callaghan (Fujitsu)

Emer Hinphey (Think People)

Fergus McIlduff (Automated Intelligence)

Francis Lowry (AllState)

Gary Young (Bank of Ireland)

Gavin Shields (PiggyPot)

Graham Bailie (Barclays)

Grainne McGarvey (Pulse PR)

Greg Maguire (Humain Ltd.)

Hal Wilson (Techstart NI)

Ian Beatty (Danske Bank)

Ian Scott (Taggled)

Irene Breen (Blow-Moulding Technologies Ltd.)

James Davidson (PwC)

Jamie Andrews (Techstart NI)

Jeff Wylie (Kainos Evolve)

Jim Curran (Clarendon Fund Managers)

Jo Rourke (Silver Tongue Translations)

John Arrell (Sixty-5)

John Haran (HMC Global)

John McGuckian (Tughans)

Jonathan Sloan (Barclays)

Jonny McClintock (Qualcomm)

Judith Scott (Bank of Ireland)

Kate Keith (A&L Goodbody)

Kate Kennedy (Whitehouse Primary School,

Newtownabbey)

Kathryn Walls (Mills Selig)

Katy Dixon (Forde Campbell LLC)

Ken Montgomery (Pinnacle Computing)

Ken Moran (Neueda)

Kevin Donaghy (Audit Comply)

Kieran O’Neill (Deloitte Digital)

Laura Houston (Ammado)

Lynsey Mallon (Arthur Cox)

Mark O’Brien (Bank of Ireland)

Mark Stockdale (A&L Goodbody)

Marv Van Niekerk (GoReport)

Michael Curran (DisplayNote)

Naomh McElhatton (Digital Advertising NI)

Neil Graham (Danske Bank)

Neil O’Hare (KPMG)

Niamh Griffin (Bank of Ireland)

Nichola Bates (RepKnight)

Nicola Bothwell (NB Chartered Marketing)

Noel Culbert (PwC)

Nuala Murphy (Malone Marketing)

Odhran McNeilly (Bank of Ireland)

Oran Walsh (Bombardier)

Patrick Cullen (Lumenera Corporation)

Patrick O’Reilly (Deloitte)

Paul Braden (KPMG)

Paul Gleghorne (KPMG)

Paul O’Brien (Tughans)

Pauline Torley (Danske Bank)

Peter Donnelly (BioBusiness NI)

Peter Kelly (PwC)

Peter McRoberts (Danske Bank)

Rachel McAllister (Carson McDowell)

Richard Williams (NI Screen)

Ricky Martin (SkunkWorks Surf Co.)

Ritchie Anderson (Automated Intelligence)

Robert Grundy (Anglezarke Life Sciences Ltd.)

Rory Campbell (Forde Campbell)

Rosi Armstrong (Armstrong IPR)

Russell Smyth (KPMG)

Sandy McKinnon (Techstart NI)

Sarah Chapa (Tughans)

Sarah Sistern (A&L Goodbody)

Scott Kennedy (Cleaver Fulton Rankin)

Sean O’Hare (Smetric Risk)

Sharon Brown (Magic Beans)

Simon Johnston (Danske Bank)

Stephen Ellis (AEJ Business Solutions)

Stephen Gallagher (Aepona)

Steve Orr (Deloitte)

Stuart Anderson (Carson McDowell)

Susan McKane (Danske Bank)

Suzanne Woodside (Made by Mint)

Thomas Doherty (Bank of Ireland)

Victoria Milhench

Vincent Rainey (Quiz Fortune)

William Thompson (Bank of Ireland)


InventSEMI FINAL JUDGES

Mark Dowds, Trov

Jon Bradford

Howard Colvin, Rudolph Wolff

Niamh Griffin, Bank of Ireland UK

Stephen Wray, Deloitte Digital

Mary McKenna, EiR

QUALIFYING JUDGES

JG Doherty, EiR

Daniel McCaughen, Kernel Capital

Simon Doherty, Blackwater Consultancy

Suzanne Safi-Siebert, SiSaf

Paul Rothwell, EiR

Richard Furey, Yelo Systems

Fiona Bennington, Leckey

Karl Mulligan, EiR

Julie Taylor, Integrity NI

Jill Robb, Origin Digital

Ian Browne, EiR

Andrew Jordan, Moola

Colm Hayden, Anaeko

Patricia O’Hagan, Core Systems

Jamie Andrews, Techstartni

FINANCE WORKSHOP

Stephen Simpson, Bank of Ireland UK

Clare McKeveney, Bank of Ireland UK

MENTOR WORKSHOP

Brian Cummings, Clarendon Fund Managers

Michael Hilland, HALO

Aidan Langan, Enterprise Equity

John Kelly, HALO

Stephen McClelland, EiR

Andrew Logan, EiR

Stephen McVittie, EiR

Ben Fellowes, EiR

Iain James, EiR

Jeff Harris, EiR

Eoin Lambkin, EiR

Jeff Hearst, EiR

Paul Murray, EiR

Joel Ferguson, JFI

Andrew Owen, EiR

Gary Hamilton

Neil McCabe, Whiterock Capital Partners

John Rice, Bank of Ireland UK

Ian McCann, Bank of Ireland UK

Andrew Kirke, Tughans

Paul O’Brien, Tughans

FINAL JUDGES

Brian Baird (Chairperson, EiR)

John Lamont, Randox

Mike Robinson, Deloitte Digital

Chris Madelin, Deloitte Digital

Julie-Ann O’Hare, Bank of Ireland UK

Grainne Watson, Fujitsu

Richard Jackson, Dow

Stephen Gallagher, Accelerite

Columb Duffy, AllState NI

William Curry, Arthur Cox

Tony McEwan, ESS

Generation InnovationNIGHT OF AMBITION FOUNDERS

Fergus McIllduff, Automated Intelligence

Fabian Campbell West , Cognition Video

Phil McIntosh, Jumpack

Michelle Gregory, Miniversity

Peter Lorimer, Monk’s Hill Media

Joe Devlin, Point Energy

Adrienne Hanna, Right Revenue

Fintan Connolly, TakeTen

Chris Murphy, Ulster University

SPEAKERS/PANELLISTS AT NIGHT

OF AMBITION

Damien Cranny, Big Motive

Patrick Duff, Corkscrew

Aine Woods, Deloitte Brightstarts

Johnny Mooney, Deloitte Brightstarts

Dr Grainne Watson, Fujitsu

David Hatton, Gi Alumnus

Gareth Reid , Gi Alumnus

Sarah McBride, Gi Alumnus

Peter Barron, Google

David Singleton, Google

Anton McGonnell, Harvard Business School

Fiona Bennington, Hug

Jayne McStay, NOW Group

Francis Fitzsimons, NOW Group

Mark Dowds, Trov Inc

GENERATION INNOVATION DESIGN

THINKING WORKSHOP

Columb Duffy, Allstate

Liguori Dobbin, Bank of Ireland

Mason Robinson, GI Alumnus

David Allister, Danske Bank

Judith Harper, Danske Bank

Euan Isles, Deloitte


Aoife Beard , Gi Alumnus

Joy McClean, Gi Alumnus

Gareth Wright, Gi Alumnus

Sammy Taggart, Grosvenor Grammar School

John Foster, Methody

Jackie Trainor, Methody

Seamus Cushley, PwC

Patricia Flanagan, Rejig

Cathy Moore, St Mary’s Grammar School

Mark Dowds, Trov Inc

Jonny Parks, Trov Inc

Adrian Eagleson, Trov Inc

Luke Gavigan, Trov Inc

Neil Sands, Trov Inc

Brian Byers, Ulster University

David Hatton, Young Founder

Georgia Hamill, Young Founder

PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS

Abbey Christian Brothers Grammar

Abbey Community College

Antrim Grammar School

Aquinas Grammar School

Ashfield Boys’

Assumption Grammar School

Ballymena Academy

Bangor Grammar School

Belfast Metropolitan College

Bloomfield Collegiate

Dalriada

Drumragh Integrated College

Hazelwood College

Little Flower Girls’ School

Loreto Grammar School Omagh

Methodist College

New-Bridge Integrated College

North Coast Integrated College

Our Lady and St Patricks College

Royal Belfast Academical Institution

Sacred Heart College

Shimna Intergated College

South West College

St Catherine’s College

St Colman’s College Newry

St Joseph’s College

St Louis Grammar School

St Malachy’s High School

St Malachys college

St Mary’s Grammar School Belfast

St Marys College Derry

St Patrick’s College

St Patrick’s Grammar School

St. Catherine’s College

St. Colmcille’s High School, Crossgar

St. Joseph’s Crossmaglen

St. Mary’s Grammar School

St.Ciaran’s College Ballygawley

St.Mary’s Mullaghbawn

Strangford College

Strathearn School

Sullivan Upper

Victoria College Belfast

Wallace High School


CEO Peer SupportATTENDEES AT DESIGN

THINKING WORKSHOP

Chris Johnston, Adoreboard

Stephen Farson, Amphion Semiconductor

Denis Murphy, Anaeko

Patricia O’Hagan, Core Systems

Andrew Fulton, Dawson Andrews

Dan Loughlin, Export Technologies

Greg Maguire, Humain Ltd

Mark Nagurski, Makematic

Jason McKeow, Neurovalens

Fergus Wallace, Performance Active

Adrienne Hanna, Right Revenue

Kevin Donaghy, SaltDNA

Philip McAleese, See.Sense

Christine Boyle, Senergy

John Arrell, Sixty-5

Ashley Moore, Spatialest

Ian Scott, Taggled

Fintan Connolly, Take Ten

Noel McKenna, TitanIC

Knowlege Ecomony Report PANEL MEMBERS AT KNOWLEDGE

ECONOMY PUBLICATION EVENT

Prof John McCanny, ECIT

David Crozier, ECIT/CSIT

Dr Liz O’Sullivan, CSIT

Noel McKenna, Sensurity

Owen Simms, Cyberlytics

Stephen Wray, Deloitte Digital

AcademicResearch FOR HELP IN BEGINNING TO

INTEGRATE ACADEMIC RESEARCH IN

THE ECOSYSTEM

Prof Alan Stitt, Queen’s University Belfast

Prof David Waugh, Queen’s University Belfast

Dr Janine Stockdale, Ulster University

Niall O’Donnell, RiverVest Venture Partners

NI Tech Mission FOR HELPING TO ORGANISE EVENTS

IN CALIFORNIA

Connect San Diego

Greg McKee

Elizabeth Hobson

H. Puentes

Clare Bula

Laura Jackson

UCSD

Nathan Owens

Mary Walshok

Pipeline VISITING US CEOS

Joni Cobb, Pipeline CEO

Hayley Brower, Pipeline Module Co-ordinator

Jason Tatge, Farmoblie

Blake Hawley, Integrated Animal Health

Vishal Singh, Quantified Ag

James Havers Strong, ABI Group of Companies

Michelle Faits, Pro-Arc Diagnostics

Bryan DiGiorgio, Workspace Communication

Nathan Gold, The DEMO Coach

Sarah Mirth, ARTIFOX

Joe Hadzima, MIT

Tommy Saunders, FEWDM Fitness

Clayton Chapman, The Grey Plume

Jeff Blackwood, Pathfinder Health Innovations

Devon Seacrest, Digital Environments

Laura Kilcrease, Triton Ventures

Kim Gandy, Play-it Health

David Alburty, InnovaPrep LLC

Alfred Botchway, Xenometrics

Maria Flynn, Orbis Biosciences

Tim Donnelly, SoftVu

Aaron McKee, Purple Wave

Kyle Tabor, Invisible Applications

Keith Fix, blabfeed

Brian Handrigan, Reccursive Labs

Justin Kallhoff, Infogressive

Jeff Rohr, Square Offs

Toby Rush, EyeVerify

Reggie Chandra, Rhythm Engineering

Carlos Fernendez, Clutch Studios

Mike Bosch, RG Fiber

Carlos Antequrea, People Admin

Niall O’Donnell, RiverVest Venture Partners

Nate Gregory, MoJack Distributors

CARL DESIGN THINKING

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS

Colm Long

Padraig Canavan

Clare Colhoun, 8over8

Georgina O’Leary, Allstate NI

Ben Greene, Analytics Engines

Dale Guest, Bank of Ireland

Catriona Donnelly, Connected Talent

Damian McLoughlin, Deloitte

Gavin Killeen, Derry Chamber

Kevin O’Connor, Derry Council

Michael Tunney, Donegal County Council

Loretta McNicholas, Donegal County Council


Sinead Dillon, Fujitsu

Sinclair Stockman, iHac

Niall Casey, Invest NI

Tom Gray, Kainos

Tony Marron, Liberty IT

John Andy Bonar, LYIT

Matthew Erskine, Optum

Cathal Ruddy, Optum

Padraic Sheerin, Pramerica

Christopher Lynch, Pramerica

Adrian Johnston, Seagate

Sean McNicholl, Sphere

Prof Liam Maguire, Ulster University

Peter Devine, Ulster University

Tony Bjourson, Ulster University

Justin Magee, Ulster University


Padraig Monaghan, United Healthcare

Peter Cogan, United Healthcare

James Huey, Walled City Brewery


US-NI Mentorship ProgramTo achieve our vision of Northern Ireland becoming one of the

most innovative regions in Europe by 2030, entrepreneurship

needs to become much more mainstream in Northern Irish

culture. In 2016 we were delighted to collaborate with with BBC

NI’s programme Made in Northern Ireland to shine a spotlight on

many of Northern Ireland’s courageous entrepreneurs and the

world-class products they have developed. Fifteen companies

associated with Connect (Invent and Springboard alumni) were

featured.

A huge thank you to Stephen Nolan and Eamon Devlin of Third

Street Studios.

Made in NIThe US-NI Mentorship Program, open to recent graduates

from Northern Ireland, offers unparalleled exposure into some

of America’s leading organisations. Participants gain first hand

experience working in an international corporate setting, and this

undoubtedly benefits them for the rest of their professional careers.

The program was established and launched in 2010 in

partnership with Declan Kelly, who was the US Economic Envoy

to NI at the time, the American Ireland Funds and Catalyst Inc.

Declan Kelly continues to support and personally underwrite the

program through his company Teneo.

Our thanks go to the host companies who provide unrivaled

opportunities – PwC, KPMG, HBO, Teneo, Xerox, IBM, Moet

Hennessy, Coca Cola and CIBC.

For more details please see www.usnimentorship.org


Catalyst Inc Rebrand


Northern Ireland Science Park announced its rebrand to

Catalyst Inc as part of its ambitious plans for growth in June

2016, including the support of 5,000 additional new jobs and

three new buildings, taking the total area to 1M square feet.

The new name reflects the catalytic impact it hopes to have

on the development of technology and knowledge-based

businesses at its four sites across Northern Ireland and Donegal.

Pitch @PalaceIn collaboration with Halo and the Duke of York’s office,

Connect produced a special Pitch at the Palace event on

29th September at Hillsborough Castle. 22 Northern Irish

entrepreneurs presented to win the opportunity to pitch at the

national event. The London-based judges said that the quality

of the pitches in NI was higher than the UK average. Two

companies, Senergy and Jumpack, made it to the main Pitch

at Palace event at St. James Palace on 2nd November with

another two NI companies invited to attend.

Financials


Pitch @Palace

Funding 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14Membership 169,083 150,250 153,000 133,195

Sponsorship 117,060 135,039 100,701 74,820

NISP Trust 20,730

Catalyst Inc 375,566

NISP/NISP Trust 316,367 103,423 23,000

Grant 0 0 146,000 174,902

Total Income 682,440 601,655 503,124 405,917

Costs 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14Programme costs 181,771 180,127 168,671 116,070

Other costs 44,085 29,268 54,098 71,413

Salaries 456,463 392,261 280,354 218,434

Total Costs 682,320 601,655 503,124 405,917

For the year ended


Based at:Enquiries to:

Trudy Parry, Business Development & Membership

Co-ordinator, Connect

[email protected]

+ 44 (0) 28 9073 7920

Catalyst Inc

The Innovation Centre

Queen’s Road, Queen’s Island

Belfast BT3 9DT

circletwitterbird @CICONNECT

connect.catalyst-inc.org

+44 (0) 28 9073 7920

Connect is a not-for-profit network of experienced

entrepreneurs, business professionals and top research

talent. We’re dedicated to the creation and scaling of

innovation companies in Northern Ireland. Every year we

help over 500 local entrepreneurs to aim higher and succeed

faster. Based on the proven University of California Connect

model, we run intensive development programmes, track NI’s

knowledge economy and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit

of young people. We introduce our programme participants

to a network of potential investors and help plug gaps in

their business knowledge. We’re supported by corporate

partners, underwritten by Catalyst Inc and don’t take equity

in the organisations we help. That’s because our vision is for

Northern Ireland to become one of the most entrepreneurial

knowledge economies in Europe by 2030.

Catalyst Inc is the trading name for the Northern Ireland Science Park Group of companies, with company

numbers NI035856, NI614527, NI039294, NI038987 and whose registered addresses are: - Queen’s Road,

Queens Island, Belfast , BT3 9DT

our vision our mission our model -...

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