Ireland has a lot of unfair advantages. As the only English speaking country in the European union (post-Brexit), widely considered one of the best countries for business in the world, its no surprise that world leading technology companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon have tens of thousands of employees in Ireland. In our 4th instalment of Startups and Venture Capital in … (Germany, The Nordics, & the UK) we take on the emerald isle. With Irish born world beating enterprise startups such as Intercom ($115m in funds raised), Fleetmatics (acquired for $2.4b) and Cartrawler (acquired for $500m) it is no longer a question of if great tech co’s are born in Ireland — but rather how big and fast can they grow. It may surprise you to learn: Ireland has engineering talent that rivals major European tech hubs, with 55k engineers in Dublin vs 61k in Stockholm or 81k in Berlin. Paypal, LinkedIn & AirBnB are just a few companies that count more employees in Dublin than in London.  US companies setting up offices in Europe are landing in Ireland earlier than ever before. Companies like Asana and Wrike are two recent examples of Series B-C startups setting up shop in Dublin. A small domestic market means Irish tech co’s are largely selling into markets in the US or elsewhere. Companies like Intercom, Fenergo and Swrve count the USA as their largest market. Trinity and University College Dublin (UCD) are among the highest ranking universities for venture capital backed entrepreneurs in Europe!  Frontline Ventures is a B2B Seed VC.

1. Europes Fastest Growing Tech Community
Startups & Venture Capital in Ireland

2. 2
Ireland’s tech scene is growing like wildfire
The State of Tech in 2016 via Atomico, 2016 European Venture Capital Report: via dealroom.co
Ireland
Germany
UK
Netherlands
Poland
France
Switzerland
CZ +2.5%
+2.5%
+2.5%
+2.7%
+3%
+3%
+3.3%
+5.5%
TOP 10 FASTEST GROWING TECH
WORKER POPULATIONS (2015-2016)
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
€367m
€217m
€114m
€147m
€48m
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
37
49
41
29
62
# DEALS CLOSEDDEAL VALUE
IRISH VC ACTIVITY

3. $500m
€322m
$80m
$75m
As Irish startups prove they can
generate big wins for investors
3
$55m
$115m
$100m
€100m
€245m
$230m
€100m
$2.4b
$129m
Acquisition price shown for €50m+ exits
$82m

4. 1817 1005
3333 3216
495
1876 1876
3405
11151270
4The State of European Tech 2016: Atomico, Employee Count via LinkedIn
And global tech companies contribute
to a highly skilled workforce
London
Paris
Berlin
Amsterdam
Stockholm
Dublin
Vienna
Prague
Zurich
Copenhagen
Oslo 31,000
39,000
39,000
41,000
42,000
45,000
51,000
66,000
81,000
134,000
300,000
1011
1752
# OF EMPLOYEES IN IRELAND # OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS

5. 5Employee Count via LinkedIn, Proprietary - companies establishing offices in Ireland, Irish Tech Startup Guide, Frontline
Ireland remains a favourite for Series
B-C startups targeting EU expansion
6/15 12/15 6/16 12/16 06/17
167
208
242
278
288
SERIES C FUNDRAISING
IRISH OFFICE ESTABLISHED
CASE STUDY: ASANA OPENS IRISH
OFFICE AROUND 200 FTE, SERIES C
NEW ADDITIONS SINCE OUR 2013
IRISH TECH STARTUP GUIDE

6. 6
As international investment pours in
Crunchbase, 2016 European Venture Capital Report: via dealroom.co
US FUNDS INVESTING IN IRELAND
Austria
Sweden
Ireland
UK
Finland
Spain
Netherlands
Germany
France
Denmark 10%
16%
20%
21%
22%
22%
31%
31%
36%
39%
COUNTRIES ATTRACTING MOST US
FUNDING (% SOURCED FROM US VCs)

7. 7
To create hundreds of growing
tech companies in Ireland!!
Crunchbase, Authors Choice
$10m+ FUNDS RAISED
$50m+ FUNDS
RAISED
BOOSTRAPPED

8. 8
Investors

9. 9
Most active investors at every stage + debt
Seed Series A - B Late Stage
Note: approximation, many investors participate across different stagesAuthors choice
Venture
Debt

10. 10
People to know in Irish venture capital
Shay Garvey
Will Prendergast
Stephen McIntyre
Brian Caulfield
Nicola McClafferty (Byrne)
John O’Sullivan
John Flynn
Debbie Rennick
Maurice Roche
Dermot Berkery
David Bowles
Elaine Coughlan
Helen McBreen
Gerry Maguire
Noel Ruane Barry Downes
Conor Stanley
Barry Mulligan
Gianni Matera
Stefano Francavilla
Authors choice

11. 11
And entrepreneurs turned angel investors
Bobby Healy Paul Byrne
Ray Nolan Tom Kennedy
Alan Coleman
Gianni Matera Paul Mckeon
Colm Lyon
Paddy Holohan
Authors choice

12. 12
ACCELERATORS % STAKE COMMENTS
-
INVESTMENT
€100k
-
- -
FinTech innovation lab
Sector agnostic
Payments
7.5% €30k
Trinity college- -
Most active accelerators
Sector agnostic
VentureLab Science venturesConvertible €100k
€30k8% Early stage
Convertible
LaunchPad
Catalyser
Authors choice

13. 13https://www.enterprise-ireland.com
Enterprise Ireland active as
both direct and VC investor
Most active LP
since 1994
Investor in 30+
VC funds
225 investments
(€31.5) in 2016
Largest seed
investor in Ireland
Supporter of the
Halo Business
Angels Network
Launched business
angels co-investment
fund with EIF (2016)

14. €8.1b Irish sovereign wealth fund backs VCs
and tech co’s with an Irish footprint
14http://www.isif.ie/

15. 15
Ireland

16. 16
Strengths
SUPPORTIVE GOV’T
PROGRAMS
WORLD CLASS
UNIVERSITIES
POST BREXIT
IRELAND IS THE ONLY
ENGLISH SPEAKING
EU COUNTRY

17. 17
Strengths
PLENTIFUL EARLY
STAGE CAPITAL
TALENT FROM
GLOBAL TECH COs
MENTORSHIP FROM
SUCCESSFUL
ENTREPRENEURS

18. 18
Challenges
VICTIM OF ITS OWN
SUCCESS? RENT AND
COST OF LIVING RISING
SMALL DOMESTIC
POPULATION
4.6m
UNSUPPORTIVE TAX
REGIME FOR
ENTREPRENEURS AND
EMPLOYEE STOCK
OPTIONS
2013
2013
2014
2015
2017
€900
€1,000
€1,200
€1,450
€1,600
Q1 2017 Daft.ie Rental Trends
1bdrm
Dublin Rent
City Centre

19. 19
Dublin
£1 = €1.15 London Berlin Dublin
Population 8.6m 3.5m 1.9m
1 Bedroom
Flat
£17001 €7001 €16007
Beer £4.501 €3.001 €5.001
Avg Salary £48,0004 €40,0002 €37,0006
Engineer
Salary
£56,0005 €50,0003 €60,0005
Ireland Heads Forbes' List Of The Best Countries For Business
Numeo, , Salary Survey in Berlin2
, 3
Berlin Software Engineer Average Salary, Metro Salaries4
,
Balderton EU Talent Landscape5
Ireland Average Salary6,
, Q1 2017 Daft.ie Rental Trends7
DUBLIN

20. 20
Companies

21. Personalisation
Marketing Automation
Customer service
Software infrastructure
Car Rental
Hotels
21
Four sectors where Irish startups have succeeded
Enterprise
Payments / FX
RegTech
FinTech
MarTech + AdTech Travel

22. 22
Enterprise
CEO
Eoghan McCabe
Formerly Exceptional, Contrast
Trinity College
Chief Scientist & Co-Founder
Trevor Parsons
Formerly Postdoctoral Researcher
Ph.D University College Dublin
Linkedin Information, Crunchbase
The fastest
way to analyse
log data
Customer
communication
platform
Acquired
for $80m
Raised
$115m

23. 23
FinTech
Linkedin Information, Crunchbase
Co-Founder & CSO
Brett Meyers
Formerly JP Morgan
University of Western Australia
CEO
Marc Murphy
Formerly Ergo
Dublin City University
AML / KYC
Onboarding
Risk MGMT
Foreign
Exchange
Transfer

24. 24
MarTech + AdTech
Co-Founder & CEO
Dave O’Flanagan
Formerly Datalex, CUSP Point
Trinity College
CEO & Co-Founder
Hugh Reynolds
Formerly Kore Virtual, Havok
Trinity College Dublin
Mobile
marketing
engagement
Customer
intelligence
cloud
Linkedin Information, Crunchbase

25. 25
Travel
Ray Nolan
Co-Founder
Formerly Coretime, Raven Com.
Stanford School of Business
€245m
IPO
Gregory Turley
CEO & Co-Founder
Formerly Argus Automobiles
Stanford University, Terenure
College
Acquired
for €450m
Travel
partnerships
management
Hostel
booking
system
Linkedin Information, Crunchbase

26. 26
Early-stage companies to watch in 2017
Find things in local shops
Authors choice. Recently founded Seed / Series A stage company
Network security
Gym software HR Feedback Solution
Voice AI Platform
Business banking
Brand insights
Compliance & risk reporting
Stock trading
Elastic search
IoT in the kitchen
eCommerce tax management
B2B Hotel booking
Legal analyticsOnline lender AdBlocking revenue recovery

27. 27
Conclusion

28. 28
Takeaways
A small domestic market
means Irish tech co’s are
largely selling into markets in
the US or elsewhere
Engineering talent that rivals
major tech hubs: Dublin (55k
engineers) vs Stockholm
(61k) or Berlin (81k)
PayPal, LinkedIn & AirBnB are
just a few companies that
count more employees in
Dublin than in London
Brexit likely to accelerate the
trend of corporates and
startups based in Ireland
The mix of large corporates
and a small domestic market
has lead to more enterprise
focused startups
Trinity and UCD are among
the highest ranking
universities for VC backed
entrepreneurs in Europe!

29. 29
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30. 30
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A big thanks to our friends and content
partners on previous publications!!

31. 31
CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE FRONTLINE LIBRARY!

32. 32
Sources
Links
The State of Tech in 2016, Atomico
2016 European Venture Capital Report , Dealroom.co
Irish Tech Startup Guide, Frontline
Balderton EU Talent Landscape

33. 33
Slide 3 - Exits in Ireland
Tech exits in Ireland over the past 10 years
Exit values listed for €50+ exits
Slide 5 - FDI’s
Asana - discretionary selection
Proprietary list of companies w/ offices opened in Ireland since 2013
Slide 6 - International VC activity in Ireland
Authors choice selection of VC investing in Ireland
dealroom.co list of EU countries by % with US investors
Slide 7 - Selection of startups in Ireland
Discretionary selection startups based on crunchable data
Slide 9- Funds in the UK
Selection of investors by stage
Slide 10 - Who to know in Ireland
Discretionary selection of investors
Slide 12 - Accelerators
Selection of accelerators based on activity in Ireland
Slide 20 - Successful startups
Successful startups based on size - authors choice
Slide 17 - Early stage companies to watch
Authors choice
We have tried our best to
include relevant companies
and investors in each section
For omissions, misprints or
corrections please contact
thomas@frontline.vc

34. 34
Appendix

35. 35Balderton EU Talent Landscape
Average developer salary per country ($, 2015)Portugal
Greece
Spain
Italy
France
Austria
FinlandNetherlandsGerm
any
Sw
eden
Ireland
UK
Denm
ark
Norw
aySw
iterzland
$90k
$86k
$75k
$70k
$66k
$59k$58k
$53k$51k$51k
$47k
$34k$34k
$24k
$22k

36. 6/15 12/15 6/16 12/16 06/17
208
295
345
372
393
36Employee Count via LinkedIn
Ireland remains a favourite for Series
B-C startups targeting EU expansion
6/15 12/15 6/16 12/16 06/17
167
208
242
278
288
SERIES C FUNDRAISING
IRISH OFFICE ESTABLISHED
CASE STUDY: ASANA OPENS IRISH
OFFICE AROUND 200 FTE, SERIES C
CASE STUDY: WRIKE OPENS IRISH
OFFICE AROUND 350 FTE, SERIES B
SERIES B FUNDRAISING
IRISH OFFICE ESTABLISHED