Doctrine Skincare wins AxisBIC investible company award

Doctrine Skincare won the Most Investible Company award at the AxisBIC Venture Academy, while Ailtire took the audience award for Best Pitch.

Seven start-ups pitched for a combined €9.5 million at the Cork investor event, up from €5.7 million a year earlier. The event brought founders before investors, entrepreneurs and others involved in the start-up sector.

The awards were the headline outcomes of AxisBIC's annual programme for founders in Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick. Its Venture Academy has helped start-ups raise more than €37 million since its launch 16 years ago.

Cosmetic chemist Tracey Ryan and a team of industry specialists founded cork-based Doctrine Skincare. The company develops skincare products in-house and was chosen by the judging panel as the most investible business in this year's group.

Ailtire, which won Best Pitch, is a cybersecurity company led by chief executive and co-founder Colm Sweeney. It helps organisations identify security risks early in the process of building or updating digital systems.

This year's cohort included a mix of consumer, healthcare and software businesses. Other participants were Colata, CommPAL, Kinematic Tracing Systems, SeeGap and The MenoPal.

Cork-based Colata has developed a software platform that helps sports organisations combine data from performance, medical and fan engagement systems. Also based in Cork, CommPAL uses data analysis and route optimisation to plan and prioritise visits for community palliative care teams.

Clare-based Kinematic Tracing Systems, also known as KTS, develops clinical tools for injury and musculoskeletal assessment. Limerick-based SeeGap runs a platform designed to help consumer brands increase sales, build loyalty and gather insights from retail customers, particularly in physical stores.

Dublin-based The MenoPal focuses on menopause health data. It describes its product as a central intelligence platform aimed at addressing fragmented information spread across apps, clinics and wearable devices.

Before the live event, the selected businesses took part in a mini-accelerator programme organised by AxisBIC. It included an investment-raising masterclass and one-to-one sessions with entrepreneurs and investors to prepare founders for fundraising and public pitching.

Rising Demand

The amount sought this year was 66% higher than the previous year's total, reflecting the larger sums that early-stage companies are seeking as they scale their products and enter broader markets.

AxisBIC chief executive Larry O'Donoghue said the higher fundraising target and the group's make-up reflected growing interest in early-stage businesses, particularly in technology.

"I would like to congratulate all the start-ups that took part in this year's Venture Academy, with a special mention to Doctrine Skincare on being awarded Most Investible Company and Ailtire on being voted Best Pitch. This year's pitching event saw a 66% increase in the money being raised compared with last year, which indicates a strong desire to support and invest in start-ups. There has also been a significant increase in technology companies making a valuable impact on people's lives. We want to encourage anyone with a start-up to get in touch with the team at AxisBIC, who can support you on the next steps to growth and success," O'Donoghue said.

The Venture Academy forms part of the Growth Pathway Programme run by AxisBIC in partnership with Cork City Council and Cork County Council. The programme is one of the regional support structures intended to help companies move from product development to external fundraising.

For Doctrine Skincare, the award comes as the company begins seeking outside backing. Ryan said the business had spent months weighing whether to pursue investment before deciding it was ready.

"I'm delighted but in shock. We have been thinking of raising investment for the last six months to a year, and now we're finally ready to get out in front of people. To win here at the AxisBIC Venture Academy is a real confidence boost, a pat on the back to say we're going in the right direction. I've had amazing support from AxisBIC, particularly in applying for Pre-Seed Funding from Enterprise Ireland, which has really set us on our way," Ryan said.

Sweeney said feedback from mentors helped shape Ailtire's presentation. "It's a bit surreal to have won Best Pitch, but I'm really proud of the team and appreciative of the support we've received from AxisBIC. We wouldn't have won it without the honest and direct feedback from the mentors at AxisBIC," he said.