Barterchain, Big Fan and LiveDuel are the three Irish start-ups set to pitch against a cohort of global Web3 companies in Dublin this week.
Last month, a panel of global Web3 gurus told the Future Human audience how NFTs and other emerging technologies are changing the way we interact with games, art and the world at large.
Now, nine global start-ups in the Web3 space are coming to Ireland to pitch their ideas at the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator demo day in Dublin this week. It will be led by managing director of the Techstars accelerator, Pete Townsend, who also moderated the Future Human panel.
This demo day follows a 13-week mentorship programme for the participating start-ups and the cohort includes three Ireland-based Web3 start-ups: Barterchain, Big Fan and LiveDuel.
It is the first time this accelerator has been run from Ireland, as the decision was made last year to move the programme from London to Dublin.
“The strong growth of the Irish start-up ecosystem in recent years alongside the longstanding presence of the leading global tech firms in Ireland make Dublin an attractive talent hub for Techstars,” said Techstars CEO Maëlle Gavet at the time.
Here are the nine start-ups that have been accelerating with Techstars to help bring Web3 technologies to the mainstream.
Barterchain
Looking to bring the oldest form of commerce into the future of crypto, this Dublin-based creator economy start-up is an online peer-to-peer ‘barterplace’ where members can swap or tokenise their skills and services.
Barterchain has developed a platform that essentially allows users to pay for services with tokens instead of money, earning rewards in the process. The company, which also has office in Italy, was founded last year by CEO Carla Rosenkranz and CTO Alfredo Giardina.
Big Fan
Big Fan is an emerging Irish Web3 start-up that is on a mission to reinvent sports collectibles with officially licensed NFTs that provide access to metaverse-driven fan experiences.
Based in Dublin, the company creates digital collectibles such as cards and video moments in the form of NFTs, collaborating with clubs, teams, organisations and individual athletes from across the world. It was founded by CEO Eugene O’Brien and COO Kurt Pittman.
Crowdclass
Portugal-based Crowdclass is an online platform for educators who want to create a community around learning. It allows teachers and creators to build, distribute and monetise engaging learning activities in an ecosystem where they can incentivise behaviours and achievements by distributing badges in the form of crypto and NFTs.
The blockchain-based nature of the platform means that educators on Crowdclass can be part-owners of the community, influence its progress and benefit from its growth. It was founded by CEO Filipe Pinho Pereira and CTO Bruno Costa.
Eczodex
This start-up, founded by University of Cambridge alumni Michael Quartey and Lukas Bruell, is aiming to build a bridge between traditional finance and the fast-growing area of decentralised finance (DeFi).
Eczodex has built a protocol that can create synthetic assets from data points, establishing a new universe of assets that can be traded across markets. The protocol provides an ecosystem for both low and high-risk traders, getting exposure to assets that were not tradable before. The company is based in Cambridge and has an office in the Netherlands.
LiveDuel
LiveDuel is an Irish decentralised sports betting platform that wants to offer users a fairer deal than traditional sports betting websites.
The start-up combines livestreaming and interactive content, such as prediction exchange and live trivia game shows, to engage fans and help them participate and watch the value of their bets in real time. The company is based in Cork and was founded by CEO Will Martin.
MegaFans
MegaFans is developing an e-sports platform for mobile gamers and game developers alike.
With a host of multiplayer tournaments online, the company hopes to attract gamers of all levels with prizes that include cash, crypto and NFTs, challenging them to play against gamers from around the world. It also welcomes game developers to use the platform to create new Web3 games.
Securo Finance
Based in Singapore, Securo Finance is a platform that aims to simplify crypto investing using DeFi protocols. Users who sign up to the app can select the index fund they want to invest in, the currency to be used and the amount, after which Securo helps them manage and rebalance their portfolios through an ‘all-in-one’ dashboard.
The company was founded by CEO Victor Lee, CTO Mah Soon Lai and Alvin Foo.
Staxe
Staxe is a Web3 music start-up that is on a mission to create more opportunities for artists and creators using blockchain technology. The platform aims to change the way creative productions are financed and enable profitable and direct exposure to creative productions as a new asset class.
It was founded in 2018 by CEO Luis Martinez and CTO Martin Liebrich and has bases in Spain and Switzerland.
YourDiamonds
This Australian e-commerce start-up has developed a platform to help diamond merchants and jewellery retailers solve common problems through digital and Web3 technologies.
YourDiamonds provides various services to private customers from around the world, such as instant insurance valuation and auction trading through its website. Based in Sydney, the start-up was founded last year by CEO Tim Goodman.
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