Innovative startup trio join UCD hub

NOVAUCD, the hub for new ventures and entrepreneurs at UCD, has welcomed three new startups.

The three companies – EPIC Conjoint, This is Seaweed and Travacoin – have moved to the hub in order to collaborate and benefit from increased engagement with the university.

All three companies are very different in terms of what they do. Established by Matt Johnston in 2016, EPIC Conjoint, has developed a software-as-aservice platform that enables companies of any size to rapidly conduct market research globally, delivering customer insights on products, pricing and perceived value in the market.

Meanwhile, This is Seaweed is building an organic food brand and aims to encourage consumers to engage with seaweeds.

The company was established in 2015 by Paul O’Connor, a marine biologist and a seafood enthusiast.

Travacoin, which was established in 2016 by Brian Whelan, is developing an application to enable airlines to use Blockchain-based coins, rather than fiat currency, to refund and compensate passengers in the event of flight disruption.

Mr Whelan has experience in the area of air passenger rights and advocacy, both in the public and private sectors.

Between them the companies are planning to create up to 30 new jobs and raise up to €7.5m in funding over the next two years.

The companies were welcomed to NovaUCD by Tom Flanagan, director of enterprise and commercialisation at UCD, who described the company founders as “experienced entrepreneurs who will be a great addition to our community”.