All Island Startup Momentum

by Ian Browne, NDRC Managing Director

NDRC & Founder Labs All Island Demo Day at Dogpatch Labs

To make a startup successful beyond your borders means breaking the rules of physics. It requires bending space to bring markets closer, warping time to accelerate growth, and defying gravity to rise above local limitations.

It’s doubly true if you are outside major urban tech areas. Or at least, it was. I was a founder in Ireland a decade ago. I know the challenges, the energy needed to defy the odds in a place that can feel like it’s far away from everywhere.

Since then I’ve been knee-deep in the Irish startup scene, working with and investing in founders in both Northern Ireland and across the border in Ireland. So when I say the recent joint demo day between two programmes from either side of the Irish border felt different, I really do mean it. It wasn’t just another event — it was a glimpse into a new reality where the laws governing Irish entrepreneurship are being rewritten. 16 startups took to the stage in front of nearly 400 attendees at Dogpatch Labs in Dublin. This was the culmination of months of hard work, not just from the founders, but from teams on both sides of the border keen to embrace and showcase all-island innovation.

Now, I’m not one for hyperbole, but I don’t think enough people grasp the gravity of the opportunity borne here. Between Founder Labs and NDRC, these programmes can offer connections with some of the most powerful people in technology; founders getting face time with Sarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI, and John Collison, founder of Stripe. But it isn’t about star power — it’s about entrepreneurs giving back, and that each programme benefited from the network of the other.

It goes beyond network. Irish founders are itching to crack the UK market, while their Northern Irish counterparts are eyeing up EU opportunities. This collaboration isn’t just bridging a geographical gap — it’s creating a runway for founders to launch into markets that were previously just out of reach. And then there’s the talent pool. Between the two programmes, they’re tapping into deep seams of all-island innovation, from graduates from world-leading universities to ex-employees from tech giants.

30 Founders from Ireland, North & South visit NYC for Irish Tech Week

That energy and momentum barrelled forward, with teams barely catching their breath before travelling to New York for Irish Startup Week. From sessions on cracking the US market to deep dives into VC dynamics, and culminating in a showcase at the Irish Consulate, this was an opportunity to both equip founders with the tools they need to compete internationally, and put an all-island contingent of founders on a global stage.

So, where do we go from here? That’s the really exciting part. This collaboration between Founder Labs and NDRC could be the foundation for something truly transformative. We’re talking about the potential to move the needle on GDP in both countries, to create a startup ecosystem that punches far above its weight on the global stage.

If I keep extrapolating, I see the potential for these initiatives to be even closer intertwined. Why duplicate the capital, networks, and entrepreneurial support? How about an all-island fund, a pool of capital dedicated to backing the best founders and technical talent at the first-cheque and pre-seed stage, regardless of which side of the border they happen to be building? But creating any all-island support means navigating political complexities, ensuring that the benefits are felt on both sides of the border; these are not insignificant challenges. From where I’m standing, however, the potential rewards far outweigh the risks.

To the founders, investors, and ecosystem builders reading this — we’re at the start of something big. The groundwork is being laid for a new era of Irish entrepreneurship — one that transcends borders and embraces our collective strengths.

The future of Irish innovation isn’t just bright, it’s blazing, and I can’t wait to see what new laws of entrepreneurial physics we’ll write together. The borders that once limited us are now the launchpads propelling us into a future, and our potential is only limited by the choices we make next.

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