🏆Losing the €100K Image The Pitch: Lessons Learned, World Class Judges, Highlights & Community Reward from Fellow Finalist WholeSupp
Tech Powered Luxury founder Ashley McDonnell particiapted in Ireland's hottest business competition: The Pitch! Google's Early Stage Start-Ups Lead Cliona Jordan brings us highlights from the event.
🎙️ This week, we’re still buzzing from theImage’s The Pitchevent that took place last Monday—a celebration of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit from some of Ireland’s most exciting founders.
✨ I’m Cliona Jordan, Google's Early Stage Start-Ups Lead and Director of Partnerships at Tech Powered Luxury, and I’m so excited to be taking over this week’s Substack!
😭 Although Tech Powered Luxury lost out on the €100K prize, being selected from Ireland’s top start-ups to participate was a win in itself, and it was the first time our founder publicly presented the broader vision for the group. Read more below!
🌟 Are you new here? Welcome to our growing community of changemakers—keep reading to discover everything about the companies that pitched, the inspiring founders behind them, and this week’s exclusive Community Rewards!
👀 TL;DR
Image’sThe Pitch brought together Ireland’s brightest entrepreneurial talents, showcasing innovative startups that are making waves across various industries, from food and beverage to sustainability, loyalty programs, and self-care.
Keep reading to meet the founders, their stories, and how they’re shaping their industries. Plus, check out our special Community Rewards from Whole Supp this week!
🏆 Image The Pitch Highlights
Let’s meet the incredible founders and the ventures they’re building:
Sofie Rooney, CEO, Chimac
Ireland’s fried chicken connoisseur, Chimac blends bold flavours and Korean-inspired cuisine to create the ultimate comfort food. Sofie’s passion for innovation in food is evident in every bite! They have a restaurant (physical presence) and a scalable product (jarred sauces) - sounds like a match made in food-business heaven to us.
Tony Foote & Alice Carroll, Co-Founders, Foxes Bow Irish Whiskey
Revitalising Ireland’s whiskey scene, Tony and Alice are redefining whiskey culture with their bold branding and premium spirits brand, Foxes Bow. Cheers to a new era of Irish spirit founders, and we hope their next billboard printing goes down as smoothly as a glass of their whiskey! 🥃
Bee Byrnes & Jennifer Zamparelli, Co-Founders, HairPeople
Bee and Jennifer have created a hair salon with sustainable practices at its core, without compromising on quality! We need to get to HairPeople ASAP for some guilt free hair care.
David Hartigan, CEO & Founder, Hemp Heros
A champion of natural wellness, David’s Hemp Heroes creates premium CBD products designed to promote balance, relaxation, and well-being. We loved hearing about his journey, especially the hilarious (and almost disastrous!) encounter with some hungry deer in Wicklow.
David McSharry, Owner, Hot Chip
Not your average cookie! David’s Hot Chip was the first of two cookie brands presenting on the night (is there a cookie revolution we didn’t know about?) and his brand delivers spice and flavour like no other, creating a snacking revolution for the bold and adventurous.
Tracy and Michelle are empowering professionals to thrive through their wellness-focused platform, bringing workplace well-being to the forefront. The dynamic duo took home the prize on the night, and we can’t wait to see what’s next for Platform 55, especially how they use their new Samsung flip phones (which they were contagiously excited about!).
Aoife Matthews & Jennifer O’Connell, Co-Founders, Sisterly
Ashley and the Sisterly team had a lot of fun backstage, talking all things wellness and keeping a work-life balance (LOL!) as entrepreneurs. The answer to better overall health and wellness for women, ensuring that every aspect of this nutritional supplement is of uncompromising quality for our mothers, sisters, girlfriends, and ourselves! We loved Aoife and Jennifer’s energy on stage, perhaps it’s all thanks to Sisterly?! We think so!
Sarah O’Sullivan, Founder, SOS Cookies
Cookies made their second appearance of the night, this time with Sarah! Sweetening life one cookie at a time, Sarah’s SOS Cookies are the perfect blend of flavour, creativity, and heart. We love that Sarah brings a luxury strategy to her cookie business, with retail pop-ups in leading luxury department stores around Ireland! Did someone say Luxury Powered Cookies?
Matthew Coffey & Katie Farrell, Co-Founders, Squid Loyalty
Matthew and Katie are transforming how we think about customer loyalty with Squid, a modern solution designed to help businesses retain and reward customers effectively. The Tech Powered Luxury team is incredible loyal to their favourite brands and retailers, let’s hope they hear about Squid and start rewarding us 😇
Conor Duggan, Co-Founder, TaxZap
Simplifying taxes for all! Conor’s TaxZap offers a user-friendly solution to navigating tax returns, saving time and money for individuals and businesses. Conor explained he’s bringing gamification to the table to make tax fun. How? TaxZap’s UX is like a Tinder for taxes! He said only death and taxes are certain in life, but if we’re using a Tinder comparison, let’s hope that love is too ❤️
Ashley McDonnell, Founder, Tech Powered Luxury
Yes, that’s our Founder! Tech Powered Luxury is where the worlds of technology and luxury intersect. Ashley is passionate about growing the luxury landscape in Ireland and championing the incredible brands we have here on the island. She shared more about building the ecosystem from the ground up, with Ireland Fashion Summit, Ireland Fashion Week, Fashion Trust Ireland and acquiring a first portfolio of Irish brands to expand internationally.
Darren O’Reilly, Co-Founder & CEO, Whole Supp
Revolutionising meal replacements, Darren’s Whole Supp offers a sustainable, plant-based alternative packed with all the nutrients you need. We loved his story so much that we asked him to share the love with the Tech Powered Luxury community with a discount, see below! Thank you Darren 🙏
Let’s not forget the incredible panel of esteemed judges!
Caroline Hirons: Founder of Skin Rocks
Jamie Heaslip: Ireland Strategic Growth Lead at Stripe, co-founder of PNR
Annika Bizon: Director of Marketing, Omnichannel & Head of Ireland MX Division, Samsung
Áine Kerr: Journalist, entrepreneur, and co-founder of Kinzen
Clodagh Edwards: CEO of IMAGE Publications since 2015
This week, we’re thrilled to feature a reward from The Pitch finalist Whole Supp! Head to their website and enter code TPL15 at checkout to enjoy 15% off their delicious, nutrient-packed shakes… vegan friendly too!
Happy shopping!
💫 Who are we and what led us here today?
🎙️ Launched as a podcast on November 1st 2022 by Ashley McDonnell, Tech Powered Luxury has since nurtured a vibrant community of experts passionate about the evolving synergy between technology and luxury. We have reached over 20 million people through the podcast, social platforms and media, and have hit +500K downloads.
🪄 Our weekly newsletter is curated by Beatriz Barros, a seasoned expert in luxury and technology based in Milan, Italy. A dedicated collaborator of Tech Powered Luxury, Beatriz applies her expertise as a Fashion & Luxury Business Consultant at Retex—Italy's forefront company known for integrating strategic acumen with operational excellence to solve complex retail-oriented projects for fashion & luxury brands. Additionally, she educates aspiring professionals at Polimoda, renowned for its focus on Fashion Design & Business in the vibrant city of Florence, Italy - also where she first met Ashley during one of her lectures on the future of luxury: a match made in academic heaven. 🌈
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