Author Archives: Catriona Petoia

ProMotion – ‘Be Healthy, Be Eco-Friendly’

Posted on by Leave a comment

Speaking to co-founders Bidemi Afolabi and Lauren O’Reilly, Trinity Business Review gained exclusive insight into the up-and-coming ProMotion app. ProMotion is an online platform built to connect brands with cyclists. Simply speaking, ProMotion provides the opportunity for a cyclist to be paid to promote brands on their own private bicycles. ProMotion is a COVID born company which aims to get people moving. Their work focuses on incentivising consumers to ride their own bicycles encouraging a healthier, more eco-friendly form of transport.

The Team

ProMotion’s founders are Trinity students, Bidemi Afolabi and Lauren O’Reilly both of whom are final year Pharmacy students. Due to the youth of the business, Lauren and Bidemi share most of the business roles. However, Bidemi focuses on Business Operations and Marketing while Lauren tackles Research and Development and Business Strategy.

Both Bidemi and Lauren have had an inclination towards entrepreneurship since the beginning of their degrees. Their motivation to set up ProMotion came from their passion to promote healthy living through exercise. As participants and winners of Trinity’s LaunchBox programme, they were given a platform and the support required to pursue their idea.

Where They Are Now

Currently, ProMotion is in the product development phase. Since LaunchBox, ProMotion have focused their attention on improving their prototype, building their user base and gaining important connections in the industry.

Once bicycle owners and brands are linked, a promotional attachment for the back wheel of their bikes is sent to the cyclists. The ProMotion app aims to pinpoint the location of cyclists who are using the app in order to verify that they are cycling around with the paid business’s promotion. ProMotion plans to have the app up and running in the next couple of months.

Plans For The Future

ProMotion’s immediate goals are to get as many brands involved as possible, as ultimately the brands will provide their main source of revenue. Both Bidemi and Lauren have a positive outlook on this goal as they have encountered encouraging experiences with brands so far. ProMotion drives a positive message out to the population – “Be Healthy, Be Eco-Friendly”. ProMotion plans to utilise the Trinity network as best as possible, aiming to incorporate Campus Ambassadors and continuing their market research.

In the longer term, ProMotion plans to use Dublin as their testbed, and then expand to other cities in Ireland. Following this, ProMotion’s aim is to enter the UK market as it has a similar structure to Ireland. ProMotion have the advantage of being infrastructure light, which facilitates rapid and inexpensive future growth opportunities.

Get In Touch

Keep up to date with ProMotion’s social media;

https://twitter.com/ProMotionCycle

https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/?next=/promotioncycle

https://www.linkedin.com/company/promotioncycle

JMK Consulting: A Trinity Start-Up Focused On All Things Pandemic

Posted on by Leave a comment

After the pandemic took hold and thousands of business were facing forced closure due to government restrictions, JMK Consulting was set up with the aim of helping businesses traverse the ever changing landscape of COVID Payments, Business Restart, Restart Plus Loans, Grants and supports. JMK Consulting also advises businesses on Employers PUP Payments, Employee / Customer COVID Protection, training and responsibilities for the duration of the pandemic, which will be with us for the foreseeable future.

The JMK Mission Statement is “To help business remain and recover during the largest global medical and economic crisis in a century while [their] vision is to act as an enabler for businesses now and in the future.”

The Team

The JMK team consists of Joseph Keegan, Principle Consultant, who has 25 years experience in Researching and Consulting on IT Systems and Technology Grants through JMK Computer Support Services, dealing with Manufacturing, Services and Academic Industries. Along with three recent IT & Project Management degrees he has also just graduated from Trinity Tangent, Ideas Workspace Programme, Postgraduate Certificate in Creative Thinking, Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Mr. Keegan is currently attending the E-Labs Innovation Programme with Trinity College Dublin (TCD) Tangent, in conjunction with University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG) and EIT Health WHO.

Ray Crean, Principle Researcher, who also shares the same BSc (Hons) in Information Systems and Postgraduate Certificate both from Trinity College Dublin and has wide experience in Corporate Compliance and Board Level Membership.

Where They Are Now

JMK have successfully consulted on the reopening, staffing and grant aiding of two hospitality businesses to the tune of €50,000, both of which are now starting to gain a following and traction again, despite the recent risk of not being able to open again, at great loss to the owners and staff.

With the movement of government restrictions to Level 5, JMK are now focusing their attention on building up their knowledge base as to how to enable businesses to reopen in the future.

Plans For The Future

Given the global acceptance that the pandemic will remain relevant for at least another 12-18 months, JMK client offerings will be even more important and they intend to continue to provide a non-biased point of view in every respect of maintaining businesses through these unchartered waters.

The long-term goal for JMK is to expand into all industries and become a business of excellence with regards to the ‘new normal’ of what they see becoming the “Hybrid Economy both for Business Owners and Employees” when all of this passes.

Get in Touch

EthiCart: The Trinity Start-Up Focused On Promoting Sustainable Shopping

Posted on by Leave a comment

EthiCart is a user-friendly app that provides consumers with easily digestible information about the sustainable or ethical attributes of food products they have selected by simply scanning the product’s barcode. Amongst other educational features, EthiCart removes the confusions around the many different certifications on packaging by explaining these clearly, thus enabling their users to become more conscious and educated consumers.

EthiCart aims to empower the growing community of people who want to shop sustainably and buy products aligned with their values. EthiCart offers quick, easy to understand information, and suggests more sustainable alternatives where possible, helping you become a more conscious consumer. EthiCart is committed to making sustainability simple.

The Team

EthiCart’s founders are Trinity students Laura Brennan and Lara Páircéir. Laura is a final year Computer Science & Business student and Lara is taking a year off books from Sociology & Social Policy. They both share a passion for sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

They participated in Tangent’s LaunchBox in the Summer of 2019 and have since been featured in ‘Ireland’s 30 under 30: Best and Brightest Young Entrepreneurs’, awarded the Blackstone LaunchPad Summer Fellowship and are finalists in the Irish Student Entrepreneurship Forum.

Where They Are Now

EthiCart have launched the first version of the app in Trinity this September, starting small with the products supplied on campus available on the app. The homepage of the app includes blogs, articles, recipes etc. to keep their users informed and engaged. They also have lots of fantastic tips & tricks for what to look out for when shopping sustainably, which anyone can avail of, and some handy Trinity tailored features. Click here to download now!  

Plans For The Future

Small acts when multiplied can transform the world. EthiCart is looking forward to seeing their user base grow by scaling into more mainstream supermarkets so that they can get as many people shopping sustainably as possible.

Get In Touch

EthiCart believe that when sustainability is mixed with enterprise and an amazing community real change can be achieved. Follow their growing online community @ethicart_app on Instagram and Twitter.