Cyber Ireland partnered with Paladin Capital and DogPatch Labs for an event to explore “How to build a Transatlantic cyber startup from Ireland”, on Tuesday 30th April.
It was attended by start-up founders, cyber security companies, and investors.
Eoin Byrne, Cluster Manager at Cyber Ireland, presented “Ireland’s cyber security sector: Opportunities for Growth” highlighting the need to develop our own indigenous cyber security start-up ecosystem with companies of scale producing innovative solutions for the global market. The cyber security market is global in nature. Due to international competition, companies require access to capital to scale and deliver solutions globally. However, securing investment is a key barrier to growth for Irish companies.
A challenge in the European cyber security investment market is a funding gap of €1.75 billion according to the European Investment Bank in 2022. In Ireland, there are challenges for companies seeking investment rounds between €3m and €10m. Access to capital of the required size and right time is necessary to develop Ireland’s indigenous sector.
A panel discussion on “Building a transatlantic company from Ireland”, revealed the challenges in breaking into the US market from hiring your first employee, to working with partners, and government contracts. It was made up of:
- Ken Pentimonti, Managing Director @ Paladin Capital
- Rahim Jina, COO & Co-founder @ EdgeScan
- Donnchadh Casey, COO @ CalypsoAI
Raymond Hegarty, Cyber startup IP specialist demonstrated the importance of an IP strategy, as over 90% of the S&P Market value comes from intangible assets. Companies need to think about their IP strategy from the beginning, encompassing not only patents, but copyright, trademarks and trade secrets.
Prof. Mary Aiken, Paladin’s Strategic Advisory Group, presented on “Safety Tech: the Nexus of Cybersecurity & Cybersafety,” sharing insights on a human-centric approach to protecting human’s in cyberspace and the potential market opportunity for Safety Tech (See Paladin Capital’s U.S. ‘Safety Tech’ Market Report – Here).