Meet some of the finalists in the Emerging category of the Cork Company of the Year Awards 2019

Republic of Work offering world-class business workspace

With facilities to suit one-person businesses, SMEs and even multinationals, Republic of Work in the heart of Cork’s business district has cemented its position as leader of what flexible workspace should look like.

Based on the South Mall, Republic of Work describes itself as a business campus and innovation hub in the heart of Cork’s city centre, not only providing world-class business workspace for its clients, but also a thriving business community.

Republic of Work was co-founded by DC Cahalane and Dave Ronayne almost two years ago.

Mr Cahalane is well known in the Irish and European innovation and startup communities, having previously worked as VP for growth at Teamwork.com and as chief marketing officer at Trustev.

Mr Ronayne is chief executive and chairman of Irish Mainport Holdings, with over 20 years experience in the maritime industry, chairing many different sporting, voluntary and business organisations, including IBEC.

In 2016, Mr Cahalane, having worked in many similar innovation spaces across the globe during his career, decided that the time was right for Cork to have a dedicated business hub for existing Cork businesses to innovate and future-proof their businesses.

Approaching Mr Ronayne with his vision, together they formed the joint venture that would become Republic of Work.

In its first 18 months, businesses operating out of the South Mall campus created more than 100 new jobs, with over 120 members across more than 40 companies.

It expects jobs created to reach over 500 in the next five years.

Business represented in the Republic of Work included healthcare, beauty, food, communications, fashion, banking, insurance, fitness, technology, law, accounting, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, hardware and recruitment, among others.

It has hosted hundreds of public and community events since opening its doors.

General manager of the facility, Frank Brennan, described Republic Of Work as “a space for work to happen, not just any work, but your best work; the most productive, innovative, forward-thinking work that you have ever done”.

Republic of Work describes itself as an environment for dreamers to become doers, for thinkers to bring their vision to the real world, a place to start, scale and grow business.

“We create the environment to let traditional businesses learn the skills they need to disrupt, innovate and grow like startups,” Mr Brennan said.

To be nominated in the Emerging category for the 2019 Cork Company of the Year Awards was a source of huge pride for all involved.

“We’re absolutely thrilled and honoured to be up for such a prestigious award,” Mr Brennan said.

TradeWorkz ingenuity works for customers and tradespeople alike

Sometimes the simplest ideas, carried out with precision and ingenuity, are the most innovative and inspiring — TradeWorkz is the epitome of that.

Founded by Shane and Cian Gould, two brothers in their 20s who have been around the construction industry all their lives, TradeWorkz is an easy-to-use interface connecting tradesmen and customers.

The brothers said the idea was born through their own first-hand encounters with various tradesmen and the general public.

With 15 years’ experience between them as tradespeople, the grafters are both working as granite worktop and fireplace installers in the family business owned by their uncle.

It meant being at the coalface of the construction industry, seeing what works and what doesn’t, and what can be improved and tweaked, from both a customer and tradesperson point of view.

There was a pattern of complaints from both sides, the Goulds said, and TradeWorkz was developed as an answer to their problems.

The brothers would enter houses to fit, and hear the same complaints from customers — that they were finding it hard to get tradespeople.

They also heard it from a tradesperson’s side, that they were sick of calling to jobs and pricing them, only to fail to get them.

TradeWorkz is a platform where customers can post jobs they need done and tradespeople can see these jobs and make bids on them without actually having to physically go and see them.

In their own words, TradeWorkz wants to revolutionise the way tradespeople find work and how the general public find good, reliable tradespeople.

They say a tedious process has been simplified down to an effortless task.

It is user-friendly for those who may not be technically savvy, with the brothers striving to deliver a sleek, efficient, easy-to-use model that even a computer novice can use.

TradeWorkz creates a direct channel to thousands of tradespeople in multiple professions.

Having worked together since they were youngsters, the new business is 50/50 when it comes to decision- making, and is set for further growth in 2019 as the brothers focus more and more on developing the concept.

Two years of painstaking planning and honing have gone into the business, and they finished 2018 on a high, with two fully functioning websites made completely to their specs and designed by Cian, as well as office space and company transport.

To be nominated as finalists in the emerging category of the Cork Company of the Year Awards was a huge honour for TradeWorkz, according to the brothers.

“It came as a huge shock. We’re delighted to have reached the final and also honoured so many great businessmen and businesswomen from Cork were impressed by our business,” said Cian Gould.

Verifish fusing decades of marine know-how with best of innovation

Fusing the best in cutting-edge technology with three decades of experience in the marine industry, Verifish has emerged as a leader when it comes to sustainability and food safety in the seafood sector in Ireland.

As the firm says, seafood is a vital source of nutrition and generates incomes for fishermen and processing companies all over the world, while the seafood eaten must be produced in a manner that protects fish stocks and the environment, as well as being of high quality for consumers.

It is not an easy task to bring it all together, but Verifish assists its clients to achieve these goals using the latest technologies to save time, reduce paperwork, and improve the quality of data used in the seafood sector.

The firm was founded in 2009 by Frank Fleming, a former commercial fisherman with over 30 years’ experience in the seafood industry.

Verifish has developed over the years to become a key provider of SaaS (software as a service) and advisory services to the seafood sector.

The company is based in the Rubicon Centre in the CIT campus, and during 2018 expanded to open a US office in Rhode Island due to its continued expansion and growing reputation.

There has been breakthrough after breakthrough since, with the ingenuity of the offering impressing clients throughout the world.

In 2014, Mr Fleming identified an opportunity to develop a software platform to assist his clients to achieve certification in a more streamlined and efficient manner through the use of desktops and mobile devices.

Verifish grew its client base internationally and now also works with international retail chains, NGOs, and the Irish State using its software certification and sustainability solutions

In October 2018, Verifish signed a new contract with the European Space Agency to develop software and hardware products for the Aquaculture industry.

It has ambitious plans for the future, having increased employees to eight full time, together with two independent contractors in 2018, and plans to be in numerous international markets by 2023.

To be nominated for the Cork Company of the Year Awards is a tremendous boost to the work being done at the firm in the Rubicon, according to Frank Fleming.

He said: “Verifish works in the dynamic and vibrant world of seafood. Being chosen as a finalist is a testament to the work our team carries out here at the Rubicon Centre.

We are in the fortunate position that the work we do with clients, while growing the business, also contributes to the bigger picture of protecting our natural resources.

“On the journey so far we have received a lot of help and support and we are particularly grateful to our Clients, BIM, Enterprise Ireland, and the European Space Agency.”