The NY Digital Irish and VentureOut Ireland are set to jointly host an assembly of ten of the most promising Irish tech start-ups next week, as part of their first start-up mission in New York.

Billed as a two day New York market accelerator program for new Irish start-ups, the assembly will tap into the wealth of ideas and forward-thinking in the thriving Irish tech start-up world and bring it to the US.

VentureOut NY has been successfully running start-up missions to New York for a number of countries over the past two years, but this is their first Irish-focused mission. VentureOut seeks to place New York at the hub of venture capital investment, encouraging start-ups around the globe to tap into the creativity and ambition of NYC. With VentureOut Ireland, they are hoping to help bridge the gap for Irish entrepreneurs to help them succeed in the US.

New York Digital Irish is a group dedicated to connecting Irish ex-pats and Irish Americans in the digital media arena – including areas such as social media, mobile, online advertising, digital agencies, search, analytics, video, e-commerce or other online-centric b2c or b2b plays. NYDI was set up by Feargall Kenny, CEO of Glenborn and also counts Barry Navan of HBO, Shane Lennon of Epiq Systems, Oisin Hanrahan, founder of Handybook and Margaret Molloy from Siegal and Gale among its members.

The two day assembly will help equip these start-ups with the tools to succeed in the high-pressure start-up market, including workshops, networking events and tours of successful start-ups. The assembly will culminate on the evening of Tuesday the November 11th with an event which will provide an opportunity for these promising start-ups to showcase their talent and pitch to a panel of expert venture investors. The panel includes such veteran venture investors as:

Christina Bechhold, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Empire Angels: as Managing Director of Empire Angels, Christina is focused on sourcing and leading group investments as well as supporting portfolio companies. She is also responsible for all content, communications and group events. She is a Regular Contributor on the Accelerators, the Wall Street Journal’s startup blog, as well as a Venture for America mentor.

Kelly Hoey, Women Innovate Mobile, Co-Founder, Cuurio: listed in Forbes as one of five women changing the world of VC/Entrepreneurship, Kelly is a connection-maker and networking strategist. She has helped clients (ranging from Fortune 500 to fashion to private equity to AmLaw 200) with community engagement online and offline.

Ashantha Kaluarachchi, Program Manager, Techstars: Ashantha is an Accelerator founder with over nine years experience advising and building partnerships for organizations solving problems in education.

If you’re interested in attending the main event, you can find more information here. If you are interested in finding out more about the New York Digital Irish, click here.

Start-up Profiles

The eight start-ups joining the accelerator next week run the gamut of the Irish tech start-up industry and will include:

Digifeye (Gary Freilich, CEO) is an image recognition and machine learning technology that works with thousands of brands and retailers to target shoppers online.

Hiri (David Power, CEO) is an email client designed to improve email management and communication.

LogoGrab (Luca Boschin, CEO) is a brand interaction tool that allows consumers to scan a logo on their phone to give them direct access to brand generated content and product reviews and opinions from other consumers.

Onepage CRM (Michael Fitzgerald, CEO) is a sales pipeline management system for small and medium sized businesses.

ThankFrank (Sean Ahern, CEO) is an online forum that allows people to ask questions and receive “frank” advice with a system in place to reward, or ‘thank’ top advice-givers.

Standard Access (Damien Browne, CEO) is a company that has developed a hardware, software and lock combination that facilitates secure building access using a smartphone or tablet, with an integrated client management platform.

Coldlilies (Kim Knowles, CEO) is a website that is seeking to position itself as the number one online destination for unique fine and high fashion jewellery.

Sendmybag (Adam Ewert, CEO) is a service that allows customers to ship their luggage directly from home to their holiday destination, cutting out the airline baggage costs.

NYDI launched their new website this week. Visit www.digitalirish.com to join the community or connect with them on LinkedIn.