Fantasy5live scores a winner in Kilkenny Business Elevator Event.

Fantasy5live scores a winner in Kilkenny Business Elevator Heat.

The Blueface team was on the road again last weekend for the fourth Blueface Business Elevator competition which took place in Carphone Warehouse, MacDonagh Junction, Kilkenny. This round of the competition attracted local contestants with business ideas in the heritage, advertising, charity and technology sectors.

Winner of the Kilkenny heat was Fantasy5live.com, a new social media site, integrating real-time Irish fantasy online sports, which offers competitors the chance to play an exciting and strategic game in a fun-filled competitive environment. Based in Kilkenny, Fantasy5live.com was described by its CEO as what happens when a sports fanatic meets a technology fanatic and the judges were impressed by the idea which they felt would have broad appeal and international growth potential.

Other notable entrants on the day included Dermot Byrne and Christian Ryder who pitched their big business idea, FoneSense, which provides a platform for advertisers to promote their product or service to the public via mobile phone notification tones, such as ringtone and SMS tone. Brendan Noud presented his business idea, LearnUpon, an innovative online learning platform designed specifically to meet the needs of small training companies.

Paul Price and Bernadette Duffy presented Big Red Button, a comprehensive personal emergency support service accessed through a smartphone application. Finally, Brenda Bolger from ‘A Little Story Of…’ treated the judges to a reading from her book and pitched her highly original and creative idea for Interactive Tour Books of Heritage sites aimed at young children.

We were delighted to welcome our guest judge on the day, Thomas Marry, CEO & Co-Founder of Kilkenny based company SurfBox. Thomas knows a lot about the challenges of establishing a start-up business and accessing new markets, so he was able to provide entrants with insightful comments and advice.

Our second guest judge was John Bradish, store manager of Carphone Warehouse, Kilkenny. Thanks to his role in retail management, John has a great knowledge of local business and his input on the day was much appreciated. Alan Foy, CEO, Blueface is a resident judge for the entire competition.

For anyone who missed the Kilkenny heat but would still like to participate, the next Blueface Business Elevator Heat will take place in Carphone Warehouse, Crescent Shopping Centre, Limerick on 23^rd June.

To apply, email a 100-word overview of your business idea, along with your contact details to elevator@blueface.ie. In advance of the final, there will be further business elevator heats in Dublin and Carrick-on-Shannon.