10 March 2014
by Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
It was exactly one year ago this month that I first visited the offices of TrustEv (pronounced as “Trust F”), a start-up based in Bessboro, Blackrock, just off the Skehard Road in Cork. I had difficulty locating their building because they were so new there was no sign! We were told they were in an office next to a hair clinic of some kind. After our reporter drove from one red brick 1980s flat-roofed brown aluminum windowed building to another we eventually found the right one.
That was late February/Early March 2013, one year ago. Donal Cahalane, Chief Marketing Officer, showed our reporter to their office with spartan desks and explained to me what their company did, you can even hear a hairdryer in this clip from the office next door!
This is how every tech start-up begins, but soon the name TrustEv popped up again when they hired a train to take technies to a gig in Dublin.
Fast forward another few months and TrustEv has now won the Enterprise and Big Data category in the South by Southwest (SXSW) Accelerator competition in Austin, Texas. That US competition is one of the biggest tech start-up events in the world.
While writing this we actually received a statement from a local politician about TrustEv. Deirdre Clune, Fine Gael Cork Senator and candidate for Ireland South in the European (or MEP) elections said “The success of Trustev shows that Irish tech companies are competing at the highest level on the world stage. I understand that Trustev is due to open an office in New York in the coming weeks; the company is a shining example of how Irish tech businesses can create real and sustainable jobs, based on exports and innovation.”
Deirdre Clune MEP
Pic Diane Cusack
She continued: “Ireland is fast becoming a hub for dynamic and cutting edge technology companies that are world class. The drive for continued employment growth in the ICT sector is at the heart of the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs. Through my work in the Seanad and on the Job Committee, I have campaigned for the necessary educational reform which will foster innovation as this industry continues to go from strength to strength.
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