The National Digital Research Centre (NDRC) is launching its second Swequity Exchange programme that matches up people with business ideas for digital start-ups with mentors and team members interested in being involved in a new venture.
Swequity, a play on ‘sweat for equity’, aims to bring people with business ideas together, choosing the ones with the best potential and matching them with a team of voluntary experts.
Teams will work on the new start-ups at the NDRC for five weeks, culminating in December. The NDRC is especially looking for applications from both people with ideas for start-ups, as well as those with technology, business and marketing skills.
Mark Kearns, programme director at the NDRC, said each start-up project will be allocated three participants from the Swequity volunteers who will then become core team members.
And team members get equity in the business, if it kicks off.
“The supporters get a 7pc shareholding in the business to share between them,” said Kearns.
He said the aim of Swequity Exchange is to test ideas and either bring them forward or send them back to the drawing board.
“We have already seen a number of projects graduate from Swequity into our LaunchPad accelerator programme.”
Creative experts from the National College of Ireland and people carrying out MBAs from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School are also supporting Swequity and will join teams.
The closing date for applications to the next Swequity programme is 5 November 2012.
