Dublin start-up that helps employers house staff bags €30,000 in funding

16 Aug 2017

Georgian-era houses in Dublin. Image: John And Penny/Shutterstock

A Dublin start-up aiming to help tackle the ongoing housing crisis in Ireland has received a financial boost to the tune of €30,000.

Despite being less than a year old, Property Basecamp – a start-up that uses machine learning to help relocating staff find accommodation that suits their needs – has secured €30,000 in funding.

The funding comes as part of a Government grant from the South Dublin Local Enterprise Board to expand the operation led by CEO Tom Courtney and his co-founders Will Mullane and Nathan McGrath.

It added that it now has open positions in business development and marketing with a plan to build, test and upgrade its existing algorithms.

The business model sees Property Basecamp work with an employer in an attempt to ease the stress new employees feel when trying to find accommodation, particularly in Dublin.

Relocating staff a priority

As Siliconrepublic.com has reported on a number of occasions in recent weeks, while we have seen dozens of major jobs announcements in the capital, the demand for accommodation simply cannot keep up.

This has led to a spiralling rental and housing crisis that has affected not only people emigrating to Ireland for a new job, but those already here looking to relocate.

Courtney gave an example of a company that has been aggressively hiring over the past six months, of which 90pc are coming from abroad.

“The significance of providing suitable accommodation to relocating employees can’t be underestimated,” he said.

“We have seen this come to the fore over the last number of weeks, especially with further developments on the Brexit front, with the likes of JP Morgan and Barclays announcing Dublin as their new home. But we fully believe, with some innovative thinking, there are solutions … that can help solve this critical issue.”

Georgian era houses in Dublin. Image:  John And Penny/Shutterstock

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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