LogoGrab Wins Google Adopt a Startup Spring Programme 2017

LogoGrab has been named the winner of the Google Adopt a Startup 2017 Spring Programme following a dragon’s den style final held in the Foundry at Google’s EMEA headquarters in Dublin.

LogoGrab’s technology is used to identify brands in both images and video, the LogoGrab Brand detection API works in many different verticals such as social media monitoring, retail intelligence, brand compliance and counterfeit detection. The company, was founded by Luca Boschin and Alessandro Prest and its customers include Brandwatch, Heineken, Nestlé, eBay and McDonald’s.

Winner of the Adopt a Startup Spring 2017 programme LogoGrab, CEO Luca Boschin said, “We put a lot of hard work into getting the most out our participation on this Google programme and the results have been hugely positive. We had two main objectives heading into the programme, namely to reduce our costs on the engineering side of the business and to increase the volume of our inbound sales leads.

He added, “In our business we deal with billions of images and we managed to reduce our costs by 45% by moving from Amazon AWS to Google Cloud for the processing power we require. On the marketing side of the business we have generated a pipeline of 1.2 million just from the changes implemented during our time on the Adopt a Startup Programme alone, so we are absolutely delighted with the results and to have been named the overall winners.”

Each of the eight finalists had to present a six minute pitch on their business strategies and the results of taking part in the Adopt a Start Up programme, to a panel of judges which included Patrick Walsh, Dogpatch Labs and David Grunwald, EMEA head of Global Partnerships for Google for Entrepreneurs. The winners will receive €10,000 in Adwords credit, and will become eligible for the Google Cloud Platform for Startup program which comes with $20,000 Google Cloud credits.

Speaking at the final, Paddy Flynn, Director and Head of Google Ireland’s Startup programme said, “Our Adopt a Startup programme is specific to Ireland and such is the success and effectiveness of the programme that Google plans to implement the programme in other countries as it really allows us to support the local startup community in a significant way. Over 150 Startups applied for one of the 30 places on offer on the 2017 Spring programme and over 90 Googlers from across all functions at Google Ireland shared their expertise with them to develop a holistic business strategy to scale their business and enjoy further success.”

He added, “LogoGrab was selected by the judges because the progress they made over the 12 week mentorship programme was amazing. Every metric applied to measure their success was exceeded and their presentation to the judges explained in a very clear and tangible way how the company will continue to scale and grow.”

Campsited, a campsite booking marketplace, placed 2nd, and received €5,000 in AdWords credit while Obeo, which provides a provides a compostable food waste box placed 3rd and accepted a cheque for €3,000 in AdWords credit.

Dogpatch Labs, Ireland’s leading tech and co-working community, awarded a special prize of Hot Desk membership for six months to Engager. This prize, worth €6,000, was open to all 30 participants and asked contenders to submit an application explaining why they would benefit the most from the prize. Award winner, Engager provides users with a new broadcast ratings system and data analytics service that allows them to view real time data around the subscribers and viewers of TV programmes and broadcasts.

“This prize will help Engager to continue the accelerated growth they have achieved by completing the “Adopt a Startup” programme. Hot Desk Membership gives Startups access to the entire tech and Startup ecosystem at Dogpatch Labs, and the flexibility to work from a desk space in the heart of Silicon Docks,” said Patrick Walsh, Managing Director of DogPatch Labs. “In addition Members have access to the Dogpatch Labs community including a thriving mix of Irish Startups, international companies and investors, which gives them the connections to continue to grow their Startup.

30 leading Startups were selected to participate in the 90 day programme of mentoring sessions with a dedicated Google Ireland support team assigned to each Startup to work on their business growth strategies. These 30 Startups were then shortlisted to eight finalists who were given the opportunity to pitch their developed strategies to a panel of judges which included:

• Joe Healy, High Potential Startup Unit, Enterprise Ireland
• Cera Ward, Country Director, Large Customer Sales, UK & Ireland, Google
• Patrick Walsh, Managing Director, DogPatch Labs
• Colin Goulding, Director, Global Customer Experience, Google
• David Grunwald, Head of Global Partnerships, Google for Entrepreneurs, Google

The Adopt a Startup Programme forms part of Google’s commitment to supporting the Startup community in Ireland through mentoring events such as Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur and hosting community events with partners like Startup Weekend and Enterprise Ireland. This commitment includes the expansion of the Google Tech Hub Network to Ireland by partnering with Dogpatch Labs a physical space for startups to work from and for community events. The Google Tech Hub partnership helps to open new doors to mentorship, investment and growth opportunities, and to help developers and entrepreneurs launch new ideas and turn them into thriving young companies. Irish Startups also avail of direct support from Google for Entrepreneurs programs in Dublin, London and the US.

The 8 Finalists: