ClubSpot, Kreoh, and SocialTies amongst top 100 start-ups in Ireland

Pictured (l-r) Conor O’Donovan, Enterprise Ireland; Daniel McConnell, Business Post; Niall Collins, Institute of Sustainability; Roger Courtney, Sunstone Technologies; Kevin Sherry, Enterprise Ireland; Dr BeiBei Flynn, Leapifai;  Killian Gaffney, Equitrace; Charlie Taylor, Business Post


Companies from Cavan, Cork, Dublin, Louth, Mayo, Monaghan, Sligo, and more make the list.

Businesses from across the island have been recognised in the Business Post Hot 100 start-ups, in association with Enterprise Ireland.

The inclusions recognise the breadth of ingenuity, potential, and success of some of Ireland’s top companies.

Co. Cavan based ClubSpot is among the inclusions with near household recognition already despite its relative youth. Based in Stradone, the company was founded by John Hyland in 2020 and has raised €2 million to date. ClubSpot’s platform helps clubs collect membership fees, manage communications, comply with GDPR, and increase revenue.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is understandably to the fore amongst the companies represented. Kreoh, a Dublin-based AI start-up, is just one of many in that space to make the list. Founded in 2022 by Garry Tiscovschi, Fareed Idris and David McSharry, Kreoh’s systems use a form of reusable AI lego blocks to produce first drafts of reports for human experts while verifying data and rejecting errors.

Another Dublin-based AI company making the list is Leapifai, founded by Dr Beibei Flynn. Dr Flynn, a Chartered Tax Advisor with a PhD in machine learning, launched the fintech in 2024 to create an AI-powered "digital tax co-pilot." The platform provides real-time, accurate tax advice for accountants and financial professionals by drawing directly from official sources like Revenue guidance and the Irish Statute Book.

Sunstone Technologies, also a new entry for 2025, is a B2B data intelligence firm founded by Roger Courtney. Launched in 2023, the Dublin-based company's "SaleSight" platform uses a proprietary in-house system to analyse market activity, helping businesses identify and understand their ideal customers with greater accuracy than traditional methods.

The Hot 100 list also includes a name better known for sporting than business exploits. Walter Walsh won three All-Ireland hurling titles during a glittering career with Kilkenny and has now turned to the start-up world. Earlier this year he co-founded SocialTies with Brendan Kavanagh. The company develops apps for sports bodies to provide a single home for all content related to their organisation.

In total 18 counties are represented on the list with several, including Dublin, Cork, Kildare, Louth, Mayo, Sligo and Waterford having multiple entries.

These include Breakthrough Maths from Cork, which provides online maths grinds, offering students up to four classes a week. The flexible model allows pupils to learn from home and receive more consistent tuition than with traditional grinds.

Aerlytix, a Dublin-based business founded in 2020 by Alan Doyle, Eoin Dalton, Leo Perria and Claudio Viotti, has raised €10 million in funding to date. The company develops fintech software for the aircraft leasing industry, helping investors, lenders and lessors analyse cash flows across an aircraft’s lifecycle.

Kildare’s HTS Labs was founded in 2020 by Patrick Clarke, Steve Hartnett, Jihad Elbasir and Alan Moran, and provides outsourced private pathology services, using technology to streamline how hospitals and clinics manage and receive test results.

Sligo-based Slick+, founded by spouses Linda Hegarty and Paul Conneally in 2022, is an educational technology platform that enables employees to record short videos that teach co-workers how tasks are done, creating what the founders describe as a family cookbook for the workplace.

This year’s list also features one start-up that is wholly remote, with no home county as such. Purple Path was founded in 2024 by Andy Culligan, David Miller, Balazs Kovacs and Markus Reutner. The business is a fully remote outsourced marketing company that acts as an external marketing team for clients, offering specialist expertise without the cost or delay of hiring in-house.

Speaking at the launch of the Hot 100, Minister for Small Business, Retail and the Circular Economy Alan Dillon T.D said, “It is important to celebrate success and the 100 businesses that are profiled in the Business Post Hot 100 Start-ups for 2025 publication, are a testament to the innovation, resilience, and entrepreneurial spirit that defines the Irish startup ecosystem. This government working with Enterprise Ireland is here to fortify that ecosystem, ensuring it is both connected and increasingly self-sufficient. I’d like to congratulate the ‘Hot 100’for their achievements and for having the ambition to take the brave leap to start a new business. Many of the companies who started their journey with Enterprise Ireland as start-ups have grown into international companies of scale and I see a bright future ahead for these businesses.”

Kevin Sherry, Executive Director, Enterprise Ireland said, “Enterprise Ireland is delighted to partner with the Business Post to recognise and shine a spotlight on some of the most exciting young start-ups in the country. The companies profiled are spread across a range of sectors including Sustainability, Digital Technologies, Lifesciences and Financial Services. At Enterprise Ireland, we’re committed to helping ambitious start-ups develop and scale innovative solutions to global problems and as part of our new five-year strategy, we have set an ambitious target to support the creation of 1,000 startup companies by the end of 2029. The ‘Hot 100’ for 2025 demonstrates the strong pipeline of promising, innovative and export-focused companies coming through, located throughout the country and Enterprise Ireland is proud to be behind many of these businesses on their start-up journey.”

HOT 100 Startups: Leinster | Business Post

HOT 100 Startups: Dublin | Business Post

Hot 100 Startups: Connacht | Business Post

HOT 100 Startups: Munster | Business Post

HOT 100 Startups: Ulster | Business Post

Ends