Betapond Ireland’s only Facebook Preferred App Developer
Dateline: 25 January 2012
Betapond was founded in 2009 and has offices in Dublin, London and California. Used by the retail, entertainment and tourism sectors, Betapond’s Facebook apps and check-in products incentivise consumers to generate social recommendations. For retailers, the apps help to increase footfall through instant rewards for consumers who interact with a brand on their smart phone when they are in the store. Betapond customers include Paddy Power, Tourism Ireland, Visit Britain and a number of leading European advertising agencies. The company is one of only 90 Facebook preferred app developers globally and is currently the only one in Ireland.
The funding announcement follows a one-year R&D agreement signed last November with Waterford IT for its retail marketing product, with funding from Enterprise Ireland. This funding was in addition to Enterprise Ireland’s participation in the company’s recent equity funding round.
Betapond CEO, Declan Kennedy believes that the convergence of smart phones, social media and location information opens up new and effective marketing mechanics for retailers to engage consumers whilst in store. He says, “The retail industry is fine. It’s just the stores model that isn’t working. We help our clients to effectively capture eyeballs and grow relationships with customers in a seamless way that enhances the in-store shopping experience. This fundraising will allow us to accelerate into new markets and move to the next level with customers and channel partners."
Dublin based venture capital company Delta Partners manages the Bank of Ireland Start-up and Emerging Sectors Equity Fund and Shay Garvey, partner at the firm said “The social media market has exploded in recent years and Betapond’s endorsement from Facebook, combined with this investment and a strong management team, will enable them to harness this opportunity and expand their footprint in the European market.”
Donal Duffy, Head of Enterprise Ireland Relations, Bank of Ireland said: “Supporting innovative, indigenous and entrepreneurial companies like Betapond is an excellent example of how the Bank of Ireland Start-up and Emerging Sectors Equity Fund can nurture and support Irish hi-tech business to develop their technology and establish their company on the international stage. We are delighted to be in a position to support Betapond’s future growth and progression to the next phase of their development.”
Greg Treston, Head of High Potential Start Ups at Enterprise Ireland, said: ‘This is an exciting and innovative company, led by an ambitious and highly entrepreneurial team. Their established reputation with Facebook confirms their standing in the industry and their strong technology and research focus clearly positions them for continued success. Enterprise Ireland is working closely with Betapond through our overseas office network to support the company to grow its export customer base and create highly skilled jobs in Ireland’.
Aidan O'Driscoll of Irrus Investments commented, “This investment received by Betapond will allow the expansion of complex Facebook technology production capacity across Europe and will consolidate Betapond’s position as the production partner of choice to deploy high end complex and large Facebook apps.”
PR Contact
Christine Roche, Delta Partners, 085 7171742
About Betapond
Betapond is a privately held Irish hi-tech company with offices in Ireland, the UK and the US. The company focuses on converging social media technologies and innovative marketing techniques to deliver effective social media marketing products and services. Its clients include leading advertising agencies in Europe along with blue chip brands in the retail, food & beverage, entertainment and destination marketing industries.
Betapond is a leading industry player in social media based footfall marketing, with an emerging marketing platform that enables brands and retailers to grow footfall through instant rewards for consumers who interact with a brand on their smartphone whilst in store. Betapond is a Facebook Preferred Developer Consultant which means it has demonstrated the ability to understand the social mechanics and technical possibilities of Facebook apps and are experienced having built numerous Facebook integrations. For more information, see www.betapond.com
About Delta Partners
Delta Partners is a venture capital firm investing in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Established in 1994, it has €230 million under management. The firm has a strong focus on investing in early-stage technology firms and the team has made over 50 investments in the information communications technology and healthcare sectors. Delta Partners is among the most active early-stage investors in Europe. Its partners' backgrounds in operations, strategy and finance complement the drive and ambition of entrepreneurial management teams. For more information, see www.deltapartners.com
About Bank of Ireland Start-Up and Emerging Sectors Fund
Launched in December 2010, the €17 million Bank of Ireland Start-Up and Emerging Sectors Fund was created to support Irish start-up or early stage businesses. The fund seeks to make investments of between €100k and €500k in high potential start-up companies that have an innovative idea, the potential to export and are operating in life sciences, medical devices, ICT, software, internet, emerging technologies, R&D and trading companies. The Start-Up and Emerging Sectors Equity Fund is being managed on behalf of Bank of Ireland by Delta Partners, who have been appointed Investment Managers. For more information, see http://businessbanking.bankofireland.com
About Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland, the Irish government agency responsible for the development and growth of Irish industry, is actively involved in supporting early-stage high potential start-ups. With over 80 new direct equity investments annually in these businesses, and through its investment in 41 seed and venture capital funds, Enterprise Ireland is now the largest early-stage VC investor in Europe in terms of the number of investments made. In addition, through its network of 31 international offices, Enterprise Ireland actively supports Irish companies to grow their export markets and create valuable jobs in Ireland. For more information, see www.enterprise-ireland.com
Company News
- 5 May 2012:
"Guardian Money" features Whipcar... - 3 May 2012:
Leading Global Enterprise Integrated EFB solution now supported on iPad... - 3 May 2012:
Open outcry opens doors to electronic trading growth... - 2 May 2012:
WhipCar profiled by The Kernel... - 25 April 2012:
Texthelp still talking up business abroad... - 17 April 2012:
Miracor Medical is a finalist for the ‘2012 Red Herring Top-100 Europe’ award... - 5 April 2012:
DCisions selected as a finalist for Red Herring Top 100 Award... - 20 March 2012:
Glysure presents successful clinical trial results at ISICEM... - 6 March 2012:
BlackRock joins DCisions' data network... - 2 March 2012:
Cleverbug receives funding to expand into UK market.... - 27 February 2012:
DCisions’s consumer interface, InvestorBee, launches free benchmarks and fund ratings.... - 16 February 2012:
NYSE purchase marks start of new strategy... - 25 January 2012:
Betapond Ireland’s only Facebook Preferred App Developer... - 9 January 2012:
Glysure Secures £7 Million in Series C Financing Round... - 13 December 2011:
EpiSensor to create 10 new jobs with €850k funding... - 5 December 2011:
New site aims to turn everyday consumers into informed investors... - 16 November 2011:
Profitero raises €750k through Bank of Ireland Start-up Equity Fund and Enterprise Ireland... - 11 November 2011:
Ireland’s Genable Technologies Completes €5M Series B Financing... - 17 October 2011:
Fixnetix named fastest-growing UK technology company... - 6 October 2011:
Genable features in Irish Times article on novel eye therapies.... - 29 September 2011:
DCisions develops Friends life Index to Track Investement Behaviour... - 27 September 2011:
SpineGuard secures $6.2 million... - 20 September 2011:
Fixnetix Lands Top 5 Fastest Growing Technology Company in UK... - 16 September 2011:
Eventovate to work with ABCG on UK expansion... - 15 September 2011:
SensL Introduces Next Generation Silicon Photomultipliers... - 15 September 2011:
SpineGuard - Study shows reduction in relevant misplaced pedicle screws in spine surgery... - 14 September 2011:
Miracor Secures €7M/$10M in Series B Financing Round... - 9 September 2011:
Neoss tops of Insider’s Growth100 table this year... - 7 September 2011:
Fixnetix appears in the top 20 fastest growing companies... - 6 September 2011:
First Minister welcomes AccuNostics’ choice... - 6 September 2011:
Innovative new product line introduced by SensL... - 27 July 2011:
AGI announces divestment of patent portfolio to Warner Chilcott... - 13 July 2011:
DCisions awarded the Pensions Innovation Award of the year 2011... - 7 July 2011:
AMT's Flightman continues to expand its operations in the international aviation industry... - 9 June 2011:
PolarLake Announce Support for Bitemporal Data in the PolarLake Data Management Platform...