Pitch Perfect 2026 Unveils High Impact Finalists Ahead of Live Showdown
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TU Dublin has today announced the six finalists for Pitch Perfect: Battle of the Start-Ups 2026, as part of Local Enterprise Week 2026.
This year’s finalists span Edtech, consumer products, ecommerce infrastructure and sustainability, each addressing a distinct real-world challenge with an innovative solution.
Pitch Perfect will see six of Dublin’s most promising early-stage founders pitch live to a panel of expert judges for a chance to win €5,000 and one year of office space in a TU Dublin Business Incubator.
Competing for the overall prize are a cohort of exceptionally high-calibre founders representing a diverse range of sectors, from innovative children’s wellbeing products and sustainable consumer goods to AI-powered education platforms, social planning technology, next-generation functional beverages, and cutting-edge e-commerce infrastructure.
Meet the 2026 Finalists
Lauren Price – Little Mellos
Little Mellos creates screen-free, multisensory calming toys that help young children manage big emotions through guided breathing and sensory cues.
Sophie O’Neill – TREX
TREX is a social app that centralises trusted, friend-driven recommendations and uses AI to turn them into actionable plans.
Myles Garland – Kefircoffee®
Kefircoffee® has created a new category of Enhanced Polyphenol Coffee, using a clean-label, additive-free process to naturally increase polyphenols and chlorogenic acids while improving flavour, all while keeping the caffeine content the same.
Gavin Doyle – Examinaite
Examinaite leverages AI to deliver personalised learning experiences for every student, built by a teacher-turned-founder with nearly a decade of classroom experience.
Ryan Ormonde – Saor Water
Saor Water provides custom branded canned water as a sustainable alternative to plastic bottles, with low minimum order quantities ideal for events and businesses.
Susie Kilcoyne – Locket
Locket is community powered commerce infrastructure for DTC brands, generating individual storefronts that adapt to customer context and behaviour in real time. P‑powered commerce infrastructure for DTC brands, generating personalised storefronts that adapt to customer context and behaviour in real time.
This year’s finalists will pitch to a panel of leading voices in entrepreneurship and investment:
- Susan Spence (Head Judge) is the previous Co-founder of SoftCo, one of Ireland’s most successful financial software companies, which was acquired by Keensight Capital for €100 million. Susan's long-standing involvement in Going for Growth supports women in business.
- Gillian McColgan: Angel investor, expert advisor and exited entrepreneur, with a global career in senior CTO roles, technology leadership and IP strategy, now mentoring and investing through AwakenAngels to support women-led innovation.
- Gary Fox: Founder, investor, and media operator building one of Europe’s most ambitious founder-led media platforms, The Entrepreneur Experiment. He has scaled a multi-format media business spanning podcasts, video, live events, and premium experiences, while working closely with leading brands and operators across business, performance, and capital.
Now in its fourth year, the competition is delivered by TU Dublin in partnership with the four Dublin Local Enterprise Offices and Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers Programme.
Claire Mac Namee, Head of Enterprise Engagement at TU Dublin, said:
“Every year, we see founders with bold ideas, real ambition, and solutions that can make a meaningful impact. The 2026 shortlist reflects the strength and diversity of our start-up community, with founders tackling everything from children’s emotional wellbeing and personalised learning to sustainable products and the future of ecommerce. We are proud to work with our Local Enterprise Office partners and Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers Programme to champion entrepreneurship at TU Dublin and across the region, and we are excited to welcome the wider community to Grangegorman to support this year’s finalists.”
Pitch Perfect, Battle of the Start-Ups will take place in the Concert Hall in TU Dublin's East Quad in Grangegorman on Thursday, 05 March 2026. This event typically reaches full capacity quickly, with hundreds more joining the waiting list.