Leeside chosen for new offices

Two companies this week announced their plans to open offices on Leeside.

Ireland’s first equity crowdfunding company, Spark Crowdfunding, is to open an office in Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen while New York-based tech company NS1 announced on Tuesday it is establishing a presence in Cork city.

Founded by Chris Burge in Dublin in 2018, Spark Crowdfunding connects start-ups looking to raise funds with investors interested in buying shares in private Irish companies.

Spark Crowdfunding said it has more than 9,500 investors on its database and has raised in excess of €12 million for Irish start-ups over the last three years.

The company is hosting a launch event for its new Cork office in Republic of Work today, 7 April, from 6-9pm. People looking to attend can register on Eventbrite.

The event is aimed at investors, start-ups and entrepreneurs at all stages as well as people who are considering starting up a new venture or getting into investing.

Speakers will include Mike Fitzgerald, founder of Kerry-based Net Feasa, and Paul O’Shea, founder of Cork start-up Peckish. Chris Burge of Spark Crowdfunding said the Cork office launch event will shine a spotlight on alternative finance options for growing a company and how people can invest in Irish start-ups.

Meanwhile NS1 is set to hire at least 30 computer engineers from various backgrounds and levels of expertise over the next two years.

NS1 is scaling up its cloud-based NS1 Connect platform which orchestrates all the critical control points to understand, automate and secure every digital interaction.

This project has been supported by the Government through IDA Ireland.

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Leo Varadkar said: “It’s great news that the company has chosen Cork for this expansion, once again highlighting the rich pool of talent available in the area. This new facility will play a key role in the expansion of NS1’s global engineering presence and I wish the team all the best in this exciting new chapter.”

NS1 said it strongly supports a hybrid working model, with remote work options available, but is also securing office space in Cork city that will provide an innovative, highly collaborative work environment.

“The type of talent I’ve seen in the Cork market aligns perfectly with our expansion strategy as we build products at a scale to meet global demand,” said David Coffey, Chief Product Officer at NS1.