Doll company wins Google Adopt a Start-Up programme

Donegal company Arklu has been named the winner of the spring Google Adopt a Start-Up programme.

Arklu produces Lottie and Finn dolls, which are based on nine-year-old characters that are designed to be positive role models for children, to stimulate their imaginations, and to inspire learning through play.

Each of the eight finalists attended Google’s EMEA headquarters in Dublin to present a seven minute pitch on their business strategies to a panel of judges.

The winning company receives €10,000 in Adwords credit, and will become eligible for the Google Cloud Platform for Start-Up program, which comes with $20,000 Google Cloud credits.

Speaking at the final, Paddy Flynn, head of Google Ireland's start-up programme, said Arklu was selected by the judges "because they made a lot of progress throughout the programme and committed 150 per cent to the process".

Mayo's Truckscience was runner-up and received €5,000 in Adwords credit, while Dublin's Beutifi.com placed third and won a cheque for €3,000 in Adwords credit.

Dogpatch Labs, a tech and co-working community, awarded a special prize of "Hot Desk membership" for six months to Newslinn.

The 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.

Newslinn is an open and free platform that provides new ways for people to communicate easily and safely with journalists all over the world.