Connect with investors, Startup founders, entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers and key partners of the NI Deep Tech ecosystem.

Ecosystem Senior Innovation Growth Specialist with Innovate UK Edge working with businesses across Northern Ireland.

I am driven by a deep passion for fostering innovation and facilitating the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). My career is dedicated to enabling Northern Ireland Businesses access the full spectrum of local and national business support resources to thrive and realise their utmost potential.

To guide and support companies towards becoming investment-ready and poised for rapid growth and scaling.

Key Areas of Expertise:

• Scaling Strategies
• SME Growth Support
• Investment Readiness
• Strategic Funding & Finance

I’m a technology entrepreneur, serial angel investor and cross-border dweller. I co-founded successful Derry based online learning company Learning Pool in 2006 on the back of a long government career and a spell as a Silicon Valley dotcommer. I exited the company in May 2014 in order to work with early stage startups.

I’m interested in helping start & grow indigenous Irish & British tech companies and especially in working with first time and female entrepreneurs. I’m one of Said Business School’s (University of Oxford) Entrepreneurship Experts, an Expert Advisor to the EU, a co-founder of AwakenHub (a growing community of female founders across the island of Ireland) and a trustee of CAST (the Centre for Acceleration of Social Technology).

I work as a consultant and expert advisor, usually to national governments but also for a small number of scaling technology businesses.

Drew has been involved in the early stage equity scene on the island of Ireland for over 20 years.

He has been an angel investor, corporate finance adviser, accelerator manager and venture capital investor. Most recently he was involved in the deployment of the €40m European Angel Fund Ireland for the European Investment Fund. Drew is also currently a Jury member for the European Innovation Council Horizon Europe Accelerator (the European Commission’s €10bln breakthrough technologies fund). Several years ago – Drew was also an investment manager with a deeptech seed fund in Dublin (4th Level Ventures).

As Lead Equity Advisor for InterTradeIreland, Drew delivers ca 150 one to one advisory sessions p.a. with early stage entrepreneurial teams looking for feedback on their investor readiness and fundraising campaigns, as well as delivering group workshops on VC/Angel investment and supporting the annual all-island VC Conference and the SeedCorn competition.