SheGen5: Meet the founders
Introduction
SheGen5 brings together a powerful cohort of early-stage women founders from across the island of Ireland, each building businesses rooted in lived experience, market insight and ambition.
From women’s health, fertility and financial wellbeing to education, community, design, fashion, digital safety and AI-enabled family support, this year’s founders reflect the breadth of innovation emerging from women-led start-ups.
Delivered by AwakenHub, SheGenerate supports women founders to sharpen their business models, build confidence, test their value proposition and prepare for the next stage of growth. The programme includes six core modules, optional Big Sister sessions, community access and opportunities to raise founder visibility.
About SheGenerate
SheGenerate is AwakenHub’s early-stage founder programme, designed to help women move from idea, early validation or first traction into a clearer, stronger and more commercially focused business.
The programme supports founders to work on the fundamentals: customer discovery, value proposition, business model, marketing, sales, confidence, visibility and readiness for investment or growth opportunities.
SheGenerate runs once a year and SheGen5 is our fifth cohort. Expressions of Interest for SheGen6 can be filled in HERE and we will automatically notify you when the applications are live for our Autumn/Winter intake.
Meet the SheGen5 Founders
Audrey Vance — Activity Time Ltd
Based in: Wicklow
Website: Activity Time
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/audreyvance
Audrey Vance is the founder of Activity Time, a digital platform helping children’s activity providers manage bookings, payments, attendance, communication and admin in one simple system. Designed specifically for independent coaches, tutors and camp providers, the platform aims to eliminate the operational overwhelm that often comes with running small activity businesses. Already piloting with early customers across Ireland, Activity Time is focused on giving providers back more time to focus on children rather than paperwork and processes.
Billie Pardavi — GeoXen
Based in: Australia
Website: GeoXen
Alongside co-founder Ruth Dooley, Billie Pardavi is co-founder of GeoXen, a SaaS platform simplifying complex multi-omics analysis for medical and life science researchers. The business is focused on making advanced bioinformatics more accessible to research teams without requiring specialist computational expertise. GeoXen aims to reduce barriers to scientific insight through intuitive, scalable technology.
Ruth Dooley — GeoXen
Based in: Kilkenny
Website: GeoXen
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/geoxen/
Ruth Dooley is co-founder of GeoXen, a SaaS platform simplifying multi-omics analysis for medical and life science researchers. The business is focused on making advanced bioinformatics more accessible, enabling researchers to gain insights faster without requiring specialist technical expertise.
Brona Jackson — The Village
Based in: Dublin
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/brona-jackson
Brona Jackson is developing The Village, a community-focused initiative centred around connection, belonging and support. The business is focused on creating spaces and experiences that help people feel less isolated and more connected within their communities.The Village is centred around connection, community and support, creating spaces and initiatives designed to help people feel seen, supported and less isolated.
Caitlín Connolly — Affinity Social
Based in: Galway
Website: Affinity Social
Caitlín Connolly is the founder of Affinity Social, a social wellness business creating curated hikes, suppers and events designed to combat loneliness and foster meaningful human connection. Born from her own experience of relocating to Galway, the business is building “Ireland’s home for human connection” one county and one community at a time.
Caitríona Lennon — Nurture Minds
Based in: Galway
LinkedIn: Caitriona Lennon
Caitríona Lennon is the founder of Nurture Minds, a wellbeing-focused business supporting emotional resilience, personal growth and mindset development. Her work centres on creating supportive and accessible approaches to mental wellbeing and self-development.
Clare McCarthy — Flowering Fertility
Based in: Carlow
Website: Flowering Fertility
LinkedIn:Clare McCarthy
Clare McCarthy is the founder of Flowering Fertility, a platform supporting fertility patients and clinics through behavioural insight and emotional support tools. Inspired by her own fertility journey, the business aims to reduce treatment drop-off and improve patient experience and outcomes. The platform combines patient-facing support tools with clinic dashboards designed to reduce treatment drop-off and improve patient outcomes.
Deirdre McCarthy — AllSkills Education CLG / FLIT Financial Literacy
Based in: Carlow
Website: FLIT Financial Literacy
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deirdre-mc-carthy/
Deirdre McCarthy is the founder of FLIT Financial LITeracy, a financial wellness platform supporting women and families to build confidence around money, budgeting, pensions, fraud prevention and long-term financial planning. Combining digital tools with community-based education, FLIT is designed to make financial literacy more relatable, practical and accessible.
Fiona Doyle — Fídoro
Based in: Limerick
Website: Fídoro
LinkedIn: Fiona Doyle | LinkedIn
Founded by stylist and image consultant Fiona Doyle, Fídoro is a luxury fashion brand creating timeless silk pieces designed to help women feel confident, visible and effortlessly elegant. Inspired by the transformative power of colour and personal style, the brand combines premium silk fabrics, curated colourways and flattering silhouettes in small-batch collections designed to stand apart from fast fashion..
Jacinta Clarke — Mindpod
Based in: Kildare
Website: MindPod – Corporate and Inclusive Solutions
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacinta-clarke-mindfuel
Jacinta Clarke is the founder of MindPod, a sensory regulation pod designed for high-performance and overstimulating environments. MindPod gives teams a structured way to regulate, recover and return to work with capacity intact, positioning recovery as “human performance infrastructure” rather than a wellness perk. The business is also partnering with Dublin Tech Summit 2026 to provide bookable 10-minute reset slots for attendees.
Jean O’Gorman — PARED
Based in: Galway
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jeanogorman
Jean O’Gorman is the founder of PARED, an oral care brand specifically designed for women in midlife. Built around the insight that hormonal changes impact oral health, PARED reimagines daily routines through a paired morning and evening toothpaste system designed to work within women’s existing habits rather than adding to already overloaded routines.
Katarina Marusic — Transform with Frequency / Elevibe
Based in: Dublin
LinkedIn: Katarina Marusic
Elevibe is a community-driven wellbeing platform helping mothers develop sustainable self-care practices through courses, live sessions and peer mentorship. Founded by Katarina Marusic, the platform blends personal transformation, energy management and community support into accessible online programmes.
Katrina Crilly — The Real Me Academy
Based in: Derry
Website: The Real Me Academy
LinkedIn: Katrina Crilly
Katrina Crilly is the founder of The Real Me Academy, an edtech platform helping children build confidence, resilience and emotional wellbeing through interactive, classroom-ready learning. Developed from her experience in education leadership, the platform has already been piloted with over 1,000 pupils and is designed to support scalable whole-school wellbeing delivery.
Kimberley Hartigan — ROCKBOTTOM Skin Club
Based in: Dublin
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberley-hartigan
ROCKBOTTOM Skin Club is focused on skincare, confidence and wellbeing, creating a modern, accessible approach to skin health and self-care.
Laura King — Bloomband
Based in: Down
Website: BloomBand
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauracatherineking/
Laura King is the founder of BloomBand.io, a wellness technology platform developing wearable monitoring tools for children aged 1+. Combining sleep, activity and stress-pattern tracking with app-based wellness guidance, BloomBand aims to help parents better understand their child’s emotional and developmental wellbeing through data-driven insight rather than guesswork alone. Positioned as a wellness and parent-support platform rather than a medical device, the business is focused on early intervention, parental confidence and supporting healthier childhood development outcomes.
Lou Talbot Beirne — Beyond Her ADHD
Based in: Roscommon
Website: Beyond Her ADHD
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loutalbotbeirne
Beyond Her ADHD is an online coaching and support platform built specifically for women with ADHD across Ireland and Europe. Founded by Lou Talbot Beirne, the platform combines accountability, community and expert-led support to address the growing demand for accessible, female-centred ADHD services and connection.
Louise Keenan Clarke — Succeed with Confidence
Based in: Antrim
Website: Succeed with Confidence
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/louisekeenanclarke
Louise Keenan Clarke is the founder of Succeed with Confidence, a coaching and development business helping individuals build confidence, resilience and personal clarity. Her work focuses on supporting people through professional and personal transition and growth.
Lynette Fay — Brick Row Media
Based in: Antrim
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynette-fay-b719a919/
Broadcaster and producer Lynette Fay is the founder of Brick Row Media, a creative media and storytelling venture rooted in authentic communication, culture and audience engagement. The business draws on Lynette’s extensive experience across broadcasting, production and live events.
Mari Therese McCallion — marbar.starbar branding and design
Based in: Donegal
Website: Studio.Marbar
LinkedIn: Mari Therese McCallion
Mari Therese McCallion is the founder of Studio.Marbar, a boutique branding and design practice supporting founders, organisationsand social enterprises through strategy-led brand and web design. With more than 20 years’ experience across agency, publishing and corporate environments, her work combines creative craft with deep discovery-led brand strategy.
Patricia Breslin — Patricia Breslin / Who Am I?
Based in: Derry
Website: www.patriciabreslin.com
LinkedIn: Patricia Breslin | LinkedIn
Patricia Breslin is the creator of Who Am I?, a trauma-aware transformational coaching programme supporting women through identity loss, life transition and personal growth. Drawing on over 30 years of lived and professional experience, her work focuses on helping women reconnect with confidence, self-awareness and authenticity.
Roisin Bennett — The AI Team
Based in: Limerick
Website: The AI Team
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marketingmentors/
Roisin Bennett is the founder of The AI Team, a business focused on helping organisations adopt AI tools and workflows in practical and accessible ways. The business supports companies navigating digital transformation and emerging AI opportunities.
Sabina Cox — Yoga Mamo
Based in: Mayo
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabina-cox
Sabina Cox is the founder of Yoga Mamo, a wellbeing business focused on yoga, mindfulness and holistic wellness practices designed to support women and families through accessible movement and self-care.
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Sarah McKegney — Percy & Pop
Based in: Down
Website: Percy & Pop Kids Shampoo Bars
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmckegney
Sarah McKegney is the founder of Percy & Pop, an award-winning children’s haircare brand creating plastic-free shampoo and conditioner bars for babies and children. Developed to make bath time gentler, easier and more sustainable for families, the products are specially formulated for sensitive skin while reducing everyday plastic waste. Percy & Pop has already received recognition through multiple sustainability and start-up awards across Ireland and the UK.
Sorcha McAnespy — Fig Tec Ltd
Based in: Tyrone
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sorcha-mcanespy-79381b21a
Sorcha McAnespy is the founder of Fig™, a covert digital safety platform supporting domestic abuse survivors through discreet, trauma-informed technology. Built as a SaaS solution for charities and health organisations, Fig™ enables survivors to access support safely without leaving a digital trace.
With thanks to AIB and British Business Bank for supporting our SheGen5 cohort this year.
