Lough Shore invests in Dublin start-up

Dublin-based start-up Converser has secured seed funding worth $1.2 million from a consortium that includes Lough Shore Investments, Dublin-based venture capital firm Enterprise Equity and Enterprise Ireland.

Converser is a CRM and cloud communications platform that works with mobile apps, allowing communications with customers to be conducted in-app. The platform is already being used by a number of international banks, insurance companies and utility providers.

Lough Shore Investments founder Danny Moore said the investment marked the compnay's first venture into the Dublin start-up scene.

“In terms of an investment, there’s an incredible momentum to the mobile space and we see Converser uniquely positioned to capitalise," he said. "Their offering is timely and disruptive, with an ability to circumvent what is a traditional and outdated means of customer engagement, marketing and CRM. Converser have taken a number of complex problems, combined them all within your mobile-app and most importantly, made it an inexpensive alternative to the other, more fragmented offerings.”

The company was founded in 2010 by Barry Nolan and Oisin Hurley, and made it to the final of the ESB Spark of Genius competition oat the Dublin Web Summit in 2011.

Mr Nolan welcomed Loughshore's involvement, describing it as the "best type of investor partner" due to their history with building successful start-ups from scratch.

"They have a tremendous record both in their own right, and in the start-ups they have invested in. We’re excited by what’s to come,” he said.