PorterShed has launched ‘Get PSSF Ready with PorterShed x Bertie’, a new virtual accelerator designed to help tech founders prepare strong, competitive applications for the Enterprise Ireland Pre-Seed Start Fund. The programme is being piloted in partnership with MyBertie.ai, an Irish AI-powered Venture Builder platform, and is supported by the Western Development Commission.
Applications open today for companies located across the West, from Malin Head to Mizen Head and everyone in between. Eligibility criteria can be found on the PorterShed website.
The six-week programme kicks off on the 23rd of March and combines PorterShed’s trusted startup launch track, mentorship, peer learning and founder interviews with Bertie’s AI-powered copilot to guide companies toward PSSF readiness. During the pilot phase, participating founders will receive a dedicated mentor, full free access to the Bertie AI platform, and a clear sprint framework focused on sharpening commercial strategy, validating market opportunity and strengthening investment cases.
The programme is aimed at tech founders with digital innovation at their core, who have carried out primary customer discovery research and have signs of early traction. As part of the pilot phase, each company commits to submitting a PSSF application within two weeks of completing their sprint.
Rosemary Gallagher, Programmes Lead at PorterShed, said:
“At PorterShed, our focus has always been to support the creation and scale of globally focused innovation-driven enterprises. Working with MyBertie’s AI-powered venture building platform provides a timely opportunity to get Irish tech founders PSSF-ready in a self-paced, structured hybrid environment, which will translate early traction into a compelling PSSF application. The partnership between MyBertie and PorterShed is a natural fit; we are both focused on helping founders better articulate and accelerate the thing they know best – their business.”
Philip Reynolds, CEO of Bertie AI, said:
“At myBertie.ai, our job is to help founders. Combining our own life experiences with our powerful AI Co-Pilot platform Bertie, designed specifically for start-ups, we aim to expedite the journey, accelerating the venture in a more efficient and cost-effective way.
We are delighted to partner with Portershed in what will be the first virtual pilot of its type in Ireland. I congratulate them on their vision and determination in providing the best support for new businesses in the West of Ireland. Delivering results is what’s important to us. Working with the team at PorterShed, we believe we can help create the next generation of global tech businesses in the West.”
The initiative reflects PorterShed’s continued focus on strengthening the early-stage pipeline and supporting companies to scale from the West of Ireland. By piloting the Bertie AI platform regionally, the programme also creates an opportunity to test new digital venture-building infrastructure in a real-world context.
Allan Mullroney, CEO of Western Development Commission, who is backing the pilot programme, said:
“One of the consistent challenges we see across the region, particularly outside Galway, is not a lack of ambition or ideas, but a lack of companies that are fully investment-ready at the point capital becomes available. If we want to see more indigenous tech companies scale from places like Donegal, Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo and Clare, we have to strengthen the pipeline much earlier.
This programme is important because it focuses on the long-term view. It helps founders translate early traction into strong, credible funding applications, and that ultimately builds a deeper bench of investable companies across the West. For the Western Development Commission, backing initiatives like this is about ensuring that five and ten years from now, we have a broader, more geographically balanced cohort of high-potential businesses ready to grow and create jobs in their own communities.”
The final intake closes on the 4th of May to allow participants to complete the full six-week programme before the pilot concludes on the 12th of June, with off-ramp support continuing until the end of June.
Applications are now open at portershed.com/get-pssf-ready
