Funding will also help with new product development and increasing 3D Issue’s presence in key markets.
Donegal business 3D Issue is to create 24 new jobs after raising €750,000 in investment from Furthr VC and the Western Development Commission.
Furthr VC, which was formerly DBIC Ventures, and the Western Development Commission both invested €375,000 in the company.
“Recently, we helped a publisher to reduce the design time spent on an online publication from 240 man hours to four, while reducing the cost per page from more than €4,000 to under €70”
3D Issue will use the funding to expand its team from 16 to 40 people by the end of 2023 and it will also use the funding to double down on product development as well as scale into new markets.
The business expects revenue to grow from €1m to €3m in the next three years.
The digital future of publishing
3D Issue is a technology company specialising in content experience tools for the development of digital publications.
Last year, it launched Experios, a multi-level drag and drop content-building platform. Experios creates white-labelled templates for responsive, high-end publications – such as magazines, brochures, reports and handbooks – which reshape to fit the reader’s chosen device and require only one design for all devices.
An export-focused business, 3D Issue has more than 1,500 clients in more than 44 countries. It has worked with some of the world’s leading brands including Mercedes, Sony, NASA, Mensa, McGraw Hill, Haymarket and Procter & Gamble.
“This is an exciting period of growth and innovation for our company and we are delighted to have the backing of Furthr VC and the Western Development Commission,” said 3D Issue CEO and founder Paul McNulty.
“We have an established base of extremely large international enterprise customers and the launch of Experios will be significant in helping us to increase our revenues through existing business, as well as new opportunities.
“Recently, we helped a publisher to reduce the design time spent on an online publication from 240 man hours to four, while reducing the cost per page from more than €4,000 to under €70. We will continue to innovate to ensure we are bringing the best service and quality to our customers.
“The team in Furthr VC has guided us on our growth journey, offering advice and helping us to identify the right candidates to fill key positions in the business. Their expertise, along with the funding, will be imperative to our company as we embark on this latest phase of our growth journey,” McNulty said.
The funding from Furthr VC comes from its latest fund, backed by leading Irish technology entrepreneurs and business leaders, as well as Enterprise Ireland. With an emphasis on highly scalable, export-focused software and MedTech companies, it is on-track to invest in up to 30 companies by year-end 2024.
“When we established our latest fund, we set out very specific criteria for the types of companies that we were looking to back, and which we believed would deliver the best returns for our investors,” said Richard Watson, managing director of Furthr VC.
“As a technology company, with a high performing management team and which is experiencing significant growth in major global markets, 3D Issue fits that bill very neatly.
“With the launch of Experios, 3D issue is setting itself apart from competitors and is well-positioned to become a major player in the global digital publishing market.”
Earlier this week it emerged that the Western Investment Fund which was started in 2001 with €31m is now worth €77m while backed firms boosted Irish economy by €3.3bn.
“Our €77m investment fund has been supporting companies in the West and Northwest for twenty years,” said Tomás Ó Síocháin, CEO of the Western Development Commission.
“3D Issue has demonstrated global ambition from Ireland’s Atlantic Coast and our team are delighted to support their journey as they scale up the operation and grow their staff numbers.”
Main image: Richard Watson, managing director of Furthr VC, with Paul McNulty, founder and CEO of 3D Issue
