Derry Innovator gives Ultimate Pitch with AI Platform for Preserving Memories Behind Images

A Derry entrepreneur has taken the top spot at the Derry City and Strabane district Ultimate Pitch final after impressing the judges with her business SeeMe, an AI enabled personal archive platform capturing the memories behind our images.

Mary Blake secured £1,000 in investment for her business and a place in the regional Ultimate Pitch Final next month where she’ll be in with the chance of an additional £5,000.

The competition is organised by the government-backed enterprise support service Go Succeed.

Mary said she came up with the idea for SeeMee while clearing her godfather Vincent’s house, discovering generations of diaries, photos and letters, rich with memories and meaning. It made her reflect on her own images, once kept in albums and boxes, now stored in the cloud.

She said despite its convenience, cloud storage felt temporary and hollow, urging her to create SeeMee, a platform that allows users to curate images in a way that enables them to add memories and magic while sharing them securely.

Mary was among 10 entrepreneurs from across the Derry City and Strabane District Council area to pitch at the local heat of Go Succeed: The Ultimate Pitch, held in The Playhouse, Derry.

Among them was Chea O’Neill of Digi Barn, an automation company focused on agriculture, who won the local Impact Award, Nomathamsanqa Tholo of Cultural Staffing Solutions, who won the local Inclusive Entrepreneurship Award, and Jack Sayers, who was named the local Rising Star for his health and safety wearable Vibrotect.

Councillor Ruairí McHugh, Mayor, Derry City and Strabane District Council said:

“Go Succeed: The Ultimate Pitch has once again highlighted the creativity and drive of our local entrepreneurs. The standard of pitches at our heat was exceptional, and every finalist should be proud of this achievement.

“Congratulations to our overall winner, Mary, and best of luck as she represents our district at the regional final.”

Heat winners from each of Northern Ireland’s 11 councils will progress to The Ultimate Pitch regional final in Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy on 19th November.

Entrepreneurs had pitched to an expert judging panel including Anna Doherty, CEO of the Londonderry Chamber; Alastair Cameron founder of TechTides; and Joanne Sweeney, Project Director of GMEX North West.

As part of the prize package, Londonderry Chamber also provided office space in its incubation hub at 16 Bishop Street as well as membership of the Chamber for one year.

The overall winner at the regional final will receive the Go Succeed Ultimate Pitch Award, £5,000 investment, and a prize package including a photography session supplied by Brian Thompson Photography, podcast recording session supplied by Attention X Studio NI, membership of Toastmasters, and a media training session supplied by LK Communications.

Winners of sub-categories at the regional final, which include the Go Succeed Impact Award for the best social enterprise, the Go Succeed Inclusive Entrepreneurship Award, and the Go Succeed Rising Star Award for the most inspiring 16–25-year-old entrepreneur, will also receive £1,500 towards their business idea.

Meanwhile, members of the public will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite regional finalist to win the People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Ardmore Group, with the winner also receiving a £1,500 cash prize.

Go Succeed (www.go-succeed.com) is funded by the UK Government and delivered by Northern Ireland’s 11 councils. The service supports entrepreneurs, new starts and existing businesses with easy-to-access advice and support – including mentoring, masterclasses, peer networks, access to grant funding and business planning – at every stage of their growth journey.