In this episode, we sit down with Elena Levine, Founder and CEO of Forcoda and the newly launched Forcoda Ventures. Elena has spent over a decade building a US-based product and engineering agency from the ground up as an immigrant founder, shipping more than 200 projects for enterprise clients including M&T Bank, Shake Shack, Oral-B, and the University at Buffalo — while also helping startup clients collectively raise over $100m. Today, she runs curated investor luncheons in major US cities, sits on the founder side and the investor side of the table, and has rare 360-degree visibility into what actually moves a fundraising conversation forward.

In this conversation, we get into:

• Why clarity of thought is the single biggest differentiator Elena looks for in early-stage founders — and how investors read it in the first 30 seconds of an email or meeting.

• How to research investors properly before reaching out, including the underrated move of talking to founders already in their portfolio.

• What “smart money” actually means in practice, and how to spot the investors who will pick up the phone at 10pm on a Saturday — versus the ones you’ll regret bringing onto your cap table.

• Why approaching investors too early can damage a relationship for years, and how to find the right moment to start the conversation.

• The fine line between ego and confidence — and why Elena, raised in Russia, had to relearn how to talk about herself when she landed in the US.

If you’re an Irish founder preparing to raise capital in the US — or any non-American founder building a credible US footprint from abroad — this episode is packed with practical, candid advice from someone who has lived every side of the table.

Elena Levine is the Founder and CEO of Forcoda, an AI-first product and engineering agency she has built from the ground up over 12 years, shipping 200+ projects for US enterprise clients including M&T Bank, Shake Shack, Oral-B, and the University at Buffalo. Forcoda works across two tracks — rapid MVPs and prototypes for startups, and AI readiness, roadmaps, and agentic infrastructure for enterprise. She also founded Forcoda Ventures, which connects founders with US investors through curated luncheons in major cities, and is currently raising the firm’s first fund focused on early-stage fintech and AI companies. Having built her own company as an immigrant founder in the US market, Elena has a first-hand perspective on what it takes to land enterprise clients, raise from US investors, and build a credible American footprint from abroad.

Forcoda is an AI-first product and engineering agency founded in 2014. The firm has shipped over 200 projects for enterprise clients and funded startups, and operates two distinct tracks: rapid MVP and prototype delivery for early-stage founders, and AI readiness, roadmaps, and agentic infrastructure for enterprise. Its sister venture, Forcoda Ventures, runs curated investor luncheons that connect founders with 15–20 hand-picked US investors per session, and is raising a debut fund targeting fintech and AI companies.

Want to get in contact with the Digital Irish team? Email us at [email protected]

About Elena Levine
About Forcoda

Digital Irish podcast celebrates Irish innovation and the Irish startup ecosystem: connecting founders, investors, and innovators across Ireland, the diaspora, and beyond. Each episode features candid conversations with VCs, entrepreneurs, and business leaders sharing the real story behind building companies: the setbacks, the playbooks, and the lessons you don't find in press releases. Whether you're plugged into the Irish startup scene or part of the Irish community abroad, Digital Irish is your window into one of the world's most connected startup communities.

In this episode, we sit down with Stephen Tallon, a Partner at McCann FitzGerald, one of Ireland's leading law firms, where his practice focuses on emerging companies, venture capital, and M&A. Stephen trained in Ireland before spending almost a decade in London at Orrick, a global firm with deep roots in Silicon Valley, where he worked on some of the biggest deals across Europe and the US — including transactions involving Stripe, Revolut, and Salesforce Ventures. He's since returned home to Ireland with his family and joined McCann FitzGerald, which has one of the largest and most experienced emerging company and VC teams in the country, advising founders from pre-seed all the way to exit.

In this conversation, we get into the legal side of fundraising that most founders overlook until it's too late. We cover:

• What investment readiness actually means from a legal standpoint, and what VCs are really evaluating in those first conversations

• Why your cap table could make or break a deal before it even gets started

• What founders consistently get wrong before and after signing a term sheet

• The key terms founders should push back on and which ones are genuinely non-negotiable

• What a Delaware flip actually involves for Irish companies pursuing US investment, and when to do it

If you're an Irish founder thinking about raising investment, this episode is packed with practical, honest advice on how to protect yourself and set your company up for the long run.

About Stephen Tallon

Stephen Tallon is a Partner at McCann FitzGerald LLP, where he focuses on emerging companies, venture capital, and M&A. He trained in Ireland before moving to London in 2017 to join Orrick, a global law firm headquartered in San Francisco, where he spent almost a decade advising on landmark transactions across Europe and the US with companies including Stripe, Revolut, Butternut Box, Graphcore, Salesforce Ventures, and Macquarie. Now back in Ireland, Stephen works with founders and investors at every stage, from pre-seed through to exit.

About McCann FitzGerald

With over 640 people across four countries and more than 480 lawyers and legal professionals, McCann FitzGerald LLP is one of Ireland's premier law firms. Operating from offices in Dublin, London, New York, and Brussels, the firm provides expert legal counsel to clients in Ireland and around the world across corporate, banking and financial services, disputes, and real estate. McCann FitzGerald has a long-standing reputation for innovation and excellence, and its emerging company and VC team is one of the largest and most experienced in Ireland.

Want to get in contact with the Digital Irish team? Email us at [email protected]

Marty Loughlin is back for round two. Where the first conversation was about why Irish founders think globally, this one's about what actually happens inside the room. Dave and Marty get into how DIVF makes decisions, what they do after the cheque is written, and some pretty blunt advice for any founder preparing to raise.

Marty Loughlin is a partner at the Digital Irish Venture Fund (DIVF), the fund built on the back of the Digital Irish Angels investment group, founded in 2016. DIVF backs Irish founders scaling globally with a particular focus on those entering the US market, drawing on a network of Irish-American business leaders across the diaspora.

What we cover

• What Marty looks for in a first founder meeting
• DIVF's playbook after the cheque is written
• How to know if you're actually ready to raise
• The pitch deck advice every founder needs to hear

Get in touch

• Marty Loughlin: [email protected]
• Learn more about DIVF: digitalirishfund.com
• [email protected]

In this episode, we sit down with Marius Smyth of the Digital Irish Venture Fund (DIVF) for a follow-up to our earlier conversations with Marty Loughlin. Where Marty walked us through how DIVF picks founders and the realities of pitching the fund, Marius zooms out to the layer underneath: how DIVF is building the Irish diaspora into a working venture ecosystem rather than relying on it as a goodwill network. He is leading the build-out of a physical “Green Room” for Irish founders in New York, architecting the fund’s co-investment strategy, and thinking hard about where a fund of DIVF’s size best fits in an industry increasingly polarised between mega-funds and solo angels.

In this conversation, we get into:

• Why the Irish network is a sourcing engine, not just a hospitality network — and what DIVF is building to keep it commercial rather than a mutual appreciation society.

• How DIVF co-invests alongside other funds without becoming dependent on whoever is leading the round.

• Why the right place for an Irish venture fund right now is not at either end of the cheque-size spectrum, and where DIVF deliberately sits.

• The most practical first step for a founder coming out of Ireland with no US network, plus where the gaps still are in the Irish ecosystem itself.

If you’re an Irish founder building for the US market — or thinking about the next layer of infrastructure the diaspora needs — this episode is the strategic counterpart to Marty’s tactical advice from the earlier episodes.

About the Digital Irish Venture Fund (DIVF)

DIVF is an early-stage venture firm focused on Irish and Irish diaspora founders building for global markets. The fund operates as “friendly operators” rather than traditional shark VCs — providing hands-on operating help, warm introductions, and access to a diaspora network across New York, London and Dublin after the cheque is written. DIVF co-invests alongside other funds and works alongside the broader Irish ecosystem — Enterprise Ireland, universities, accelerators, and angels — to bring strong Irish companies into the US market.

Want to get in contact with the Digital Irish team? Email us at [email protected]

In this episode, we sit down with Michael O'Loughlin, Managing Partner at Argonautic Global, to get into the practical realities of Irish companies entering the US market. Michael has spent two decades working across banking, payments, regulation, central banking and venture capital — with experience spanning Ireland, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. Before his current role, he served as Chief Advisor to the Deputy Governor at the Saudi Central Bank and Strategic Advisor to Fintech Saudi, helping build one of the region's fastest growing fintech ecosystems from the ground up.

This episode is about what actually works when Irish companies come to the US — and what doesn't. We cover:

• Michael's journey from Ireland to Rochester and the investing lens it shaped

• The different types of investing he's involved in, from angel to growth equity, and why that full picture matters

• The readiness threshold — revenue, product maturity, team size — before a US move makes sense

• The mindset shift required when moving from raising in Ireland to raising in the US

• Where Enterprise Ireland's support ends and where the founder has to take over

• How much warm introductions actually matter versus cold outreach, and how to get in the room

• What investors want to understand first when looking at an early-stage company

• What a well-prepared founder looks like walking into a meeting

• Red flags that signal a company isn't ready, even when the product is interesting

• What Irish companies that land well in the US do differently

If you're an Irish founder thinking about the US, or anyone working in the Irish startup ecosystem on either side of the Atlantic, this one is worth your time.

About Michael O'Loughlin

Michael O'Loughlin is Managing Partner at Argonautic Global, focused on AI, fintech and emerging technology infrastructure across global markets. Over the past two decades he has worked across banking, payments, regulation, central banking, venture capital and international ecosystem development, with experience spanning Ireland, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. Previously, Michael served as Chief Advisor to the Deputy Governor at the Saudi Central Bank and Strategic Advisor to Fintech Saudi. He remains actively involved in the Irish technology and investment ecosystem through initiatives including Blockchain Ireland.

About Argonautic Global

Argonautic Global invests in AI, fintech and emerging technology infrastructure across global markets, with a focus on identifying and backing companies with the potential to scale internationally.

Connect with Michael

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oloughlinio/

• Argonautic Global: https://argonauticventures.com/

  Blockchain Ireland: https://www.blockchainireland.ie/

Marty Loughlin from the Digital Irish Venture Fund joins Dave to unpack what makes Irish founders default to global markets from day one, why Ireland punches so far above its weight on founder output, and what the next wave of Irish startups crossing the Atlantic means for the US-Irish business ecosystem. If you're an Irish founder thinking about scaling internationally, or anyone curious about why Stripe, Wayflyer and Tynes aren't accidents, this one's for you.

Marty Loughlin is a partner at the Digital Irish Venture Fund (DIVF), the fund built on the back of the Digital Irish Angels investment group, founded in 2016. DIVF backs Irish founders scaling globally with a particular focus on those entering the US market, drawing on a network of Irish-American business leaders across the diaspora.

What We Cover

• Why Irish founders default to global from day one

• How founder ambition has shifted in the last five years

• The biggest mistakes Irish founders make breaking into the US

• What DIVF looks for, and why traction matters most

• This is the second episode in Digital Irish’s Venture Capital and Fundraising Demystified series: designed to pull back the curtain on raising capital for Irish founders and give you the confidence to walk into any funding conversation knowing exactly what’s on the other side of the table.

• In this episode, we sit down with Jeremy Harper, Partner and Director of Investments at ERA — the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator in New York City. ERA has been running for 15 years, backing around 30 companies a year, and has a remarkable track record: roughly 80% of companies that go through the programme go on to raise follow-on capital.

• Jeremy has been at ERA for nearly all of that journey. He brings deep pattern recognition on what separates founders who succeed at raising from those who struggle — and a lot of it comes down to one core mindset shift: funding is a tool, not the finish line.

• We dive deep into:

• What an accelerator actually does beyond the cheque — and how ERA’s in-person, intensive model prepares founders for venture funding.

• Why investors don’t want to hear how you’ll spend the money — and what they actually want to hear instead.

• How to structure your investor updates — including why you need two separate lists and what goes in each.

• How to protect your equity across multiple funding rounds and avoid the painful scenario of selling your company for millions but walking away with very little.

• What ERA actually looks for in applications — and the one thing that catches their attention every time.

• If you’re an Irish founder thinking about raising venture capital — whether that’s tomorrow or two years from now — this episode will change how you think about the whole process. Part of Digital Irish’s ongoing series demystifying venture capital for Irish founders.

• Jeremy Harper is Partner and Director of Investments at ERA (Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator), one of New York City’s most established early-stage accelerators. He has been with ERA for nearly 14 years and has worked with hundreds of founders across every stage of the venture journey.

• ERA runs two cohorts per year, backing around 30 companies annually, and has built a 15-year track record of helping founders get venture-ready. Around 80% of ERA graduates go on to raise follow-on capital after the programme.

• To learn more about ERA or get in touch with Jeremy directly, visit eranyc.com.

• Want to get in contact with us? Email [email protected]
  

• This episode is the first part of our series designed to demystify venture capital for Irish founders — pulling back the curtain on how VCs really think, what they look for, and how to build relationships with them long before you ever need to raise.

• In this episode, we sit down with Amy Neale, Delta Partners, one of Ireland’s most active early-stage venture capital firms. Amy works closely with ambitious founders from the earliest stages of their journey, often well before they are ready to raise a formal round.

• Amy shares her perspective on what makes a great founding team, how they think about supporting companies from the very beginning, and the types of opportunities they are most excited about right now.

• We dive deep into:

• How Amy approaches early-stage investing and what they look for in founders.

• Why they prefer to meet founders early and what that relationship looks like.

• The sectors and technologies they are most excited about in the Irish ecosystem today.

• Practical advice for Irish founders thinking about their funding journey.

• If you’re building a technology company in Ireland or thinking about raising investment, this episode is packed with insights and a clear signal on how to get on Delta Partners’ radar.

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• Amy Neale is a Partner at Delta Partners, one of Ireland’s leading early-stage venture capital firms. She is passionate about backing ambitious Irish founders and has deep experience supporting companies from ideation through to growth.

• Delta Partners invests in Irish and Ireland-connected founders building scalable technology businesses. They are known for engaging with founders early — often before companies are formally fundraising — and for providing hands-on support throughout the journey.

• To learn more about Delta Partners, visit www.deltapartners.com — there you’ll find an easy way to book time with their team.

• Want to get in contact? Email us at [email protected]

This podcast episode is a featured highlight from our live Digital Irish webinar. To see the full presentation, including the technical deep dives and audience Q&A, watch the video here connect.digitalirish.com

• In this episode, we’re cutting through the noise of AI experimentation to look at what it actually takes to get a model into production inside a global enterprise.
• We’re joined by Conor Twomey, Co-Founder and CEO of AI One, an Irish-founded firm that specializes in making AI work inside complex, real-world environments. With a career spanning 17 years—including building real-time analytics for Formula One track-side strategy—Conor brings a "deployment over theory" mindset that is rare in today’s hype-filled market.

• Moderated by Gavin McMahon, this session explores how organizations can connect AI strategy to real operational outcomes without the nightmare of costly re-platforming or abstract "science projects."

About Conor Twomey

A proud graduate of UCC and the University of Limerick, Conor is a prominent voice in the global Irish tech diaspora. In addition to leading AI One, he serves on the boards of GOAL USA and the UCC Alumni Board.