Kota raises over $14m in Series A round to drive its worker-benefits software
The company, formerly called Yonder, also announced it has secured a Central Bank of Ireland licence, becoming one of the only tech platforms regulated to deliver benefits across Europe.
Kota (as Yonder) was founded by CEO Luke Mackey, Patrick O'Boyle and Deepak Baliga.
Its customers include Zoe Health, Poolside, Carwow, Tines, &Open and Protex AI. Kota integrates with some of Europe's largest insurance providers, including Vitality in the UK, ONVZ in the Netherlands, Sanitas in Spain, Irish Life Health in Ireland and Allianz Global Care internationally.
The company says that the funding will be used to expand the Kota workforce, increase the variety of insurance carrier partners in its products and accelerate customer acquisition.
The Series A round was led by Eurazeo, which is listed on Euronext Paris, along with existing investors EQT Ventures, Northzone, Frontline Ventures, and new investors 9Yards and Plug and Play.
Employee benefits are systematically undervalued and expensive
The company's service aims to fix what it calls a 'broken' system where a combination of old-fashioned insurance or benefits providers, PDFs and manual processes make benefits inaccessible and unmanageable to a lot of employees.
The company claims to fix this, comparing itself to Revolut's effect on traditional banking.
It integrates directly with insurers and pension providers, giving employees immediate access and control, as well as giving HR teams a single platform to manage everything.
'Employee benefits, which can make up 25pc of total compensation, are systematically undervalued and expensive,' said Luke Mackey, Kota's CEO.
'I experienced this as a founder and a general manager, managing benefits in email, between brokers and insurance companies, completely disconnected and alien from anything else in the business. It's entirely out of date. Ultimately, no one on the team connected or engaged with them, no matter how much we invested.
'It's not surprising. Insurance benefits are delivered in clunky portals or in PDFs, which is so unengaging compared to the financial experiences employees are used to.
'Kota integrates directly with insurance companies so we can control that experience and make it easy to roll out and run benefits, no matter who you are or where your team is.
'This means that employees can quickly understand, enrol, access coverage, retirement plans, or other benefits, and actually value them.'
Kota says that employee benefits, while growing into a $70bn market, are still 'unfit' for lean, forward-thinking start-ups and scale-ups populated by millennials and Gen Z workers.
'With a tech-first approach, they've built a robust technical and financial infrastructure,' said Elise Stern from Eurazeo.
'This includes deep integrations with insurers across dozens of countries, visibility across the benefits stack, and a seamless API that allows partners from HR information systems to payroll to embed benefits natively.'
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Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Irish Independent
Death of an Irish institution? New Sunday Independent/Ireland Thinks poll reveals how few go to the pub every week
While the local watering hole was once regarded as an 'Irish institution', the study found only 9pc of people said they go to the pub once a week, 7pc went every fortnight and 19pc said they went just once a month. The cost of alcohol in bars is believed to be one reason why many don't pull up a bar stool any more. Meanwhile, Gen Z – those 28 and under – are less likely to drink alcohol at all, with many prioritising hobbies, health and wellness. Michael Kilcoyne, chair of the Consumers' Association of Ireland, said the fact that the Irish pub was no longer popular, is 'worrying from a community and societal aspect'. 'Pubs down the country have been affected badly due to a lack of transport,' Mr Kilcoyne said. 'And in general, the price of alcohol in pubs is too high for a lot of people struggling with high rent and mortgages. 'Others are trying to save for a mortgage and many are living in their parents' box rooms, just unable to afford a night out at the pub. 'This means pub staff will lose their jobs and also impacts the coming together of people as a community in Ireland. 'The pub is where friends, family and colleagues always met and what have we got if we're not meeting up to socialise? A lack of community, isolation, loneliness and a lack of community spirit. 'That's really a very bad thing and it seems this Government has switched off to the reality of what people are going through in Ireland today. 'People just don't have the money to go to the pub to socialise or even go on holiday due to the cost of living and wages not being high enough to meet it.' The survey found 40pc of people can't afford to take a summer holiday this year while 55pc said they could and 5pc were unsure. Pub landlords contacted by the Irish Independent weren't available to talk or didn't wish to comment on the issue. But the CEO of the Vintner's Federation of Ireland, Pat Crotty, a former publican, told RTÉ: 'It's very difficult. The net position for the publican outside of an urban area is that he's dying slowly.' He added: 'Even for pubs relying on tourists, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has shown tourist numbers are down at a time when they should be up.' Mr Crotty said publicans are in a difficult situation with regards to legal and financial obligations, and very few can continue in the position they are in.
RTÉ News
5 days ago
- RTÉ News
Irish publicans on the bar trade: "The show is basically over"
As nightclub numbers are dwindling, and Gen Z pivots away from booze, we ask publications how the Irish pub is doing in 2025. Kate Demolder writes. Ireland's pubs are closing, so say publicans and industry experts who have watched the decline in recent years. Once a bona fide third space, the Irish pub – a venue for celebration, commiseration and kinship [whether you're drinking or not] – is hitting breaking point, according to publicans. And the reasons for this are plenty. First up is price; in a time when drinks can leave you without change from a €10 note, the desire to have a tipple can wane. Second, they say, is education; a country known for its affiliation with alcohol, the average Irish person has seen the ravages of addiction first-hand, meaning the process of indulging in a night of drinking may have lost its initial appeal. Third is a change in consumer behaviour; one can't browse the internet these days without seeing another article about how Gen Z don't drink, instead choosing to spend time at gym classes and running clubs. "I have four kids aged between 22 and 30 and they're all gym bunnies," John Byrne, owner of The Lark Inn on Meath Street, says. "You see the younger generation in the pub maybe once a week for a match or a party, but you also might go a couple of months without seeing them. They don't see the pub as a way of socialising. And for those trying to save for a mortgage, forget about it." Byrne has worked on Meath Street for 35 years, often serving generations of the same family. Though tourists coming from the Guinness Storehouse bolster sales, he remains loyal to his locals. That said, he's had to pivot to innovative tactics to tempt young people in. "Quiz nights, bingo nights… different things to try give them a reason." He also refuses to raise his prices in an attempt to stand by his clientele. "Price is a massive thing," he says. "We charge €5 for a pint of Guinness and €5.50 for lager. Just last week, I was in town with my wife, and we paid double that. "People have a pop at me, saying you won't be making money charging those prices, but we're just trying to give people a reason to come out. It's a struggle, but once we're able to pay our bills and wages and have a little bit leftover, then we'll keep doing what we're doing." For Colm Redmond, of Johnny O'Loughlin's pub at The Zetland Country House Hotel in Connemara, the case is much the same. Redmond regularly makes headlines for his €4.50 pint of Guinness. "We're not trying to make money, we're just trying to keep customers," he says. Redmond is positive that business never picked up post-COVID. "A huge amount of people drink at home, which I genuinely believe is terrible for their mental health. The pub was never just about the booze, it was about teas and coffees and chats – and an awful lot of people are missing that." Back in March, French lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a bill making it easier to open bars in villages, a move aimed at reviving social lives in rural communities. France had just seen a sharp fall from about 200,000 bars and cafés serving alcohol in the 1960s to some 36,000 by 2015. Most of the closures were in rural areas, and echo the current situation in Ireland. According to a Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) study, some 114 pubs on average have closed across the country every year of the last 18. The study, conducted in August 2024, claims that 2,054 pubs have ceased trading in Ireland since 2005, a reduction of 24%. Every one of the 26 counties in the Republic has seen the number of pubs in it decrease over the last two years, with closure rates highest in more rural counties. CEO of the Vintner's Federation of Ireland, Pat Crotty, who himself is a former publican, needs just a few words to convey why publicans are shutting their doors. "It's very difficult," he says of running an Irish pub today. "The net position for the publican outside of an urban area is that he's dying slowly." Even for pubs relying on tourists, the CSO has shown that tourist numbers are down at a time when they should be up." Crotty insists that publicans' hands are tied by way of legal and financial obligations, and that very few can go on at the rate they're currently going. "Inflation, the Living Wage, VAT, excise tax, water costs… It's tax on tax on tax. The thing is that the government continues to make these decisions that affect publicans around the country, without consulting publicans. "And to make matters worse, publicans submit their forms with all the details of their financials, so the guys making the decisions know whether or not they can afford it. And in a lot of cases, they can't. Which is why pubs are opening on fewer days, the service is getting worse, and so many are closing." Echoing this is Redmond: "Tapas bars are Spain at its best, and that's because anyone can go there and not have to spend too much to have a great meal and a glass of wine or whatever. Irish hospitality spots have to spend €30,000-€40,000 [on a kitchen] to sell a rasher. Those kinds of prices force restaurants to charge high prices, which means people can't go." The story of the Irish pub is one that is riddled with archaic and uncomfortable regulations. A prior example was the "Holy Hour," a practice introduced in the 1920s which dictated that all pubs be closed for an hour on Sundays, usually between 2pm and 4pm, in an attempt to curtail afternoon drinking by the workforce. Most pubs at the time simply shuttered their doors and continued to serve patrons inside. Realising this, the stipulation was dropped in 1999. The following year, a new requirement was listed. One that insisted meals be served to patrons of any establishment where alcohol was sold. The rule was dubbed the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2000, and regularly saw vats of chicken curry or chicken and chips carted around nightclubs and late licensed pubs as the music was stopped in an attempt to get people to eat. Most didn't, but it didn't matter. Some pubs simply placed a meal beside the pub's hatch to ward off Gardaí in case they came knocking. "Back then, gardaí would have looked in the door to see everyone was either being compliant or gone home," Crotty says. "Today, if they even looked, there would be nobody there." A 2024 benchmarking survey by the VFI found that 36% of pub turnover is currently consumed by labour costs alone, and that figure will increase to over 40% with the introduction of the Living Wage. The same survey found that 37% of publicans are considering retirement within the next two years, and 84% report that no family member wishes to inherit the pub. The pub's pivot in society from the main social setting to one of several might be responsible for this, so says Dr Perry Share, head of student success at Atlantic Technological University in Sligo and co-editor of the upcoming book The Irish Pub: Invention and Reinvention. There was no particular point when this shift happened, he says, but a number of different contemporary factors have resulted in a gradual pivot on a rolling basis from pub culture. "Drink driving legislation, the smoking ban, the rise in cafés, how people's houses are now invested in meaning that pubs no longer feel as necessary, bypasses, motorways, people buying better cars so they don't need to stop on long trips… they're all responsible," he says. "And that's the same across Europe. It's also not pub-specific. Places like hardware shops, banks, newsagents, post offices and a whole range of other businesses have been reduced in recent years to make way for consolidation. "Since the start of this century, I've noticed a drop from 13 pubs in my local town to four. And for the ones that remain, the owners are retiring and they're either going to be left empty or turned into residential spaces." Dr Share says that the difficulty in running a pub is also exacerbated by capital-rich groups which run multiple chains and locations at once. "It's hard to compete without being a niche development like, say, Fidelity in Smithfield, or having the backing of international capital. That said, while I don't think the Irish pub is going to disappear, I do know that certain types are disappearing all the time. The roadside pub being a perfect example." Despite this, Ireland still ranks third in the world for the number of pubs per capita, as per a survey by the Health Research Board. (The country listed with the highest number of pubs per capita is Slovakia - officially the Slovak Republic - while the second is Hungary.) However, figures collated by the blog Every Pub In Dublin show a stark reality. Just 30 new drinking holes – including replacement openings, rebrands and franchised developments like Pitch on Nassau Street – opened in 2024. Only two, however, are listed as "normal" pub openings: Old Fashioned Sams on Montague Street and Porter's on Camden Street. What does this mean? "An overreliance on tourism and international capital," Dr Share is certain. Could this be the decline of pub culture as we know it? "It's possible," Crotty says. "I hope not, but it is." And finally, when asked what he might say to someone who was enthusiastic to start up a pub, Redmond sighed before replying: "You're crazy. There's no future in the bar trade in rural Ireland unless things change dramatically. The show is basically over." Nobody's under any illusions about the future. In Dublin, Connemara or a roadside in Clare, the Irish pub is being put on the back burner. The question remains, however, where do we go now for our third space? With nightclubs and pubs closing, and late-night cafés practically non-existent, the only hope for the future of nightlife in Ireland is one that centres on systemic and legislative change. The ideas are there, and the will is too. The only thing that won't be? According to Crotty: "Pubs, if nothing changes from here on out."
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Irish Examiner
'I'm not against food influencers — as long as they aren't just trying to get a free meal'
If there's one thing that's inescapable, it's social media. We're all on one platform or another and it's reported that more than 60% of the world's population are social media users. While some might use it as a way to connect, a large slice count themselves as influencers who engage with their audience and guide their habits. In the food and drink world, there are influencers everywhere you look. Whether it's amateur food critics or recipe developers, whatever you're into, you'll find it online. Here, in Ireland, homegrown food influencers have proven their worth across the sector, particularly since the beginning of the pandemic, promoting venues across the country, collaborating with those in the industry, and helping to create a richer, more inclusive digital food scene. But what do those working within the industry think of them? For Janet Liu, founder of the award-winning dumpling spot Janet's, located at Dublin's Eatyard, social media and food influencers have been crucial in her journey to success. Janet Liu: It changed my life when influencers started to post about my food 'I started posting on Instagram when I opened Janet's in 2020 but I didn't know what I was doing. My simple strategy has always been to offer good food and the best customer service, then if people like it, they might share,' explains Liu. 'I haven't done any paid promotion with influencers, but I have invited some to my dumpling classes, but only those that were my true customers first. 'I have to know that they've tried my food. The invite was a way to show I appreciate them. There wasn't any pressure to post — I thought if they want to, then they might post, but if they don't want to, then they don't need to. 'Some did post, like Dublin Foodie Twins, and I remember when Marcus [O'Laoire] posted, people really started booking. It meant that in the winter time, when the restaurant is not as busy, I was kept going and could give my staff enough hours. It changed my life, when influencers started to post and the bookings started.' A DJ and food content creator currently working as brand director for Lovin' Dublin, Marcus O'Laoire has grown a massive following for his videos. His video highlighting the dumpling-making experience at Janet's has been viewed more than 40,000 times on Instagram and almost 10,000 times on TikTok. Boasting around 120,000 followers across both platforms, O'Laoire says that his followers generally fall within the 23-40 age bracket, with most based in Dublin, to which he's tailored his content. It's a clever strategy as this age group makes up the majority of social media users, with millennials topping the list, followed closely by Gen Z. Targeting the latter has become a crucial task for the hospitality industry as recent reports from global market research firm CGA by NIQ found that one in seven Gen Z adults say they're more likely to buy a drink based on 'Instagrammability' and to select a brand or restaurant based on how trendy it is. In short, if you're not trending, you need to think again. 'I basically use TikTok as a search engine now. When I'm looking for somewhere to go out and eat, I open the app and search, or check videos I've saved, then I pick from there. If their feed isn't great or I don't see that many videos from other people about that restaurant, that might change my mind,' explains marketing professional Emma Blanchfield, who counts herself as a serious consumer of food-related social media. While established restaurant critics will be the first port of call for many, Emma leans towards social media for her recommendations. 'Before, maybe I would have checked Tripadvisor or top-10 listicles, but I don't know the last time I've looked at those — now I actively search TikTok for recommendations. 'That's the beauty of these apps, they've given anyone the ability to post. This new wave of content creators seems more organic, more authentic, and natural, and that's what I like.' Marcus O'Laoire has grown a massive following for his videos. Being authentic while striking a balance between branded and original content seems to be key when enticing, and retaining, followers. For O'Laoire, that's translated to about 5% ads within the last 138 videos he's posted — after challenging himself to post a video a day this year so far, he's seen his followers grow by thousands, and his authenticity is something he believes is a big part of this. 'It's absolutely key to what makes good social media. If you're not authentic, people can smell it a mile away and if all you're doing is branded content people tire of that really quickly. You have to be authentic and understand your own voice. Creating with intent and understanding makes a difference,' he explains. 'There's a bit of mutual back scratching when it comes to the hospitality industry, I suppose. I try to communicate the food I'm cooking and the restaurants I eat at, and I think that I'm lucky to have a platform where I can champion the industry a bit.' If the role of the influencer is to champion and highlight food in Ireland, then it might stand to reason that the relationship between the creator and the industry is symbiotic. While it is to a degree — that's why you see people posting off their own back and restaurateurs extending invites to influencers in the hopes of seeing a TikTok or two appear — it's not wholly viewed that way by all. For Keelan Higgs, owner of Michelin-starred Variety Jones ( @variety_jones) in Dublin, he's seen the benefit of the restaurant's own social media, but isn't fully sure about influencers and their impact on his business. Keelin Higgs in the Michelin-starred Variety Jones 'Of course, social media is a very important tool — we have 20,000 followers for the restaurant now on our own platforms, and that helps to get our message out there, but whether that actually helps to get people into the restaurant regularly, I don't know,' Higgs says. 'We haven't done any sort of paid content with any influencers. I'm not saying I'm against it, but it would have to really align with what we're trying to do. I know we've popped up on influencer videos, and I have no issue with it, as long as there aren't influencers trying to come in and get a free meal in exchange for a video, that gets a bit sticky for me. 'At this level, more people find us through the Michelin app than anything else but you'd be a fool to think that influencer videos don't help get what you're doing out there to more people. For me, I like to think what's good for the goose is good for the gander, and long may that continue.' And yes, our feeds are saturated, but according to Claudia Surya, the face behind @eatdrinkdub, there is still a long way to go for food influencers and their relationships with the hospitality industry in Ireland. In fact, Surya says Ireland is behind our global counterparts when it comes to partnerships. Claudia Surya: 'I'm not sure people fully value content creation and what it can do' 'I started my page when I moved to Ireland seven years ago, purely to find places to eat. I didn't buy magazines or newspapers so I created this page to help educate people on places in Dublin. 'At events now, there's usually a combination of influencers and journalists, so I think we're now equally important to brands, but I think Ireland is behind other countries when it comes to the relationship between hospitality and influencers,' Surya says. 'In Asia and in London, the relationship is much stronger. I think, for it to serve everyone, the hospitality industry needs to get better at marketing or have people who will engage the right influencers to represent their brand. Learning to approach content creators and influencers will help the industry. 'I'm not sure people fully value content creation and influencing, and what it can do.' Food lovers to follow Marcus O'Laoire, Cassie Stokes, Claudia Surya, and Éadaoin Fitzmaurice Marcus O'Laoire While he's been a familiar presence online over the past decade, DJ, brand director at Lovin' Dublin, and former chef Marcus O'Laoire has seen his online popularity grow massively in 2025 — he now has almost 100k followers on Instagram ( @ and 23.1k on TikTok with almost half a million likes on the latter platform. Posting a combination of easy-to-follow recipes, restaurant recommendations, travel content, and personal stories, O'Laoire has become a trusted source for his followers thanks to his easy-going everyman personality and level of interaction. Cassie Stokes Focused on food, travel, and Irish pubs, Cassie Stokes has 88.1k followers on TikTok ( @cassiestokes1111), with almost two million likes on her videos, and 248k followers on Instagram, where you can find her at @cassiestokes. A former television presenter and content creator for Lovin' Dublin, Stokes went viral for her 'Best of' videos where she interviews people about their favourite cafes, pubs, and restaurants around the country and beyond. With engaging and easy-to-consume content, Stokes' videos highlight spots worth travelling to and trying. You can expect to see recommendations and experiences mixed in with taste tests, travel vlogs, and cooking videos on her channel. Hugely popular, Stokes has seen her content go viral plenty of times, with upwards of one million views on some of her videos. Éadaoin Fitzmaurice Savvy gaeilgeoir Éadaoin Fitzmaurice has a CV rich in content creation that has led her to create her social media services company FIA, but she's well known for her work with The Try Channel on YouTube, the Going Viral podcast, and formerly with Lovin' Dublin. Prevalent on Instagram with 314k followers and TikTok, where she has 157.5k followers and 3.7 million likes (you'll find her at @eadaoinfitzmaurice on both), Fitzmaurice's content highlights travel and lists of things to try or places to visit, all centred around food. She has made a name for herself thanks to videos like her personal travel itineraries, sea swim excursions, and must-try Irish places for first-time visitors, which gained her 7.4m views on Instagram alone. Claudia Surya The face behind @eatdrinkdub on Instagram (83.9k followers) and TikTok (65.8k followers and 1.7m likes), Surya's premium quality personable content focuses on food in Dublin and travel, with easily digestible videos her signature. You'll find that she covers food from all corners of the world across her platforms, highlighting personal favourites, and interactive experiences. With her dependable recommendations showcasing something for everyone, she focuses on the capital and the breadth of options available there, from Michelin level to favourite coffee shops, and everything in between.
