Member Spotlight: Culann mac Cabe, SEGOTIA

This week we sat down with SEGOTIA CEO and co-founder, Culann mac Cabe. SEGOTIA is an audio software integrator-turned Neurotech company.  

As we dive into this member spotlight, we asked Culann to explain what SEGOTIA does and what exactly the software incorporates. 

We started out doing audio software for “hearables” (headphones and earbuds) – you wouldn’t see our software: you’d hear it.  After some time doing that for others, we decided to back ourselves and place a bet that next-gen hearables would incorporate EEG (“brainwave”) sensors. Our Science and Software stack extracts “Neuromarkers” from such EEG data to infer information on the user’s brain state.  We’re currently producing the stack to enable next-gen App developers to drive “neuro-aware” applications… earbuds that listen to you!  The possibilities are mind-blowing (yeah, pun intended).   

The motivation behind joining the PorterShed can be answered a million different ways, so we asked Culann what drew him towards us and how long he has been a member… Having been a member of PorterShed for well over a year now, we asked Culann to share some of his insights into what it really means to work from PorterShed…

I joined PorterShed in March 2023, having previously mixed it up between home working and a traditional city centre office. Doing the whole ‘Tech Startup’ thing can sometimes be a lonely journey so I thought it would be good to get into a space with similar others… and my family wanted the dining room table back! 

Having been a member of PorterShed for well over a year now, we asked Culann to share some of his insights into what it really means to work from PorterShed…

For me… a few things stand out:

The Vibe: seeing others milling about doing their thing in a pleasant, social atmosphere works for me. It really is inspiring and even makes me work harder sometimes!

The Coffee: I’m a total coffee addict and appreciate the investment Portershed has made in this most important fuel!. It’s such a perk having a barista coffee machine right at my doorstep

We asked Culann does he has any fun facts he would like to share about himself… and he sure does, one you may already know…

When I was young and living in Sligo, my father had a crazy idea: to plant a Celtic symbol on a mountainside that could be seen from across Glencar Valley. So we outlined a “Trinity Knot” symbol on the mountain and instructed foresters to plant Larch trees inside the outline and Sitka Spruce outside.  The result: the Trinity Knot hides unseen during the Spring and Summer but come Autumn, when the larch trees turn yellow surrounded by evergreen Sitka Spruce, the Celtic Trinity Knot emerges…  it’s Celtic Art in forestry at a mountain scale! It’s still growing and looking good and some day it’ll be gone.  But it was a great idea and, in fact, the SEGOTIA logo is a 3D mathematical model of it! (Nerd alert!  it’s a genus-3 Torus     

Finally, as always, we asked Culann for any piece of advice he would give to someone looking to start their own business! 

Go for it! Don’t be afraid to back yourself – in fact you have to believe in yourself and your capabilities 1000% before anyone else can be expected to. And have FUN with it 

Connect with Culann here on Linkedin
Find out more about SEGOTIA

By Nigel Moran