AN IRISH COMPANY which will offer on online price comparisons for do-it-yourself projects has beaten competitors from around the world to be picked for a top Silicon Valley startup programme.

BonzaQuote, based in Greystones, County Wicklow, will take part in the next Blackbox Connect scheme with 14 other startups from Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

The company, which bills itself as the “world’s leading DIY price comparison website”, will operates like airfare-search site Skyscanner but for home improvement projects.

It allows users to compare prices on all the components for a job, from power tools to safety equipment to screws and nails.

BonzaQuote is due to launch in Ireland this summer, followed by a UK launch in the last three months of the year and a US push some time in 2016.

The startup’s CEO Jack Drea, a former champion rower, went through two rounds of video interviews to be selected for the programme.

At Blackbox Connect it will now get the chance to rub shoulders with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and make a pitch to investors.

Previous Irish participants in the Silicon Valley programme include highly regarded companies like Restored Hearing and Newswhip.

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