Advertisement

Enterprise Ireland showcases its "brightest and best" Irish start-ups

More than half of all Irish start-ups are based outside of Dublin. Representatives from hundreds ...
Newstalk
Newstalk

14.22 14 Feb 2018


Share this article


Enterprise Ireland showcases i...

Enterprise Ireland showcases its "brightest and best" Irish start-ups

Newstalk
Newstalk

14.22 14 Feb 2018


Share this article


More than half of all Irish start-ups are based outside of Dublin.

Representatives from hundreds of companies supported by Enterprise Ireland met in Croke Park this morning to showcase their products.

Enterprise Ireland invested €31m in Irish start-ups last year, supporting a total of 181 companies.

Advertisement

A total of 555 of those start-ups were based outside of Dublin.

This morning’s showcase was attended by over 600 companies, investors and representatives of the start-up ecosystem.

One of them is Jason Sheehy from Ikydz – a device which give parents the ability to control their children’s internet access in the home.

Mr Sheehy has this advice for somebody thinking of setting up their own business:

Enterprise Ireland showcases its "brightest and best" Irish start-ups

00:00:00 / 00:00:00

“If you believe in it, go for it,” he said. “Because you will always regret it after the event.”

“You will always sit back and say well what if I did or want if I didn’t.

“What is the worst that can happen? It may not work out but hey, what if it works out?

The companies supported by Enterprise Ireland last year include:

  • 90 new High Potential Start-Ups (HPSU) –businesses with the potential to create 10 jobs and €1million in sales within three to four years of starting up
  • 91 new Competitive Start Funds (CSF), which inject critical early stage funding into new businesses
  • 67 investments in female-led start-ups
  • 15 spin-out companies from the third-level sector
  • 166 entrepreneurs participating in the nationwide New Frontiers programme
  • 18 investments in overseas entrepreneurs who have moved to Ireland to establish their businesses 

Joe Healy, Divisional Manager of the HPSU Division of Enterprise Ireland said the showcase was a “celebration of the brightest and best entrepreneurs that we worked with in 2017.”

He said Brexit poses a number of opportunities for those thinking of setting up their own business – insisting it is an exciting time to get moving:

“Because Brexit is in the air, that causes uncertainly,” he said. “And uncertainty is fantastic fro start-up companies because it is the established businesses that will be most likely affected by Brexit.

“So an awful lot of our start-up companies are looking to the UK – and there is great business for the mover there; there is great opportunity.

“And it is nothing to do with Brexit – it is because they have great products and services and they are coming in and innovating and doing things much better and cheaper and faster than the businesses in the UK.”

He said entrepreneurship is all about having ambition, adding “then you put the other bits behind it.”

“There are a lot of supports out there for every type of entrepreneur,” he said.

“There is no better time to be an entrepreneur.

“There is plenty of opportunity and there are plenty of supports.

He said that provided a start-up can display the correct traits, Enterprise Ireland will work with it directly and attempt to scale it internationally.


Share this article


Read more about

News

Most Popular