From new wave technology to fresh pasta, there is hope on the horizon
WHERE will the jobs of tomorrow come from, and what sort of companies will lead the economic upturn for the next generation? Start-up business activity in Ireland is amongst the strongest in the world, with entrepreneurs consistently exploring new fields and previously untapped sectors of opportunity.
In a world made ever smaller by technology, these companies are carving out a niche for innovative products and services, competing in global markets and creating jobs at home. Despite the hugely challenging environment into which they were born, this new breed are demonstrating the opportunities for new business, particularly in bio-tech, medical, food, telecoms, internet services and other sectors.
“The impact of these companies should not be underestimated,” says Frank Ryan, chief executive officer of Enterprise Ireland. “This is not just in terms of the jobs they create across the regions, but also in terms of their capacity to grow rapidly, achieve international scale and contribute to export led growth and the revitalisation of the economy.
“These are an example of the entrepreneurs and companies with a solid focus on knowledge, innovation and research and development and the capability to establish strong positions in international markets, sustain international competitiveness and achieve export growth.”
For the class of 2011, the global landscape has changed completely over the last five years. The economic certainties of the past no longer apply for the new breed of entrepreneur, to whom distance and culture are advantages to be exploited. These are some of those success stories.
WAVEBOB is developing a unique Wave Energy Convertor — a “wavebob” — which harnesses the power of the ocean to produce clean, renewable energy.
The company is considered one of the world’s leading wave energy technologies. The Wavebob is a floating buoy device that will automatically adjust its response to suit the prevailing wave climate and so, maximise the amount of useful power that can be delivered to the electricity grid onshore. The Wavebob is the first Irish device and one of only a handful worldwide to have successfully harnessed the energy of the ocean waves. At full scale, each Wavebob is capable of producing in excess of a megawatt; enough electricity for over 700 homes.
For the past three years, the company has been testing 30kW devices in Galway Bay, and is working with Vattenfall, the Swedish utility, to develop a 250mW demonstration project off the west coast. Chief executive Andrew Parish (below, with the Wavebob) said a further project is planned for Portugal in the near future. The first commercial Wavebob devices may be deployed in multiple regions worldwide as soon as 2012. The US secretary of energy recently awarded the company a grant of €1.83 million to support Wavebob’s ongoing technical development in the US.
Mr Parish said: “While our company is not immune to the current downturn, it is somewhat protected in that clean technology and renewable energy are seen as opportunities for the future. The real challenge is that we are still pre-revenue, engaged in a heavy R&D agenda that is supported by inward investment — so the sources of capital in the current economic climate are harder to come by.
“One of the strategies that Wavebob has progressed in the last few years which has certainly helped us weather the current storm is to partner up with large companies like Spanish technology company Abengoa to work jointly on the research, development and commercialisation of wave energy systems.
“We are generously supported by Enterprise Ireland and other state agencies. Every hour of every day thousands of euroworth of ocean energy wash up on our shores. This immense, never depleting, clean energy sources is unlimited and untapped. Imagine the ability to harness that clean, free energy resource and put it to good work. Our role in Wavebob is to convert that immense ocean wave energy resource and create; a new energy future; new jobs; new wealth and energy independence.”
Name: Dial2Do Location: Dublin Sector: Software CEO: Ivan McDonald www.dial2do.com
Dial2Do is a phone service that lets you do things hands-free, using your voice. An electronic assistant that responds to a voice command or button on your headset, it lets users record reminders, send texts, check and respond to email, as well as a range of services such as Twitter, Evernote and many more, all by voice.
Reminders, messages, email and other recordings are converted to text — when you record a memo, it will arrive, “typed out”, in your email. You can also listen to the audio if you want. When driving, walking or on the move, Dial2Do fosters greater productivity using voice power. You can keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel.
“As we do most of our business in the US, the company is not really so exposed to the economic climate in Ireland,” said CEO Ivan McDonald.
“Business is going well for us, the world is still trading out there and happily our product has not been impacted much by the downturn. Access to funding has become very difficult for start-ups generally, and the Enterprise Ireland assistance was very important to us, as well as their overseas support.”
Name: EventElephant Location: Dublin Sector: Services CEO: Eamon O’Brien www.eventelephant.com
EventElephant is a self-service online product that makes it simple for anyone to organise any type of event online with a complete “set-up to sign-up” attendee management system available 24/7.
An online event registration platform as well as a membership registration service, its online ticketing tool makes it simple to manage ticket registrations and online payments for any type of event. There are no capital costs and no contracts for its event organisers and event managers.
EventElephant supports many different and diverse types of events including sports events, training seminars, conferences, festivals, corporate events, awards ceremonies, exhibitions and concerts.
An event manager can use EventElephant’s event ticket registration and ticket pre-sale software to take on-line payments, manage their attendees and promote their event. The company was launched in 2008 specifically to solve critical issues for event organisers — reducing costs, maximising time and increasing efficiency.
CEO Eamon O’Brien’s service transforms attendee management for organisers, makes a significant difference to their bottom line, and eliminates money collection issues.
“Our business is increasing all the time as more and more people move toward using the technology that we have in terms of event organisation and membership management,” said Mr O’Brien.
“We divide our staff roughly half and half between Dublin and London, which are our primary markets at the moment. Long-term, we see the world as our market. ”
Our business is very sales and customer support driven, and the proven functionality of our product continues to bring in more clients.
“We work with everybody from conference organisers to festival management. We definitely look to the future with plans to expand and increase staff.”
Name: Kidspotter Location: Dublin Sector: Services CEO: Liam Darling www.kidspotter.com
A LOCATION-BASED services company with the world’s first child in-motion tracking system designed for safety conscious venues, KidSpotter operates on a global platform in high-density vertical markets such as theme parks, leisure and shopping centres and other high footfall environments. The company stands alone as the only service provider delivering an all-encompassing child-locating solution to its target markets.
Chief executive Liam Darling said it is an easy-to-use solution, helping parents locate their child by a small GPS or wireless unit that broadcasts the child’s location to the KidSpotter server. In the event of a separation between parent and child, the parent texts the word “help” and the location of the device is returned to the parent’s phone and venue security.
Mr Darling said: “Business is great. We have just signed a slew of new contracts — including the third largest theme park operator in the world. Enterprise Ireland has been huge in helping us — not just for the financial support, but also in the areas they probably don’t get enough recognition for — networking, people on the ground in foreign countries. They were fantastic for us.
“The leisure park area is quite defined, and there are about 10 major players that we are going after. We are already involved with Europe’s largest park operator, and we are doing our first site in the US later this year.
The US is obviously huge, and we’re a bit like Boyzone in that regard — it’s the ultimate territory for us. We are adding extra staff on a regular basis as the business comes in, and we would look to double numbers by the end of next year.”
Name: Magical Minds Location: Donegal Sector: Education Co-Founder: Berni Sheridan www.magical minds.com
Magical Minds is developing web-based digital media programmes to transform the lives of children by fundamentally changing the way they are educated. These developmental programmes which will target children from five to seven years old through to early adulthood will help them realise and develop their individual potential to lead motivated fulfilled lives. The target markets are parents and primary and second-level schools. The company consists of a highly experienced team of innovative professionals from psychology and business backgrounds. Berni Sheridan said the first product will be launched in Ireland and Britain, followed by America and Europe.
“We passionately believe that, with the right sort of encouragement, children can achieve beyond their own and their parents expectations, becoming happier and more fulfilled in the process.
“Magical Minds is about unlocking that potential that exists in every child. Our vision is to help children improve their academic, emotional and social development, using a form of play that they’ll really enjoy. Research has shown that if you want to reinforce positive behaviours and bolster a child’s confidence, the early school years are the most important time to start.
“Magical Minds provides enjoyable, challenging and interactive game play to help your child develop their own inherent skills and strengths. At the same time it helps parents to develop their relationship with their children, establishing a closer bond through the shared experience.”
Name: ParkMagic Location: Limerick Sector: Services CEO: Paul Fitzgerald www.parkmagic.net
FOUNDED in 2005, the idea behind ParkMagic was to build a way for motorists to pay all of the charges they get hit with every day, such as tolls and parking fees, in a way that allows them to use one simple system in every city and town.
In short, applying joined-up thinking where all of the things that should work together do work together, simply and easily. The company operates parking payment services in Cork and Limerick, reservations at Dublin airport and toll payment on all of Ireland’s toll roads. All of these services are “joined up”, so customers can use any service at any time from one single account.
Chief executive Paul Fitzgerald said more than 140,000 Irish drivers use the company’s services daily.
ParkMagic’s development centre is in Limerick, where the company’s research and development &and customer support staff are based, and where all of the systems are developed. In 2007, Park Magic began operations in the US, where their first site was the city of Chicago.
Mr Fitzgerald said: “Business has been challenging with the economic downturn, but sometimes in these circumstances you can find opportunities.
“We recently launched our city centre car park reservations service at locations in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford and a number of other major centres, allowing drivers book a space at reduced rates. Back in the boom days, drivers wouldn’t have considered this kind of saving and just taken the first car park they came to. People are conscious of their expenditure now, and that directly benefits Park Magic in a way that wouldn’t have happened three years ago. As we continue to expand our services in Ireland, we are still working with the city of Chicago to develop our presence in the US.
“It is America’s third largest city and we are still moving slowly over there, but certainly it is a territory with massive upside potential for us.”
Name: VoiceCo Networks Location: Wicklow Sector: Software CEO: John McGuire www.voiceco.ie
VoiceCo Networks is a provider of fast, flexible, affordable telecommunications solutions to businesses. Founded in 2009 with Enterprise Ireland support, the Bray-based company aims to be at the forefront of telecoms solutions worldwide. With companies increasingly moving to IP-based solutions for their voice and data needs, VoiceCo provides a state-of-the-art hosted PBX system, providing carriers with customer relationship management, installation and inventory management and scheduling and dispatch of sales staff. Carriers can offer customers voicemail, user administration, conference calls and online billing.
“Things are very good with us as we do a lot of work for US companies, which are operating very well at the moment. Our main markets are split half in Ireland and half outside, and we are expanding at present — we would have to increase our staff by 25% by the end of the year. The assistance of Enterprise Ireland has been very important to us, particularly in terms of training and setting up meetings with potential clients.”
Marco and Sean Magnetti’s concept for their ready-meal business stemmed from the success of the family-owned Italian restaurant, Trattoria, in Galway.
Name: Magnetti Foods Location: Galway Sector: Food and retail Partner: Paolo Magnetti www.magnettifoods.com
Magnetti Foods was founded by brothers Marco and Sean Magnetti to produce and market an innovative range of quality fresh pastas and sauces as well as Italian based ready meals.
The business concept emerged from the success of the established family-owned Italian restaurant, Trattoria, in Galway. Magnetti makes fresh, additive- and preservative-free pasta food products, including filled and unfilled pasta and ready meals for the wholesale and retail sector. The company has a network of agents and distributors covering over 200 stores nationwide.
Paolo Magnetti said their products are listed with Spar and Londis, as well as being available in Supervalu stores throughout Ireland and Dunnes in the west. They export to Britain through a distribution agent.
“There’s no doubt that it is a very challenging business environment in Ireland at present, and we have had to look at all of our costs and overheads to cope with the economic realities out there,” said Mr Magnetti.
“Certainly consumers have become extremely conscious of costs and our company, like many others, must respond to this. It is important in these kind of difficult trading conditions to remain focused on goals and maintain an optimistic outlook.
“Our products are available all around Ireland through the large multiples, and we also export our products into Northern Ireland and the UK mainly through food service companies.
“The mentoring programmes at Enterprise Ireland have been very good for us, as have their marketing grants — all of which was instrumental in allowing us expand. They have also been very helpful in assisting us tender for contracts with the big multiples.”
Name: Green Biofuels Ireland Location: Wexford Sector: Industrial and lifesciences CEO: Nicholas Tierney www.gbi.ie
Green Biofuels Ireland (GBI) was incorporated with a vision of producing a second generation biodiesel, using waste products at a competitive price and meeting all EU standards for incorporation into fossil diesel.
The company manufactures 34.5 million litres of biodiesel annually and can supply one third of Ireland’s biodiesel needs under the Irish Biofuel Obligation. At present, Europe is facing a 20% shortfall in the supply of diesel by 2015, and GBI hopes to be instrumental in addressing this deficit.
Its biodiesel is already helping to reduce CO2 emissions to the equivalent of taking approximately 20,000 cars off the road each year. Biodiesel is extremely low in sulphur and fast biodegradability. CEO Nicholas Tierney says that an increased use of biodiesel in Europe represents an important step for the EU to meet its emission reduction target as agreed under the Kyoto agreement. GBI is currently exploring ways to produce biofuel from algae and seaweed in Ireland.
“Sustainability and the environment are at the heart of everything Green Biofuels Ireland stands for,” said Mr Tierney.
“Our production methods are designed to maximise recycling opportunities wherever they arise and to ensure 100% environmental efficiency in our output. We envision that Green Biofuels Ireland will play an important part in helping to meet Ireland’s environmental commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. GBI is helping Ireland to reduce our dependence on imported fuels and to improve the security of supply of fuels.”
Name: MXSweep Location: Cavan Sector: Internet security and compliance CEO: Ed Grant www.mxsweep.com
MXSweep is a global provider of software as a service internet security including email security, encryption, email archiving, web and mobile security to SME, corporate and public sector customers.
The company’s cloud services are provided through its partners including distributors, value add resellers, hosting and telecom companies.
MXSweep is a unique commercial offering and a simple entry point into the fast-growing cloud services markets. It provides customers with business-critical internet security and compliance services, requiring no upfront investment, real time security against all cyber threats and ensures they meet legal and compliance requirements in relation to data retention.
MXSweep is currently active in Ireland, Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, Benelux and the US via its distribution partners,” said CEO Ed Grant.
“Business is exploding at the moment. We have business opportunities everywhere, we are in the cloud services base so all our email, mobile and web security services are sold over the internet. We are very active in Europe and the US, and are now also going into the Asia Pacific region which is now coming on our radar.
“The market is demanding more cloud services, particularly for small businesses in places like the US. Our route to market is working big partners who have huge numbers of customers and are looking to service the growing demand for extra services from them. We are seeing opportunities in different markets all around the world, opportunities that are available through the power of the internet.
“There is no reason why Irish based companies can’t sell globally. Cloud computing security services are of huge benefit to firms at a time when cost cutting measures are being implemented at every level in every department.”
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