Putting both your brand and yourself out there was the theme at the AIB Start-up Night in Galway this week.
Speaker Seamas Mac Cathmhaoil, who co-founded the Ri Na Mara brand of seaweed skincare products with his wife, Deirdre, spoke about the challenges of competing with large cosmetics companies.
Based in Spiddal, the Mac Cathmhaoils worked to get their brand into the overseas market. Their products are now sold in Dubai and the United States, and they are working on cracking the German market.
“The recession has brought people down to earth, but the overseas market has huge potential,” he said.
Speaker Tara Dalrymple from Feelsright, an employee reward and recognition platform about to launch in Galway, said it’s never too early to put yourself out there if you’re trying to start a business. She suggested entering start-up awards and competitions as soon as possible.
She also advised start-ups to “try to reach your market in the cheapest, most cost effective way possible”.
The event included pitches from two start-ups, including Paul Harmon from Electric Escapes, a “cycling adventures” company in the west of Ireland that also does training, consultancy and bike sales.
Eamonn Roarke pitched Device Smart, a tech company that enables customers to manage any device or system from anywhere in the world.
Many people in attendance were interested in getting involved in the Galway start-up community.
Galway native Keith Killilea has a cloud website-building start-up called BuilderEngine in Galway.
“Networking is so important, and there were a mixture of people here tonight, from early stage start-ups to more established businesses, people involved in universities and accelerator programmes. It brought a lot of people together,” he said.
Damien Mason, who lives in Clare, left the corporate world to start his own company. He is in the early stages of developing Flexibod, a product that will improve the way people sit when they’re working.
“I came here to see what’s going on in the Galway start-up scene…It’s great to see other people who have taken that risk to reassure yourself that you’re not completely bonkers,” he said.
The Start-up Night in Galway is part of a series of networking events to connect entrepreneurs with the wider start-up community. They are taking place across the country from now until November. The next Start-up Night will take place on July 8th in Limerick.
