This month, our two companies are enjoying success in their quest to raise money through the Business Angel Partnership.

FLUIRSE

After developing a detailed project proposal and a number of meetings, the e-learning and education software company won a substantial contract to develop a complete e-learning programme for a multinational company.

"This is an exciting time for Fluirse and winning this contract has given us a real boost as we're sure we were competing with many larger businesses established quite a few years," says director Kristian O'Donovan (pictured above right).

"Given our experience and expertise . . . it was a natural step for us to offer these in-house services to others."

The progress of Fluirse's training programme has been substantial. "This is only our second year and we're already offering the biggest range of online courses for teachers in Ireland. The Department of Education and Science has approved each of our 20 courses which means any teacher who studies with Fluirse this summer will qualify for 'course days' during the year in the same way as they would by taking a traditional course in an Education Centre," says fellow director Tomas Finneran (above left).

The company has continued with the recruitment of new staff, hiring a second graphic designer this month.

Enterprise Ireland continues to be supportive by providing training and consultancy opportunities.

"This month we attended a Sales Process Capability programme organised by Enterprise Ireland . . . the benefits of this programme couldn't be overstated," says Finneran. "I think we really recognise just how critical clear messaging and efficient sales processes are."

OPENPLAIN

Jonathan Mulligan (pictured below), MD of Dublin-based start-up Openplain, the company behind the JournalLive online monitoring software service, is currently in New York talking to potential partners for the US market.

He says there is a huge difference between Ireland and the US in terms of employee monitoring.

"In Ireland, the Employment Equality Act holds company directors responsible for any illegal activity carried out by employees in the workplace unless it can be shown that the employer took steps to prevent the activity," says Mulligan. "We've found employers in the Irish SME sector are either unaware of their obligations or are aware but have not taken sufficient steps to discharge their legal responsibility. The US is a different story - they are keenly aware of their responsibilities. We've had huge interest from potential partners in the US."

But that presents its own problems, he says. "We find ourselves with a difficult decision to make. One potential partner promises the sun, moon and stars but requires geographic exclusivity, another would like to 'white label' our service, but we're reluctant as it would mean we wouldn't be building up our own brand in the US."

"One of our problems has been that the vast majority of the company's sales have been to 'warm' contacts, people we knew or direct referrals," says Mulligan.

"We really need to boost our marketing activity to advertise our services better. With that in mind, one of my priorities this month is to hire a marketing expert to help us develop and implement our marketing strategy."