Pure Play

Do you need to communicate a message? Watch this if the answer is yes

From Bizcamp Dublin on Saturday

Crafting Outstanding Presentations - Storytelling Techniques

View more presentations from Claudio Perrone.

keith

(and I need to change the design template for the blog which I tweaked last week - on the todo list!)

Bizcamp Dublin - full speaker schedule and panel details

Thanks to Alan O'Rourke and Emily Tully in particular who are putting in the hours in advance of Saturdays bizcamp.

Here are the speaker details (600kb pdf): Download Bizcamp_10_schedule_web

And the details of our panel discussion.

“You’re never too young to start a business”

2pm - Guinness Storehouse

Moderator: Gavin O’Flaherty - Mason, Hayes + Curran

Helen Treacy, P.G.Dip. B.D., CEO & Founder of Cognitive Science Partners

Helen Treacy is the founder and CEO of Cognitive Science Partners.  CSP was formed in November 2009 to bring science to life. CSP have engaged with a leading psychology researcher and president of the European ABA Association to develop an evidence based, online teaching application for children and adults with autism. Since incorporation, CSP have secured first round investment and are currently working with their DA in EI HPSU to maximise funding opportunities.

C.S.P. currently employs 5 full-time and one part-time employee and are busy recruiting two more full-time developers to ensure our September 1st product launch.

Cognitive Science Partners’ mission is to launch three evidence based products successfully in the market in five years with an estimated turnover of 10 million by 2015.

John Matthew Holt, (29) CEO Waratek Ltd.

John Matthew Holt is the Co-Founder and CEO of Waratek Ltd, and principal inventor of Waratek's RAIS technology.  He founded Waratek in Sydney, Australia in

2002 to research a radical new design for high-performance computing 

 (HPC) systems, opening a Silicon Valley research and testing office in

2006.  Through 2002 to 2007 the company invented and prototyped a radical high-

 performance computing architecture called Redundant Array of 

Inexpensive Servers (RAIS), which it tested around the world with 

 leading IT vendors, analysts, and academics.  In 2008 Waratek closed a

Series A investment round with Mangrove Capital Partners of Luxembourg 

 and in December 2008 re-incorporated Waratek from Australia to Ireland 

to drive the world-wide commercialization of Waratek's RAIS technology.  Today Waratek Ltd operates with staff and associates in 

 Dublin, London and Sydney, and will be shipping its first RAIS 

computing systems to early-adopter customers in Q1 2011.

Rob Ryan (26), LadyUmbrella Ltd.

Rob is the co owner and director of LadyUmbrella ladies t-shirts (http://www.ladyumbrella.com) which launched in January 2010. He has been involved in every aspect of the business and is an advocate for social media as a marketing tool. Using social media Rob has been able to get the word out about LadyUmbrella and has resulted in LadyUmbrella being mentioned in national papers both here and abroad. Outside of his work with LadyUmbrella he blogs about social media and is also a member of an international podcasting group which discusses effective use of social media.

Stephen O’Leary (26), O’Leary Analytics

Stephen O’Leary is the 26 year old owner of O’Leary Analytics, an online media and social media monitoring and analysis company. Having gained a degree in Journalism and Media Communications from Griffith College Dublin, Stephen spent a year working with The Irish Examiner in Cork, before returning to Dublin to take up a role with Meltwater News, a Scandinavian Media company. He worked in London and Amsterdam, and returned to Dublin to join Green 17, as a sports agent. In November 2009 he set up O’Leary Analytics, an online media and social media monitoring and analysis company. Using a range of monitoring and analytical tools, they track and report on coverage from over 120,000 online news-producing sources, and over 220 million social media sources – including Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and Message Forums. 

John O’Dea, Manager of Enterprise Ireland’s Start-up Division

John O’Dea is manager in the Start-up Division of Enterprise Ireland, with responsibility for early stage projects in various industrial sectors.  Enterprise Ireland promotes entrepreneurship provides advisory and financial support to High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) businesses.  EI has supported and invested in a wide range of new businesses and we believe Ireland has huge further potential to generate significant numbers of new, world class, start-ups. As an engineer with an MBA, John has worked in a wide range of sectors, mainly in early stage companies.

Bootcamp for Entrepreneurs, or those with an itch

From DCU:

The Ryan Academy for Entrepreneurship in association with Invent DCU will run the ?Jumpstart? two-day innovation and entrepreneurship bootcamp in Dublin City University on the 18th and 19th of June. This is an intensive crash course which is designed to prepare participants to hit the ground running with the skills and resources needed to start a new venture or contribute
innovative ideas to more established companies.

With practical workshops covering the key aspects for both innovative thinking and new business start-ups, the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp will provides participants with an intimate knowledge of the processes and challenges that any entrepreneur or innovator will face.

Delivered in a practical way, these executive modules are delivered by a group of peers with a strong entrepreneurial background, either working on a daily basis with entrepreneurs or with a serial entrepreneurial background of their own.

Special discounted rate of €210 for the entire programme or €125 per day.

To book places for either of these workshops, please contact Niamh at niamh.collins AT ryanacademy.dcu.ie
or by phone on (01) 700 6762

keith

Bizcamp Dublin - coming up this Saturday 29th - some of the speakers

I am really looking forward to the 3rd Bizcamp Dublin this Saturday in the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.

A. The speakers I will see on Saturday:

Caelen King, CEO Revahealth: Focus on Website Conversion (He knows his s**t)

I will share some key learning and dispel some common myths and how evidence based management needs to be at the center of any web business

Edward Hendrick, Sonru (He brought in an external CEO early in the life of Sonru)

On building a great team to deliver a great product. About letting go of some of my control in order to get great people on board.

Des Traynor, Contrast (he worked on dbTwang UI with us)

Product Strategy for the Business of Web Applications

B. The speakers I would like to see on Saturday if I get a chance:

Padraig McKeon, (Padraig is involved in YourCountryYourCall which is how I met him)

Communications - the oil in the machine

Peter Stafford

How businesses hold more information than they think, and how proper analysis and presentation of data can help them influence better.

Claudio Perrone

(Storytelling techniques for) Crafting Outstanding Presentations

Barry MacDevitt

Serious Play- how to use play to drive innovation

Dylan Latimer, Mason, Hayes & Curran

Raising finance for start ups

There are oodles more - the full schedule is going up Wednesday as far as I know.

keith

Do you have a business angel who is above and beyond?

The main business angel network in Ireland is run by HALO and they have launched Ireland's first business angel award.

The Irish Venture Capital Association http://www.ivca.ie have published figures for 2009 which show that angel investors invested in the region of €45m euro last year representing a significant source of financing for business. 

This competition is run to highlight the strategic value a business angel can add to an early stage business.  Often the expertise a business angel can offer is more valuable than the financial contribution made by a business angel.

 HBAN wish to promote best practice in Angel Investing and seek to professionalise the Irish Angel Capital Industry.  With this aim HBAN would like to honour Ireland's Angel Investor of the Year and need your help in identifying Ireland's Best Angels. 

More here: http://www.hban.org/index.php/business-angel-of-the-year/

Business Angels are a crucial part of the start up scene in Ireland (especially for technology startups) and they are individuals who take high risks with their cash.

So go ahead and nominate someone who deserves this reward.

keith

Bizcamp Dublin, 29th May. (almost) Free

We have made a slight change to the model for No.3 with a 5 euro charge to cover lunch.

Reason is simple - we had over 500 people booked into No2 and had to make tough decisions on how many to cater for. That cost was the single biggest individual cost of the day and with 350'ish turning up we could have wasted precious cash on over catering.

With a small charge our asses are covered.

Hope that makes sense

Keih

IIA Congress 2010 - Thursday 20th May

This is happening next Thursday 20th in Dublin (Crown Plaza, Northwood) and for me the stand-outs in the day are:

• Bill Liao, Co-Founder, Xing
• Bill Thompson, Independent Journalist and regular commentator on the UK Digital Agenda
• Colm Grealy, CEO, Digital Reach Group

There are others though! You can check out the full line up here. I know Colm and have met Bill at an iGap event - really, really interesting guy.

The evening sees the Net Visionary Awards and if you are interested you can book for both at a special combined rate.

While those of you living outside Dublin (like me!) can get a further 20% off to acknowledge the cost of travelling up.

See you on the day?

keith

(I am a board member of the IIA)

The Creative Island - Your Country Your Call

This is the summary posted by Alec Taylor, a client of mine, on Your Country, Your Call. There are many ideas submitted around this area and a number that deserve consideration. Will be really interesting to see which 20 out of the 9,000 odd submissions are shortlisted.

THE CREATIVE ISLAND

Ireland’s creative talent has achieved greater visibility in the world than most other countries.  In Literature, Music, and the Arts especially.  We have a reputation to be proud of.  Less so, in products and services.

Hidden Below the Surface
Most of our creative talent is never used.  It lies hidden below the surface.  This is true of individuals, companies, organisations, and communities.  Raising it is not that difficult if we are given an opportunity, given a nudge.

Releasing our Creative Potential
There is now, as never before, an urgent need to take greater advantage of Ireland’s creative potential, to create jobs with it, to speed up our economic recovery with it, to build confidence in communities with it, to export it in the form of products and services.  To become the world’s ‘Creative Island’.

Creativity Centres as Catalysts
There is a way to do it.  An initiative to be started, a strategy to be implemented.  Based on the fact that we are all multi-talented, and waiting for the chance to discover these talents, express them, and apply them. 

We need Creativity Centres throughout the island of Ireland.

Link to his submission here.

keith