Startup Weekend heads to Achill Island

Achill Island, Co. Mayo is the destination for the upcoming Startup Weekend West taking place on Friday, April 27, 2018. The theme is the future of towns.
This unique Startup Weekend will bring together designers, developers, county councillors, urban planners, founders, and much more to conceive ideas and build solutions that will bring life and economic vitality back into Irish towns.
The weekend costs just €60 to attend, and that includes all meals each day, a t-shirt and some cosy accommodation.
How it works
On Friday, some of the attendees will pitch an idea for 60 seconds. The best ten ideas (voted for by attendees) will progress to build a team and then through to pitch at the final.
On Saturday, mentors and coaches (who are established business owners or experts in their area) will be brought in to help guide the teams through execution.
On Sunday, the event will finish with the final pitches and winners announced. There’s also a cracking after-party.
Book now as places are limited at this national event.
Watch the video
TechStars Startup Weekend is the place to look for a team, create a prototype of your idea, validate your business idea, and receive feedback from experienced entrepreneurs, all in one weekend.

Related Resource

TAKE THE QUIZ: The islands of Ireland. 

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/startup-weekend-west-achill-island/ on thinkbusiness

The coolest incubator in Dublin is looking for startups

StartLab Dublin is calling all tech startups to apply for one of the most sought-after incubation programmes in Ireland. 
StartLab is a dedicated tech incubation space on Dublin’s Camden Street and was designed to support the thriving tech startup community in Ireland.
Powered by Bank of Ireland, the new StartLab offers successful applicants free desk space as well as a full range of tailored business supports including mentorship from the bank’s dedicated Innovation and Enterprise team.
“Irish startups such as Plynk, BriteBiz and Deposify are fantastic examples of the success of our innovation programme,” says Dave Tighe, Head of Open Enterprise and Innovation.
“Plynk was born in our Grand Canal Workbench and within 24 months raised €25 million in Series A funding.
“The decision to open StartLab Dublin is part of our continued strategy around fostering and growing entrepreneurship. For us, Camden Street is fast becoming a creative quarter and it is the perfect location.”

Francesca McDonagh, CEO of Bank of Ireland, at the opening of StartLab Camden Street.

Apply now
Application for StartLab Dublin is by invitation only. You can apply here.
Once young tech companies have a proof of concept, they can apply to receive six months of free mentoring, support and workspace to scale their business.
StartLab is focused on helping tech entrepreneurs understand the fundamentals of a business, including market and customer validation, product fit, pitching for funding and pitching for customers.
Do you have a dream? Apply now. The deadline is January 19, 2018.

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/startlab-dublin-camden-street-bank-of-ireland-startup-supports/ on thinkbusiness

Quiz: The islands of Ireland

To celebrate the upcoming Startup Weekend West taking place on Achill Island on Friday, April 27, we have compiled this short quiz about Ireland’s most famous islands.  

 

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/quiz-the-islands-of-ireland/ on thinkbusiness

Thinking business with John Cleere, Red Lemonade

What a great name for a design company – Red Lemonade Creative. Here John Cleere, the founder, talks about starting a business in the South East and the rise of Kilkenny as a major hub for the design, creative and tech industries.
Tell us about your background and what you are working on at the moment?
I am a native of Kilkenny and returned to the city 15 years ago, after a spell working in Dublin, to set up the design agency Red Lemonade Creative. Kilkenny is the perfect location for a healthy work-life balance.
At Red Lemonade we help clients design better products and services. Currently, we are finding opportunities to develop beyond our design and production services to including the growing need for business design strategy. We are now working with client teams on Design Sprints, a process of design that rapidly tests new business ideas and features, and finds problems and solutions, creating real, constant progress.
The projects we work on are always varied, engaging with new industries on a continuous basis. Right now, for example, we are designing websites for a new Kilkenny festival and a biotech company. We are also midway through a corporate brand and digital strategy for a new business innovating in off-site construction.
“Design is one of the largest growing industries creating value in the economy.”
What are your passions? What drives you?
Design is obviously my passion, and I see tremendous possibilities here for industry, communities and employment. This inspired me to set up ‘Tech Thursday Kilkenny’ which has now been running for two years. It’s a monthly meetup of business people and curious locals interested in the new industries of tech, design and innovation. The meetups have more than 200 people attending and are growing in strength.
Can you tell us more about ‘Tech Thursday Kilkenny’?
Tech Thursday Kilkenny

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/starting-a-business-in-kilkenny-john-cleere/ on
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