How do you start a business? How do you grow your business? These are the questions we explore on the ThinkBusiness Show.

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The ThinkBusiness Show is a business show with a difference.
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Instead of talking about what a business does, we talk to founders and experts about the ‘hows’ of doing business – how to start and how to grow.
The ThinkBusiness Show is an online academy to learn more about starting and running a business. We also discuss the supports available to businesses, raising money, financial well being and how to keep going when difficulties arise. 
“If you are looking for investment keep your business plan short. We see 2,500 plans every year. If it’s a long-winded document, I’m not reading it. And make sure you show me what you are going to do with the money. Make sure there’s an actual plan in your business plan.”
First up
First up is Brian Caulfield. Brian is one of Ireland’s ‘legendary’ venture capital investors (VCs). In his podcast and video, he gives a masterclass, not just in what investors look for but how entrepreneurs should approach their business if they want to land investment. This is really a ‘Startup Masterclass’, a must-listen for anyone with big ambitions to grow with the right investment.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE THINKBUSINESS SHOW. LISTEN, WATCH AND LEARN. 

Ten teams of student entrepreneurs teams have started Trinity’s accelerator programme Launchbox, Ireland’s most successful student accelerator programme. They are now seeking investment to grow.
Now in its sixth year, LaunchBox is a place where students can start a business and receive mentorship, funding, and access to alumni and investors.
Since its start in 2013, LaunchBox has helped 50 student ventures. The businesses that continued have created 122 jobs and raised €6.3 million in investment and funding.
“LaunchBox is an opportunity for students to work on their business idea with mentors over the summer. It is a real opportunity for our students to showcase why Trinity is number one in Europe for producing entrepreneurs,” says Fionnuala Healy, CEO Innovation & Entrepreneurship Hub, Trinity College Dublin.
Paul Allen, student founder of BOP (Biological Optical Prevention) and his teammates Ekaterina (Kate) Lait and David Ola (pictured main image) met as members of the Trinity Entrepreneurial Society. They believe their business has enormous potential for identifying, preventing and treating health care-associated infections (HAIs).
“I had family members who passed away due to HAIs, so the idea has been in process for two years. The visual nature of our product is its USP and it makes it more effective,” says Allen. Upon making contact with a surface their product changes colour depending on the pathogens present. This allows medical staff to identify the pathogen, eliminate them and disinfect the area. 
Successful alumni
Successful alumni of LaunchBox include social enterprise Foodcloud, which helps businesses redistribute surplus food to those who need it; Touchtech, a payment processing firm; Artomatix, which develops tools for automating digital media creation; and Equine MediRecord, which digitises the medical records for the multi-billion-euro horse racing industry’s equine stars.
“LaunchBox’s focus on early-stage business development, and on empowering entrepreneurship and collaboration, is hugely important for our communities and through our community programmes

The rental accommodation crisis in Ireland is growing. All age groups are affected. Saoirse Sheridan’s new business, Elder Home Share, aims to help people who need accommodation and elderly people who want some company and safety.
 

Saoirse Sheridan is on a mission. There’s no other way to describe it. Talking to her one gets the immediate sense that her business model is rooted in social change. Ireland’s housing crisis is taking an enormous toll on people while Ireland’s health system just can’t look after a growing, ageing population – two situations that need creative intervention.
“The idea for Elderhomeshare.ie came from my personal experience,” explains Sheridan.
“Three and a half years ago I was given the notice to get out of my rented accommodation. I found I had nowhere to go. The rents are insane. I started to think about my grandmother. I had taken care of her in her home. We had such a rich and meaningful relationship, right to the end. It was a wonderful experience. So I thought, wouldn’t it be great if I could help another elderly person, living on their own, in exchange for accommodation?”
Sheridan started home sharing with David in April 2016 and celebrated his 98th birthday with him in January 2018. During this time she also began building her business. 
Both sides benefit
“There are many benefits that my business brings. It’s Dublin’s first home share service and provides peace of mind for elderly citizens to live at home by matching them with home share companions,” says Sheridan.
“It’s also alternative home support for the elderly and can work well instead of paying for live-in care at night if the homeowner does not need night time assistance. It’s not a solution to personal care but can reduce the need and expense of other care services.”
The numbers
Anyone with

The rental accommodation crisis in Ireland is growing. All age groups are affected. Saoirse Sheridan’s new business, Elder Home Share, aims to help people who need accommodation and elderly people who want some company and safety.
 

Saoirse Sheridan is on a mission. There’s no other way to describe it. Talking to her one gets the immediate sense that her business model is rooted in social change. Ireland’s housing crisis is taking an enormous toll on people while Ireland’s health system just can’t look after a growing, ageing population – two situations that need creative intervention.
“The idea for Elderhomeshare.ie came from my personal experience,” explains Sheridan.
“Three and a half years ago I was given the notice to move out of my rented accommodation. I found I had nowhere to go. The rents are insane. I started to think about my grandmother. I had taken care of her in her home. We had such a rich and meaningful relationship, right to the end. It was a wonderful experience. So I thought, wouldn’t it be great if I could help another elderly person, living on their own, in exchange for accommodation?”
Sheridan started home sharing with David in April 2016 and celebrated his 98th birthday with him in January 2018. During this time she also began building her business. 
Both sides benefit
“There are many benefits that my business brings. It’s Dublin’s first home share service and provides peace of mind for elderly citizens to live at home by matching them with home share companions,” says Sheridan.
“It’s also alternative home support for the elderly and can work well instead of paying for live-in care at night if the homeowner does not need night time assistance. It’s not a solution to personal care but can reduce the need and expense of other care services.”
The numbers
Anyone with

Ten Irish designers blazed a creative and successful trail through New York in May, wowing the Big Apple’s fashion influencers and buyers.
In May 2018, WearingIrish NYC 2018, supported by Bank of Ireland, brought ten of Ireland’s best fashion and accessories designers to New York for a showcase with influential buyers.
WearingIrish NYC is the brainchild of Margaret Molloy, a native of Offaly, and a graduate of the Harvard Business School who is now the New York-based global chief marketing officer at Siegel+Gale.
Meetings and sales
The idea was to showcase the talents of Ireland’s top designers over a three-day event in the ‘Big Apple’. The event was built around nine salons and industry panel discussions and resulted in strong networking, sales, client commissions and invitations to meetings with top retailers.
The ten designers who took part include Aine Alison Conneely; Blaithin Ennis De Bruir; Inner Island; Jennifer Rothwell; Natalie B Coleman; Sands and Hall; The Tweed Project and Triona Design.
“Mentoring up-and-coming businesses and helping our customers grow is really important to us.”
Into America
Bank of Ireland’s teams in Ireland and the U.S. will now help the designers to enhance the connections made in New York and help them develop, grow and scale their businesses. The designers can also avail of desk and meeting spaces in the bank’s Workbench facilities in New York, Dublin, Limerick, Kilkenny, Galway and Cork.
“The talent and creativity among Irish designers are world class and we are thrilled to bring these designers to a U.S. audience. Mentoring up-and-coming businesses and helping our customers grow is really important to us,” says Francesca McDonagh, Group CEO at Bank of Ireland.
“All of the designers enjoyed a significant amount of sales through the week – much more than they expected.”
Partners
Partners supporting the event included the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, through Ireland’s Consulate

How can dairy farmers ensure their cattle receive the right volume of supplemental trace minerals on a daily basis? Two Irish brothers invented a solution. 
For the last decade, brothers Padraig and Tom Hennessey of Terra Services in Moone, Co. Kildare have innovated, laying down systems of water pipe networks, linking the parlour to the paddock for dairy farmers across the country.
More recently their sister company, Terra Liquid Minerals, has pioneered the integration of a smart delivery solution for their liquid mineral range into a farm’s water-pipe infrastructure. It is a remotely monitored solution and helps ensure that the dairy herd receives the correct volume of supplemental trace minerals on a daily basis.
The system also adjusts to the variability of Irish grass growth, local soil type and prevailing weather conditions, to help optimise herd health and performance. Padraig recounts how it all began and shares their intriguing plans for the future.
“Farmers might read about your company in the farming press, but they generally prefer to do business face-to-face.”
Starting out
In 2005 after completing an agribusiness degree in the UK, Tom returned home to Ireland to set up Terra Services, an irrigation company, initially aimed at the golf industry. Soon he was approached by some local farmers, to lay down water pipe networks on their farms. This was unique, as the only option available to farmers at the time was a do-it-yourself model. Word of Tom’s new service soon spread to the national farming press, and he decided to book a stand at the 2008 Ploughing to determine the actual level of interest among dairy farmers for his service.

At the time, I was working in Dublin launching a digital payments product. Tom asked if I could take a week’s holiday, to help him out on the Terra stand, at the following week’s National Ploughing in Co.

With the summer upon us, so too is the festival season. Here we look at a few that showcase our nation’s fun side along with a quick guide on how to start a festival in your town or village.
The Durrow Scarecrow Festival, Durrow, Co Laois
This quirky festival is back for its ninth year from July 29- August 6. Voted Ireland’s best festival two years running, with an annual attendance of 27,000 people, it is definitely one of the summer’s most humorous festivals. Previous prize winning scarecrows included Miley Silage, complete with ball and chain, straw versions of One Direction and even president Michael D. With the much-coveted title of ‘All-Ireland Scarecrow Champion’ up for grabs, this is one everyone can get their teeth into.
Cowboys and Heroes Festival, Ballinamore, Co Leitrim
You would be forgiven for thinking you had just walked into a bar in Nashville or Memphis, Tennessee, with this bill of American and Irish country and western music, with names like Robert Mizzell, Patrick Feeney, Derek Ryan, and Mike Denver performing over the bank holiday weekend in June. So, dust off your Stetson and polish your dancing shoes for a weekend of ‘country’.
Minevention
Minevention is the unofficial convention for Minecrafters with events taking place over the course of the year. There are build battles, tournaments, challenges, costume competitions and workshops, as well as the chance to meet world famous Minecrafters in the flesh. So, embrace your inner geek and dive in.
Match-making Festival, Lisdoonvarna, Co Clare
Put on your cowboy boots and your best smile and head to this festival, which not only promises performances from the top names in traditional country music but speed-dating, dancing and daily match-making by the legendary cupid Willie Daly. Since he started out as a matchmaker 45 years ago, following in the footsteps of his father and

As the search for Ireland’s best enterprise towns of 2018 continues, we take a look back at 26 of Ireland’s historical enterprise towns and the businesses they were famous for.
 
Ireland has a rich history of enterprise and innovation. As the search for Ireland’s Enterprise Towns of 2018 gathers pace, we compiled this list of towns in Ireland that are famous for different enterprises.
To read more about the National Enterprise Town Awards 2018 go here.
DONEGAL
Killybegs is one of the fishing capitals of Ireland. People have eaten fish in Donegal since prehistoric times, and the evidence for sea-going boats is also ancient. By the Early Christian period, fishing was a vital occupation. Commercial fishing was well established in Donegal by the 1400s, a lot of it controlled by the Lords of Tirconaill, the O’Donnells. Today the Irish fishing fleet is made up of about 1,900 large boats.
MONAGHAN
Clones is famous for its Lace. Clones Lace is an Irish Crochet Lace and has been around since 1847. Cassandra Hand, the wife of the local Church of Ireland minister, introduced the lace, inspired by Venetian point lace, as a famine relief project to the drumlin region of west Monaghan and south east Fermanagh. Thousands of women and children, through their creative lace-making, saved their families from the clutches of death and disease during the Great Famine.
DUNDALK
Dundalk is now a high tech hub. However, it was once famous for shoe making. Arthur Halliday opened factories in the town and during their zenith in the 1970s, he employed over 1,250 people making shoes. Halliday was born in Bramley in Yorkshire where his family had a long tradition in shoe manufacturing. He died in 1984 aged 80.
SLIGO
Tubercurry is famous for tool making. The Gallagher family set up the Tool and Gauge tool-making factory which exported specialist tools across

Denis Hayes is the MD of IRDG (Industry Research & Development Group). Ahead of the Design Thinking Ireland annual conference, he describes why Design Thinking is used by all of the world’s top firms to drive innovation.
What is the IRDG? 
The IRDG acts as the voice of industry RD&I in Ireland, it supports members to avail of relevant funding opportunities for innovation, brings companies together to share learning and experiences, promotes collaboration between industry partners and the third level sector and facilitates best practice learning and innovation capability in organisations. This is where the likes of Lean Product Development and Design Thinking fit in.
“It made me realise that design thinking could be used as a strategic means to stimulate innovation.”
Design Thinking has been a fundamental part of your agenda for many years, why are you ‘believers’?
My own awareness of Design Thinking really grew about five years ago when in Sydney attending the annual conference of the Hargraves Institute. Design Thinking was a dominant theme at that conference among manufacturers, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, all speaking about how they have integrated design thinking into their innovative approach. In particular, I met Darrell Mann who had been bringing this Design Thinking approach to many leading international companies. That experience made me realise that design thinking could be used as a strategic means to stimulate innovation. It was about using the approach and mindset of designers in the innovation process and how it could deliver powerful results.
Over 300 executives have been trained on the IRDG Design Thinking Programme / Masterclass which has been run twice per annum in partnership with Design Innovation Maynooth.
A special interest group (SIG) has been running for companies who are practising Design Thinking with visits to appropriate venues such as Airbnb, Dog Patch Labs, SAP, Fidelity Investments and later

Lending to the Irish tech sector to increase as Bank of Ireland bolsters its technology sector team.
The Irish technology sector is one of the most dynamic areas of the economy. At a recent event hosted by Bank of Ireland and supported by Technology Ireland and Gartner, Adrian Mullett, head of the technology sector at Bank of Ireland said lending to the sector in 2017 grew by 150% supporting the growth of software and services companies, including Roomex.com, Propylon, vStream and Storm Technology.
“Projected revenues of indigenous tech firms are set to grow by 20% in 2018 to €3.5bn,” says Mullett.
A dedicated technology team
“Given this growth, we are expanding our dedicated technology team, with two key appointments, so we can continue to provide the right guidance to our customers,” says Mullett. “A larger technology team will help us to serve technology companies better and capitalise on the growth in lending we have delivered.”
The technology sector team in Bank of Ireland has a strong relationship with Gartner to glean deep regional and global insights into every significant business function of the market.
At the event, the keynote speaker Sandra Notardonato, research vice president with Gartner, gave a global market overview that included the paths for Irish firms that want to break into other markets.
“For the first time in nearly a decade we see worldwide end-user IT spending in the technology sector increasing,” says Notardonato.
“Our annual CIO survey shows an increase in IT budgets in 2018, of which 25% is dedicated to digital initiatives.”
The spend on IT services is showing healthy growth, especially in Europe with Ireland, Switzerland and Germany leading the way, followed by southern Europe where countries are playing catch up after years of underinvestment.
“Automation is the most meaningful change to the IT services business model since off-shoring,” explains Notardonato.
IT outsourcing is also showing