How to grow using the ‘art of strategic imagination’

Companies have built rigid structures in a world which has become more fluid. They need to change. Stephen Conmy talks to Bernard Flynn, CEO of Katawave, a ‘GPS’ for business leaders to help them navigate disruptive times and survive.

First, let’s go back to where you started in business. Lean optimisation – what did you aim for when you worked for companies? What do you look to remove? What do you keep? How does it work?
Ultimately, we looked to reduce manufacturing costs. Lean optimisation is the identification and elimination of waste.
We either reduced waste to allow for more capacity in a factory, (so there was an opportunity to create more product) or reduced CapEx by avoiding buying new equipment or not having to buy new stuff so often.
We pioneered lean and lean thinking in service-based operations. This approach (which was new at the time) included financial services. The step we took was from optimising companies to optimising industries and sectors. We eliminated 100s of millions of euros out of fat systems.
“By using the art of strategic imagination we bring leaders on a journey and inform them of real patterns, then they can ask the right questions.”
Now let’s jump to where you are now, what you are seeing, what you are solving with your new business?
The world of lean led me to a fundamental question. The challenge we identified is that you can optimise a bad business or a dying business, but it will still be optimised on the way down or worse, on the way out.
I asked: “Is it better to be a smart business over being an optimised one?” I explored the world of innovation. There was lots of tools and techniques and a whole lot of opinion. I could not find a repeatable process and methodology that could allow innovation.
“Businesses are

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A craft and design conference not to be missed

ThinkBusiness.ie spoke with Jeff Powers, head of making digital technology at London’s renowned Heatherwick Studio, who will be giving the keynote speech at the inaugural Make:Shift Ireland.
Make:Shift Ireland is a one-day conference exploring the future of making and the nature of disruptive innovation in the craft and design industry.
What are you most looking forward to at the conference?
I’m really interested in augmented reality and virtual reality. Fi Scott from Make Works will be there and I really love her work and it’s very important. I also look forward to seeing the other Irish designers. Click here to see the full schedule.
What impact do you perceive Brexit will have in the craft and design industry?
Working internationally will be more difficult (with Brexit) and therefore it makes it harder for the collaboration to happen. I think collaboration is the key element to the design industry. We have already seen some effects to our own small suppliers. You’re seeing costs rise, working with rapid processing fabricators and currency fluctuations for raw material supplies, etc.
Aside from Brexit what do you see as the biggest issues facing businesses in craft and design?
Technology is moving so quickly. Rapid growth fabrication is something we’re using all the time. I think we can become too enamoured by them, and forget some of the traditional methods and those traditional ways of making. There’s pressure on the design education in the UK, making sure there are more young people entering the design field, more diversity.

“I think collaboration is the key element to the design industry.”

For those just starting out in the industry what is the most important thing to be aware of?
Everyone says do what you love, and that’s really important, but have a good understanding of the business model that you want to pursue, research areas of

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/makeshift-ireland/ on

A craft and design conference not to be missed

ThinkBusiness.ie spoke with Jeff Powers, head of making digital technology at London’s renowned Heatherwick Studio, who will be giving the keynote speech at the inaugural Make:Shift Ireland.

Make:Shift Ireland is a one-day conference exploring the future of making and the nature of disruptive innovation in the craft and design industry.
What are you most looking forward to at the conference?
I’m really interested in augmented reality and virtual reality. Fi Scott from Make Works will be there and I really love her work and it’s very important. I also look forward to seeing the other Irish designers. Click here to see the full schedule.
What impact do you perceive Brexit will have in the craft and design industry?
Working internationally will be more difficult (with Brexit) and therefore it makes it harder for the collaboration to happen. I think collaboration is the key element to the design industry. We have already seen some effects to our own small suppliers. You’re seeing costs rise, working with rapid processing fabricators and currency fluctuations for raw material supplies, etc.
Aside from Brexit what do you see as the biggest issues facing businesses in craft and design?
Technology is moving so quickly. Rapid growth fabrication is something we’re using all the time. I think we can become too enamoured by them, and forget some of the traditional methods and those traditional ways of making. There’s pressure on the design education in the UK, making sure there’s more young people entering the design field, more diversity.

“I think collaboration is the key element to the design industry.”

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/a-craft-and-design-conference-not-to-be-missed/ on

The Corporate Warrior podcast

This is Lawrence Neal, founder of the Corporate Warrior podcast which specialises in high-intensity strength training.
Having worked in London for over ten years in B2B IT sales, Lawrence Neal moved to Galway to turn a passion into a business. Here he talks about the rise of high-intensity strength training, starting a podcast from his kitchen table, and how to avoid the isolation that often comes with growing a business.

I suppose I always dabbled in new things, new ideas and wanted to work for myself, be my own boss. After years in the corporate IT sector, I had had enough of that type of daily grind.
I’d started commercial websites and small media businesses in the past, but had never devoted enough time to them for them to work correctly.
When my girlfriend, who is from Kerry, said she wanted to move back to Ireland to be closer to her family, I saw it as an opportunity.
We picked Galway because it’s a very cool city but also the quality of life here is one of the best in Ireland. If you think rent is expensive here, you should try living in London.
Once we landed in Galway and started working the massive reduction in the cost of living was one of the first things I noticed. I was suddenly able to run my business full-time.
Podcasting is a fascinating opportunity. For those that crack a niche and grow downloads, it can be very profitable from sponsorship alone. At the moment my business model is quite simple. I record and broadcast two podcasts a week. The area I specialise is quite a niche – high-intensity strength training.
I interview people who work in this area and run businesses in this sector, and my primary audience is in the U.S.

Passion beats experience
I don’t have a broadcasting or radio

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/the-corporate-warrior-podcast/ on

How to deal with Brexit risks

In this useful guide, Denis Casey examines Brexit in the context of risk; specifically when it comes to customers, suppliers, and logistics.

1. Customer risks
Let’s start by looking at customer related risks. When assessing this, you will need to consider risks posed by your customers’ customers and perhaps your customers’ customers’ customers. You need to look for risks as far up the supply chain as is necessary. For instance, if all your direct sales are to Irish based customers, but they in turn export say 50% to the UK, then your business is exposed to risk.
When you have exposure by having customers in the UK, your action plans should include the following:
i) Liaise closely with your customers to understand their Brexit challenges and action plans – then assess how severe an impact their plans will have on your business. Now you can base your risk assessment and action plans on facts rather than speculation. Where possible try to agree on some joint actions to address their challenges. However, in addition to any collective actions agreed, you should develop additional action items focused on your own needs.
ii) If you don’t already know, find out how price sensitive your customers are. It may be possible to pass on some price increases. This will depend on the competitive landscape and whether you have UK based competitors. For instance, if all your competitors are based outside the UK, then you should start to condition your customers to expect price increases. It’s unlikely that the full Brexit cost impact can be passed on to customers, but even small price increases will make the challenge a little smaller.
iii) If your UK customer base is significant, you will need to investigate the costs and feasibility of setting up an operation in the UK. This will help to overcome

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/how-to-deal-with-brexit-risks/ on

Carlow’s world-renowned classical guitar maker

Not many people know this, but one of the best classical guitar makers in the world is based just outside Carlow town.
Father and son team, Michael and Alec O’Leary have combined their unique set of talents – as a luthier and accomplished classical guitarist – to make guitars, which are in demand by the world’s top performing artists, including the internationally recognised Berta Rojas from Paraguay.
For almost 30 years, Michael O’Leary had operated as production manager at Lapple in Carlow, responsible for the supply of steel panels to the European motor industry. In 2002, he was offered a redundancy package, which he accepted with a mixture of some relief and uncertainty about what the future might hold. It’s a compelling story about adapting to change; using the resources to hand, and developing a very successful niche business while acquiring world-famous artists as customers.

Why classical guitars?
I suppose there was a pattern to it. We all play music, and I learned to play, without any formal training. My father played guitar, and we had a traditional band in Graiguenamanagh, Co.Kilkenny back in the 60s.
In turn, I introduced my son Alec to the Spanish (or classical guitar). Alec then went on to study for a performance degree under virtuoso John Feely, who was in charge of the guitar faculty in DIT at the time. I suppose that’s what sparked my interest. While Alec was attending DIT, we were buying guitars, and as he progressed, he was always seeking to play a better quality classical guitar instrument.
What motivated you to make your first classical guitar?
At the time, I was looking for something to do. Alec was also looking for a guitar, with sufficient sweetness and volume, but was unable to find one that suited his needs. I set about making a guitar, researched from

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/carlows-world-renowned-classical-guitar-maker/ on

Weight loss tech firm breaks crowdfunding record

This weight loss ‘miracle’ tech firm from Northern Ireland has broken a crowdfunding record.

Neurovalens, the Belfast-based startup previously featured on ThinkBusiness, has raised almost £1.2 million during its 60 day IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign. It is the most successful fund-raising campaign ever run by a Northern Ireland company on the IndieGoGo platform.
The campaign, which raised money from more than 4,000 crowd funders across 84 countries, has been hailed as an “outstanding success” by Neurovalens’ early investor – Techstart NI.
The original target for Modius was overwhelmingly surpassed which meant the company can expand its team and start exporting products worldwide.
“We know we can help adults with weight-loss.”

A significant market opportunity
“Neurovalens exists to improve lives through neuroscience, and for our first product to receive such an overwhelming response from around the world tells us we have a significant market opportunity, and that people want wearables which actively help them,” says Neurovalens CEO, Jason McKeown.
“We see Modius as the first generation of ‘careable technology,’ in our case helping people get lean through stimulation of the vestibular nerve – we know we can help adults with weight-loss. We think we’re in the foothills of a neuroscience-led revolution in global health.”
The Modius headset remains available for sale on the IndieGoGo website.

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/miracle-weight-loss-firm-breaks-crowdfunding-record/ on

How we started Simply Fit Food

Co-founder of Simply Fit Food (SFF) Evelyn Garland spoke to ThinkBusiness about the highs and lows of starting a food business in Ireland.
Simply Fit Food (SFF) was set up by sports-mad couple Evelyn Garland (23) and Luke Judge (25) after Luke was diagnosed with a heart condition in January 2016.
With degrees in food and agribusiness management from UCD and health and physical activity from DKIT, they made the jump into business life and started an online meal delivery company.
The idea behind SFF came from personal experience when both realised the difficulties of maintaining a healthy diet while training, whether it be with their respective GAA clubs, or following sessions at the gym.
“We know how hard it can be to eat healthily and stay on track when time isn’t on our side. With both of us working and training and with very little time to cook, we figured more people like us must feel the same way. So we thought why not provide a simple, convenient way of eating healthy, delicious food five days a week while staying on track.”
“Most people, if not everyone, thought we were absolutely insane starting a business, especially as a couple.”
Local, healthy, quick
SFF delivers healthy meals and snacks using locally-sourced ingredients straight to your home, and the company offers quicker delivery times than their competitors in the market.
“Local ingredients in our food are extremely important to us as we can track exactly what’s in our meals. Our customers only have to ever wait three working days for a delivery of fresh food. Customers who order from other companies in Ireland with a similar model have to wait over a week for their delivery if they order after the deadline.”
It wasn’t easy
Starting SFF proved a difficult process for the young couple, as they decided to fund their

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/simply-fit-food-evelyn-garland/ on

The best new inventions from Northern Ireland

The Invent Awards recognise the best new inventions emerging from Northern Ireland each year.
The 2017 Invent Awards winners have been announced. Held at the Waterfront Conference Centre in Belfast, the annual awards recognise Northern Ireland’s latest breakthrough inventions.
The overall winner of Invent 2017 went to Phion Therapeutics developed by Dr. Helen McCarthy (pictured above centre). Dr. McCarthy won a prize package worth £13,000 and one of the sought after spaces on the NI Tech Mission to California in January 2018.
Phion Therapeutics aims to revolutionise how drugs are delivered to parts of the human body.
“Phion has been able to concentrate various anionic drugs into tumours while preventing delivery to normal or healthy tissue and cells. This is potentially revolutionary for the treatment of cancer,” says Professor Helen McCarthy from the School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast. “The list of potential applications is almost limitless.”
The other winners on the night
The five category winners, who received £3,000 and a place on the NI Tech Mission were:

KegoMatic, the brainchild of six electrical engineering students from Queen’s University Belfast – Connor McGurk, Connor Carville, Donovan Campbell, Patrick Devlin, Bryan Murphy and Aaron Rath – is an automated beer keg solution.
Evy, a smart tracking bag, was created by Queen’s University Belfast students Niamh Tohill, Andrew Cunningham, Vincent Kearney, Nathan Steenson and Matthew Whiteside.
Seatview, founded by Graham Little, Andrew Murray, and Stuart Ogg and provides customers with a 360-degree virtual reality view from their allocated seats.
Uleska, founded by experienced entrepreneur Gary Robinson builds cybersecurity into web applications while they are being built.
Hug, created by product designer Fiona Bennington, is a wearable heat pack.

For more information on Invent 2017 visit invent2017.co. The awards are sponsored by Bank of Ireland and Connect at Catalyst Inc.

Related Resource

Ten Irish inventions that changed the world.

This post was originally published here - https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/new-inventions-from-northern-ireland/ on

Six places for tech firms available in startlab Galway

Are you tech startup with the potential to scale? Are you interested in an incubation workspace and programme in Galway? startlab Galway is now open for applications.
There are six places now available at startlab Galway, powered by Bank of Ireland.
There are a few things to consider about Galway. First, it is a great city for startups. Second, it was recently voted the ‘World’s friendliest city’. Third, the cost of living in Galway is 22% cheaper than Dublin.
It’s a great place and, startlab is based in a custom-designed building on Mainguard Street, literally in the heart of Galway city.
Successful applicants will benefit from a range of facilities, including desk space, high-speed wifi, conference rooms, as well as one-on-one sessions with essential coaches and mentors. Participants will also get introductions to investors and support from Bank of Ireland’s innovation team.

“The ongoing collaboration with expert mentors and access to the bank’s vast network helped us immensely when honing our offering, scaling the business globally, getting funding and attracting talent to work with us,” says Brian O’Rourke, CEO of City Swifter, a recent ‘graduate’ of startlab Galway. “Galway is a fantastic place to start a business. The startup community here is thriving.”
Applications are open until October 31, 2017. www.startlabhq.com.

Related Resource

100 tools to help your startup grow.

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