Celebrating the New Economy
22nd June 2012 – One hundred and fifty attendees today in Cork voted the time is NOW for Irish Entrepreneurs to shine, be part of the New Economy and boost Ireland’s recovery. This was the message from AxisBIC’s event today, Celebrating Cork’s High Growth Start-ups. A packed room of Cork’s business community including entrepreneurs, agencies, financial institutions, multinationals and many more came to hear about how Entrepreneurship is going to have the biggest impact on economic growth and job creation.
Key speakers included Simon Coveney, T.D. Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine; John Mullins, President of Cork Chamber; Enda McDonnell, Regional Director, Enterprise Ireland and Michael Fitzgerald, Abtran. AxisBIC also welcomed a panel of New Company CEOs who recently received investment, told their story, their journey from start-up to raising capital. They included Gareth Cuddy, ePub Direct; Ogie Sheehy, ViClarity; Helen O’Dowd, Virginia Health Foods and David McCarthy, IncidentControlRoom.com. The energy, confidence and global mind-sets of these new companies coupled with the experience and support they have received from those that have been there before have helped these companies grow and expand – now is the time to build on this momentum.
100 years ago Cork’s Port was one of the busiest in the world. In 1912 Winston Churchill as First Sea Lord of the Admiralty addressed the Commissioners of the Port of Cork in this same Board Room. Now in 2012 from this venue a new breed of Irish person is taking on world markets, with knowledge, ingenuity and skills.
AxisBIC plays a hands-on role helping entrepreneurs navigate the minefield of raising finance, sorting out business propositions, arranging agreements with shareholders and investors and most importantly finding customers.
Speaking after the event Minister Coveney commented that “It is great to see such a positive message and passion coming through in the Entrepreneurs’ stories we have heard today, encouraging other emerging entrepreneurs to build on these experiences. There has never been a greater opportunity for entrepreneurs, and this coupled with the range and diversity of government supports make Ireland the start-up capital of Europe.”
Pictured at the Port of Cork; Michael O'Connor, AxisBIC; Helen O'Dowd, Virginia Health Foods; Ogie Sheehy, ViClarity; David McCarthy, IncidentControlRoom; Gareth Cuddy, ePub Direct and Enda McDonnell, Enterprise Ireland
The event was all about encouraging people to consider an Entrepreneurship journey and discover if they too could be part of the New Economy as a leader, supporter or financier of these new teams. Budding Entrepreneurs got the opportunity to meet and hear from real companies employing significant numbers with capable innovative people, who see no recession.
Also speaking at the event Michael Fitzgerald, CEO of Abtran who said that, “I would encourage any person thinking about starting an entrepreneurship journey to be ready for lots of hard work and perseverance. It is also really important to seek advice from people like AxisBIC to critically review the ideas and plans to make sure they are going to hold water. While results can be very rewarding the journey can be tough at times, challenging but never boring!”
Abtran, who now employ over 1000 people in Cork, started in 1997 with the help of AxisBIC.
The event was held in partnership with, Cork City Council, The Port of Cork, Cork Chamber and Enterprise Ireland.