Last Friday (9th October 2015) was spent meeting new business acquaintances and talking to almost every startup promoter and supporter that I know in Galway. I attended 6 events throughout the entire day from 8AM till 9PM. Here are ten things (as recorded on Twitter) that I probably knew already but was reminded of:
1. Startup Weekend Galway is Super
Read here my 2nd article about @galstartweekend (SW#2)! http://t.co/MwEQISkmQk#startupweekend #travel @SWWorldTour pic.twitter.com/Z6E4QSWJcp
— SW World Tour (@SWWorldTour) October 9, 2015
2. Galway has a vibrant cohort of ‘young’ entrepreneurs
Gene Murphy of BOI had a ‘fireside chat’ with Startup Galway weekend participants such as Ciaran, Nicola and Eimear at the 5pm event hosted in BOI WorkBench, Mainguard Street.
Fantastic end to a Fantastic week! Fireside chat about @galstartweekend @NickiOSullivan @BOIstartups #startupIRL https://t.co/kezmGOn65d
— Ciarán Walsh (@ciarandwalsh) October 9, 2015
3. There are superb Technology Based Startups in the City of The Tribes
The @galwaybeta winners are 3rd @C9Health 2nd @HabiApp 1st @birdleafio at the first @galwaybeta #startupirl pic.twitter.com/TVEIhU6av2
— John Breslin (@johnbreslin) October 9, 2015
Well done to Paul and Dorothy (and the team) on organising a great inaugural Galway Beta.
4. There are brilliant event organisors in Galway
Check out the round-up of events for Galway on final day of Startup Gathering – https://t.co/59hzc8fNcj #startupIRL pic.twitter.com/eYzpWpr6hC
— StartupIreland (@StartupIreland) October 13, 2015
Almost every organisation that works with Startups ran an event – there was a great atmosphere around the city.
5. You have to start to be Amazing
‘You don’t need to be amazing to start, but you have to start to be amazing… is the first comment in the video of Startup Gathering 2015 – Galway Highlights. The rest of the video (9 minutes) is worth watching!
#startupirl #Galway http://t.co/ukYW2NakED @CURAMdevices @Aerogen @ei_westregion @BredaFox @1Hildegarde @genemurphy @Tracy_Keogh @Plannet21
— Startup Galway (@startupgalway) October 13, 2015
StartLab from Bank of Ireland looks very interesting. Well done and best of luck!
6. Build something that People want to buy
We seek to service the needs of the MNCS here Colm Feeney SSL Ireland with over 100 employees. #startupIRL #Galway pic.twitter.com/fvCFzOdvNw
— StartupIreland (@StartupIreland) October 9, 2015
Colm expands on this point in the video (point 6 – 2 minutes) – don’t know if he has been reading Lean Startup books.
7. Startup Ireland has Vision
"This is a 5 year plan, for Ireland to become a global startup hub by 2020." –@eoinkcostello #startupIRL #startupIsland2020
— StartupIreland (@StartupIreland) October 9, 2015
8. Social Enterprise is developing in Galway
Siobhan Carroll CEO @ACT4Meningitis providing free support and information for the past 4 years @MichaelSmyth123 pic.twitter.com/sLt6MPZ8LB
— SCCUL enterprises (@SCCULEnterprise) October 9, 2015
This was a really super morning of talks and Q&A with Olive of MediStori, Lorraine and Arlene of 100HappyDays4Kids, and Siobhan of ACT for Meningitis. Congrats to Arlene and Lorraine on winning prize in Social Entrepreneurs award.
https://twitter.com/LorrLyncher/status/653875002845081600
9. Pitch Competitions are Great Fun (& Benefit)
Thanks to the judges and pitchers at Fridays Pitches Competition in @GalwayTech & @MrWaffleGalway for a great lunch! pic.twitter.com/j3MV7ArXCh
— GalwayTechCentre (@GalwayTech) October 12, 2015
Galway Technology Centre (now rebranded as Platform 94) is a great venue and startup location. Thanks to Judges and Sponsors (WestBIC, SNAP, and Flynn O’Driscoll) of our Meetup event.
10. Galway has great Role Models
Day 5 – Our entrepreneur keynote speaker Gerard Barry has arrived and is briefed by @johnbreslin #startupIRL pic.twitter.com/FqlHpymTZZ
— StartupIreland (@StartupIreland) October 9, 2015
Gerard Barry of Fintrax gave a brilliant address at the official closing event in the Meyrick on how they built an international startup from rural Galway – and sold it for €180 million a few years ago. It can be done again. There were lots of serious points about creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurs in Galway at the All Island Forum event in the morning as per this post on the main Startup Gathering page. There is certainly great momentum for Galway to support Startups.
Overall, I had a great day as I predicted in my LinkedIn Pulse article – thanks to Startup Ireland team and locally to John Breslin. Leaving the last word to Startup Ireland who I know are already preparing for next year. They would like you to take the time to tell them how you benefited from this year’s Startup Gathering.
We want you to tell us your Startup Gathering stories! Fill in this short form http://t.co/ALBbidW8UF #startupIRL pic.twitter.com/Z9wvWJnWyR
— StartupIreland (@StartupIreland) October 14, 2015
Great article, Donncha – thanks for your involvement along with Conor, John etc. We were delighted to take part in the pitching event at Galway Technology Centre.
thank you Ger, the Pitches Competition with GTC was superb. It is all about the participants – both the pitchers and the attendees. Delighted that you enjoyed the article.