Call Me +353 86 1724887What Enterprise Ireland are looking for in a New Frontiers Phase 2 Application in 2019?
Are you participating on one of the Enterprise Ireland New Frontiers Phase 1 programmes being delivered by the Incubation Centres in the Institutes of Technology in Ireland? If yes, you may have started completing your Phase 2 application. As a trainer on the programmes in WIT, IT Sligo and GMIT, I would like to share […]
- Posted by
Donncha Hughes - Posted in Entrepreneurship, Lean Canvas
Mar, 30, 2019
12 Comments.
Thanks ShowerGem – brilliant new Shower Organiser
ShowerGem now Available to Buy Several years ago (2016?) I met a young Mayo student in GMIT called Sean McGarry. He had a really cool idea which solved the problem of untidy showers in your bathroom. I went home to tell my wife, Stella about his proposed invention for a new design of Shower Organiser. […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Marketing for Startups
- Oct, 22, 2018
- 2 Comments.
Early Stage Startups – My Inc60 Podcast – From Idea to a Business
I recently met with Clare Carroll of Inc60 to record a podcast about the pre-startup and early stage business journey. The Lean Canvas as outlined in the book Running Lean is an ideal tool at this stage. The 30-minute podcast also discusses Sales, Mentoring, building your Team and supports for business. Thanks to Maria Staunton […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Lean Canvas, Personal Opinion
- Oct, 06, 2018
- 2 Comments.
Organise GMIT New Frontiers One 2 Ones with Phase 1 Participants
As part of the New Frontiers Phase 1 programme in GMIT iHubs, Donncha will meet participants for a One 2 One session to review their draft applications prior to final application on May 17th, 2018 All participants who wish to avail of a slot are required to send a Lean Canvas and a draft of […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Lean Canvas, Management skills, Personal Opinion
- Apr, 14, 2018
- Comments Off on Organise GMIT New Frontiers One 2 Ones with Phase 1 Participants
Christmas Message 2017 – Scratch Animation
My christmas message 2017 was inspired by the kids summer camp when they learned scratch – this is an admittedly limited attempt but I hope you take a few seconds and that it makes you smile! The flash scratch animation does not play on Mobile so I have recorded the screen using Screen Cast O […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Personal Opinion
- Dec, 22, 2017
- Comments Off on Christmas Message 2017 – Scratch Animation
Congrats to Galway’s next wave of Super Food and Drink Entrepreneurs
I recently attended the Galway Chamber Business Awards. Pat McDonagh, Founder of Supermacs delivered a fantastic speech in accepting the Special Presidents Award for his contribution to business in Galway. The performance of Supermacs, Ireland’s largest indigenous quick service restaurant chain, is amazing: Over 100 outlets across country and employs over 2,700 people. Annual commitment […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Personal Opinion
- Dec, 10, 2017
- No Comments.
What ‘grants’ and other supports apply to my startup business?
If you have ever wondered what supports that you and your startup business could and should apply for, read on:
This blogpost and the accompanying presentation will categorise the supports depending on the stage of development of your startup company: pre-enterprise; early stage; and established startup
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in 404, Entrepreneurship, Grants and finance
- Jul, 21, 2017
- 7 Comments.
Galway’s Startup Scene : 2017 Snapshot
In late 2016, Startupblink contacted me to write a ‘Startup Ecosystem article‘ on Galway to feature on their global website. I agreed and enlisted the assistance of John Breslin, NUIG, PorterShed and Startup Galway; and Barry Egan, Enterprise Ireland West Region. The brief was very specific with set questions to be answered such as: […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Guest Blog
- Jan, 08, 2017
- No Comments.
Dealing with difficult clients as a Freelance Consultant
I was asked recently as part of a Q&A to discuss how I deal with ‘difficult clients’ or customers. Having provided a short and off the top of the head response, this post is my reflections on this very interesting question: Starting Point : Choose your Customers Wisely As a freelancer, you […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Management skills
- Dec, 06, 2016
- No Comments.
Business Model Canvas for Social Enterprise
As I explained in this LinkedIn Pulse article entitled “Inspiring: Social Enterprise in Galway 2016”, I am involved in delivering a new ‘Start a Social Enterprise’ programme on behalf of SCCUL Enterprises and Galway City Partnership – first quarter of 2016 . Workshop 2 addressed business planning. Before the programme commenced, I was wondering whether […]
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Lean Canvas
- Mar, 15, 2016
- 5 Comments.
CSF Masterclass + Articles about CSF for InspiredStartups.com
Click EventBrite Button above to book to attend the FREE CSF Masterclass on Thursday 1st March 2018 hosted by Bizmentors.ie in SCCUL Enterprise Centre, Ballybane Galway. Here is the 80 second promo video on the event. Donncha Hughes is also delivering the Masterclass in the Regional Development Centre, DKIT on Friday 2nd March. Book via […]
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in 404, Entrepreneurship, Grants and finance
- Jan, 22, 2016
- 2 Comments.
Two hour Negotiations Workshop, DCU Invent, 10th November
Donncha provides two hour, half day and full day Negotiations Workshops. Please contact to discuss your requirements. I was recently asked by Maria Johnston, Operations & Enterprise Development Manager, DCU Invent Centre to deliver a two hour session on Negotiations at 10AM on Tuesday 10th November, 2015 for clients and startups. This post […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Management skills
- Nov, 05, 2015
- No Comments.
Ten things we probably knew and were reminded of during Startup Gathering Galway 2015
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: […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Personal Opinion
- Oct, 14, 2015
- 2 Comments.
[Book Review] Disciplined Entrepreneurship : 24 Steps to a Successful Startup by Bill Aulet (2013)
I have just finished reading Disciplined Entrepreneurship by Bill Aulet, Managing Director, Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Published in 2013, it is a superb book (Book available in Ireland via Easons). This review does not seek to summarise the book – for that I suggest you read this excellent post ‘A book in […]
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in 404, Book review, Entrepreneurship
- Jul, 13, 2015
- No Comments.
About Startup Galway Pitches Meetup
In March 2015, I volunteered to become a joint Co-ordinator along with Conor O’Donovan of the Galway Startup Businesses Meetup which is now a subgroup of Startup Galway and rebranded as Startup Galway Pitches Meetup. The idea of the group is to provide a forum for early stage startups to network with their peers, with […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Grants and finance
- Apr, 19, 2015
- No Comments.
About The Startup Business Planning Jigsaw
Managing a startup business is NOT easy. Startup entrepreneurs have lots of balls in the air. Lean Startup books, theory and practice are brilliant but the question is which model or framework do you follow and when – and are they all relevant to an Irish startup situation? To address this dilemma Donncha devised the […]
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in 404, Business Plans, Entrepreneurship, Grants and finance, Lean Canvas
- Feb, 23, 2015
- No Comments.
The Dip By Seth Godin : A Book Review
Being the Best in the World is seriously Underrated … Seth Godin The Dip You might be wondering how I came to read Seth Godin’s book, ‘The Dip – The Extraordinary Benefits of Knowing When to Quit (And When to Stick)’ published in 2007 early in 2015. He mentioned the idea of The Dip […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Book review, Entrepreneurship
- Feb, 13, 2015
- No Comments.
Running a ‘freelance’ business in Ireland in 2015
At the beginning of 2014, I wrote an article reviewing 2013 and setting out my business ambitions for the year. I wrote it firstly as a planning and review mechanism for myself; secondly, on basis that it might be useful for anyone in the same boat; and finally, to highlight issues that have to be […]
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Goal Setting
- Jan, 12, 2015
- 3 Comments.
SCCUL Mentoring Programme Autumn Business Seminar
I was delighted to be asked by Liam Bluett and Michael Smyth of Ballybane Enterprise Centre to speak at their upcoming Autumn Business Seminar. It takes place in the Clayton Hotel, Galway on Wednesday 10th September at 6.00 PM with registration at 5.30 PM.The event will primarily provide a SCCUL Mentors Update by Colman Collins, […]
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship
- Sep, 05, 2014
- No Comments.
Please support MediStori’s Crowdfunding Campaign
Today, I made a modest financial contribution as part of a Crowdfunding campaign to MediStori and I would ask everyone who reads this to seriously consider supporting this campaign – by making a contribution directly or telling someone else who would benefit from the product. The promoter is looking to raise €50,000 in the next […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Grants and finance, Personal Opinion
- Apr, 07, 2014
- 1 Comment.
Running a small self employed service business
A self employed person running a professional services business has a different outlook to most other businesses. I think that somewhat different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) apply when you want to track how the business is doing so that you can plan for the future. Here is my review of my business in […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Goal Setting
- Jan, 28, 2014
- 3 Comments.
All about Startup Digest Galway
Startup Digest Galway has been curated by Donncha Hughes, on a voluntary basis for several years. It aims to feature startup oriented news and events taking place in the Greater Galway and West of Ireland region. It is firstly a Google Calendar and secondly anyone can sign up to receive a weekly email listing the […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship, Personal Opinion
- Jan, 24, 2014
- 2 Comments.
How to build a business from your skills, domain knowledge and life experience?
I recently wrote a blogpost for Tweak Your Biz discussing my answer to ‘What do you think of my business idea?’ To summarise, I always respond that it is your customers (and the market) that are the final arbitrator of whether you have a business. This blogpost is a follow up which asks, how do […]
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Book review, Entrepreneurship
- Oct, 07, 2013
- No Comments.
How to present data in a visual format?
Bullet charts are a superb data visualisation tool – if you want to present results of a metric such as Sales across two periods e.g. this year versus last year (or against this year’s target) in for instance a business plan update. The advantage is that they allow presentation of comparative information while also presenting […]
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Business Plans, Lean Canvas
- Jul, 08, 2013
- No Comments.
Friday evening question to ponder – how do you run up a hill?
I asked myself a question today – How do you run up a hill? What is the best way? This raised more questions. Do you grit your teeth or do you smile, do you keep a steady pace or do you sprint up to get it over and done with, do you run in a […]
Read More- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship
- May, 03, 2013
- No Comments.
Drop the ‘Lean Startup’ buzzwords please. Promoters, show me the results!
I am proud to be an advocate of the Lean Startup movement. I have worked with lots of startups to firstly explain the principles and secondly to use the tools. Why – because when I read The Lean Startup, The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Customer Development, particularly Running Lean and most recently The Lean Entrepreneur, the […]
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Lean Canvas
- May, 02, 2013
- 1 Comment.
Limerick City Enterprise Board Student Enterprise Competition is a great initiative
I am looking forward to attending Villiers School on the North Circular Road, Limerick this Thursday to meet the students for their market day as part of the 2013 Student Enterprise Competition organised by Limerick City Enterprise Board. I was delighted to be asked to be a member of the Limerick City judging panel along […]
- Posted by Donncha Hughes
- Posted in Entrepreneurship
- Jan, 15, 2013
- 1 Comment.
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Recommended Books
Business books can be a brilliant resource for startup founders and senior management of SMEs. The trick is to read the Good ones - here are some of my suggestions as per my shelf on GoodReads
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