Ambition France brochure

Ambition France: How Irish companies make time for the market

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An important commodity that has no weight, and can’t be seen or felt, is one of the most highly valued of all by the French – time. If you intend to do business in France, factoring in ‘time’ is one of the most fundamental mindsets Irish firms must focus on.

It was a key learning faced by all the Irish companies that shared their export experiences at the most recent Ambition France conference in Cork. The Enterprise Ireland event brought together Irish exporters to share their experiences on diversifying into new markets.

Deals take a time in France, partnerships need to be nurtured over time, and even the most routine meeting must be given time. But do not mistake length of time as a needless delay. French business culture takes time because of its approach to detail, and the value it places on evidence-based decision making.

Tekelek Commerical Director at Ambition France conferenceEoin Licken, Commercial Manager at Tekelek, the Shannon-based oil-monitoring business told delegates: “Everything takes longer in France. It’s a slower route to market and risk aversion is fundamental to public and private life. French business would much rather move slowly and not make a mistake.”

The mindset is written large through the French economy. It is typified by slow and steady growth. It is a large  €2.5 trillion economy set to grow by around 1.3% this year. It is the world’s seventh-largest economy and the third biggest in the Eurozone.

Tekelek’s entry to the French market was via a distributor but when their distributor was bought out a gap in the market emerged for their level-sensing technology.

“It meant within 18 months we had signed with all the major oil companies,” said Licken.

 

Market Entry

Entry to the French market comes with a high barrier in terms of getting up to speed on the technocratic nature of compliance and red tape. While it appears at first sight as a barrier it is actually the opposite, according to Brendan Fleming, Director of Business Development at Klas Telecom.

Klas had intended to provide its telecoms hardware to the German rail network but ended up with the French operator SNCF.

“We found that in other EU markets, when tenders were issued, they were very often issued around a specific product or solution. In other words, the issuer knows who they already have in mind for the tender.”

“However, we found that in France, they left it very open. They laid out the specs, of course, but were more interested in finding a range of solutions and were flexible in discussing them. This was vital to us and led us into the French market instead and SNCF were very impressed with our flexibility.” said Fleming.

Of course, many business opportunities come from chance meetings, insights or third-party events, which an exporter can then choose to react to. But a fundamentally sound market entry plan will go a long way to removing many unnecessary obstacles on your route to market.

Enter the Eurozone via France

Last year, Enterprise Ireland opened its second office in France, in Lyons in addition to Paris. France also plays a key role in its Enter the Eurozone Programme, a tightly pipelined scheme for key management team members to make their first foray into Europe. The programme is aimed at companies with little or no exports into the Eurozone region. Over the course, the CEO and another senior colleague will address the critical challenges in their chosen Eurozone market and target a first significant contract win.

The rewards for doing your market research on France and adapting your product – and your approach – are many. Cork delegates heard how Irish-owned Barclay Chemicals managed to expand its pesticide division into one of the largest agri markets in the world with a pesticide market alone worth €2 billion.

Sandrine Cuozzo, Barclay’s Commercial Manager, said: “Some 10 years ago, we just had one distributor but we changed our model and now have 200 distributors. We marketed flexibility as being part of our solution, and to keep pace with shipping demand we leased facilities in France so we could deliver within 24 hours rather than the week or so it takes to ship from Ireland.

“The barrier to entry is high. There’s no doubt about it,” Cuozzo told delegates. “But the results are worth it. Once you have a French customer, you find them to be very, very loyal and the relationship will be solid.

“For instance, if there is a problem, a French customer will not simply drop you, they will come and talk to you about it and try and resolve it rather than turn their back and you and go to a rival.”

That kind of loyalty takes time and time is something you cannot buy. “But it’s worth it,” said Cuozzo.

Regulations in the German healthcare sector

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    The German healthcare market is the largest in Europe offering ample opportunities for Irish medtech and e-health businesses.

    This webinar is chaired by Enterprise Ireland  Market Advisor Nicol Hoppe and will examine

    • accessing opportunities in the German market

    • the opportunities emerging with digitalisation

    • how to manage budgets and timelines effectively

    with expert insights from:

    • Christoph Bischoff-Everding of HGC

    • Andrea Seidel of Dr. Seidel Lifesciences

    How Payslip filled a gap in the multinational payroll market

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    “Enterprise Ireland provided great support through its fintech network. They enabled us to leverage international channels and acquire clients.”


    Payslip Founder & CEO Fidelma McGuirk

    Overview:

    • Founded in 2015, Payslip empowers multinational companies to standardise global payroll processes and manage international data, resources and vendors on a single platform.
    • Began its seed funding process and applied for High Potential Start-Up support in February 2018.
    • Since then, Payslip has acquired 23 clients across Europe and the US, including LogMeIn, GetYourGuide and Airbus, and the company has plans to increase sales by 400% in 2020.

     

    Case Study: Payslip

    As CEO and Director of Operations for an international tax company, Fidelma McGuirk was in charge of company growth and management across 21 countries. At the time, her company was using a variety of payroll service vendors. Frustratingly, she found no existing technology that could automate, integrate, and streamline their global payroll operations. So, she decided to create a platform to deliver this.

    Payslip provides automation and integration technology to multi-national employers to standardise their global payroll management. Payslip technology integrates with human capital management and accounting/ERP systems, automating payroll processes and standardising global payroll data and reporting. With Payslip, multinational clients can centrally manage their global payroll operations with visibility, control and governance as they expand operations across borders.

    Pre-launch, McGuirk and her team conducted robust market testing. They spoke to over 470 multinational employers, payroll providers, and international payroll associations, including the Global Payroll Management Institute in the US and the Global Payroll Association in the UK. McGuirk’s instincts were correct: there was a strong need for a new global payroll model with a focus on automation and standardisation.

    In February 2018, Payslip began its seed funding process and applied for HPSU support. The start-up found solid support in its Enterprise Ireland Development Advisor (DA), who helped to guide Payslip through the application process. Once HPSU status was gained, the goal was to seek a strong investor partnership that would help grow the business and open international channels to multinational companies.

    “HPSU offered us established, structured support,” says McGuirk. “As an organisation, they have international market experience—they’ve been through this journey before. They were able to arrange the specific introductions needed in foreign markets.”

    Over the past two years, Payslip has acquired 23 clients headquartered across Ireland, Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark, and the US. Clients like Airbus, Teamwork, AMCS Group, Argon Medical Devices, LogMeIn, Phorest and others use the Payslip platform to manage and control global payroll for employees in over 60 countries. Sales increased 500% after the first year and McGuirk says the company has plans to increase by another 400% in 2020.

     

    Educating the marketplace on the need for payroll innovation

    Initially, the greatest challenge was helping potential investors and clients to understand how Payslip technology could disrupt and transform the market.

    “What we were doing was different than what was done before, Payslip is a technology solution for global payroll, not a service for payroll calculations,” McGuirk says. “We had to educate the market and help people understand that we don’t compete with payroll service providers—we collaborate with them.”

    Payslip brought something entirely new to the table: a technology solution to automate and standardise the global payroll process in a way that delivers central governance, while accommodating local country payroll nuances . Previously, the established industry players were traditional global payroll service offerings like ADP, Ceridian, and CloudPay. These service firms focus on delivering in-country payroll calculation and compliance expertise. According to McGuirk, there is no other platform that provides a single, end-to-end global payroll management solution like Payslip.

    Payslip began acquiring early-adopter clients and interest was high among high-growth, technology-based companies. McGuirk says the first client was naturally the hardest to land. After that, things took off quickly. Thanks to the growing number of multinational companies who are going digital to achieve central governance, Payslip is now the leader in the new Gartner industry category of digital payroll services.

     

    More markets, more clients

    Payslip closed its Series A fundraising in February 2020 and, so far, all its initial investors have followed their investment in Payslip. McGuirk says that being a HPSU company will help it achieve its goal of continued international growth pointing out that Enterprise Ireland has resources in the right foreign markets. Their international teams have a good understanding of what is happening locally, which is crucial for market penetration.

    “We intend to extend our reach into more markets and acquire more clients,” McGuirk says. “Our single focus is to continue growing our client base internationally from our headquarters in Westport, Co. Mayo. Enterprise Ireland is very supportive of this objective.”

    Part of Payslip’s growth plan includes the expansion of its sales and engineering teams here in Ireland to support those global aspirations. Working together with Enterprise Ireland and the HPSU team, McGuirk is confident that her company can optimise its commercial capabilities to capitalise on growth opportunities and gain market share.

    Click here to learn more about becoming a HPSU or contact our Start-Up Enquiries Team to find out more.

    From tech enthusiast to industry innovator – How Immersive VR is revolutionising education

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    “It’s not just the money that HPSU provides. It’s the information, contacts, and the advice they give you.”
    David Whelan, Founder, Immersive VR Education

    Overview:

    • Immersive VR Education was founded in 2014 based on the belief that virtual reality has the power to transform how training and educational content is delivered and consumed globally.
    • The business was ushered into the New Frontiers Entrepreneurial Development programme before qualifying for High Potential Start-Up support, which was used for product development, talent acquisition, conference attendance and more.
    • Today, Immersive VR Education has a staff of 40 people and sales of its applications and education licenses are growing at an average of 50% each year.

     

    Case Study: Immersive VR

    David Whelan is a self-taught web developer and all-round tech enthusiast. When he came across the first model of the Oculus virtual reality headset on the fundraising website Kickstarter, he was intrigued. The recession had hit Ireland and money was tight, but Whelan still spent his last €300 to purchase the cutting-edge product.

    Inspired by the new technology, Whelan built one of the very first review websites for virtual reality. He realised that, despite the potential power of this tech to impact learning, most existing VR content consisted of video games and entertainment. It’s true that NASA and several medical research facilities were using virtual reality for training, but access to these experiences was extremely expensive. He had identified a glaring gap in the VR market: educational material for the average consumer. That’s when Whelan decided to start his own virtual reality business: Immersive VR Education.

    Whelan was convinced that his idea held merit for educators worldwide, but in order to make it happen, he needed funding. He paid a visit to his local Enterprise Ireland office in Waterford, bringing along the VR headset.

    “When pitching my idea, the first thing I had to do was explain VR,” says Whelan. “Then I would let them try it. People were always blown away by the experience. They definitely thought I was crazy, but they could see I was committed. It’s hard to deny the power of VR once you’ve tried it.”

    Enterprise Ireland agreed that the start-up had huge global potential. Immersive VR Education was ushered into the New Frontiers Entrepreneurial Development programme with the goal of eventually qualifying for High Potential Start-Up support. Its partnership with Enterprise Ireland generated funding used for product development and enabled Whelan to bring his wife and co-founder, Sandra, on staff. The start-up’s HPSU development advisor, who came from a similar business and technical background, suggested applying for grant funding, so it participated in the HPSU Feasibility Study, which contributed toward costs to attend conferences in relevant industries.

     

    Enterprise Ireland introduced Immersive VR Education to their overseas offices in places like New York, Tokyo, and London. Whelan says these international teams were extremely helpful and happy to advise whether the new VR products would be well received within their respective markets.

    Whelan says, “I couldn’t have started a business anywhere but here. Enterprise Ireland vetted us and vouched for us, which gave investors confidence in our business idea. This opened important doors to funding and helped us to no end.”

     

    Shoot for the moon

    Most of the early fundraising went toward building Immersive VR Education’s first application: the Apollo 11 virtual reality experience. Whelan describes the 1969 moon landing as “a shining beacon in history.” He and his team of developers worked hard to build a virtual reality experience that would transport viewers directly to the surface of the moon with the Apollo 11 crew. He believed that this type of immersive learning would mean much more to students than simply reading about the event in a textbook.

    When the demo for Apollo 11 VR was launched, Facebook used it in conjunction with the release of its new Oculus headset. The partnership gave Immersive VR Education the remaining funds needed to complete the application. When all was said and done, Apollo 11 VR cost about $100,000 to build and went out as a top title on the Oculus Rift VR headset. Since then, the application has generated over $2 million.

     

    Education for everyone

    Following the roaring success of Immersive VR Education’s first application, it began to build out its business and hire more staff. Whelan took the education angle to a whole new level, creating a virtual university where educators can teach anyone in the world via its virtual classrooms.

    “We want a future where education is accessible to everyone,” says Whelan. “I fully believe there is another young Einstein out there, missing his chance to change the world because he doesn’t have access to quality education. We’re here to change that.”

    Immersive VR Education hopes that in the future, we will see virtual universities around the world. Whelan dreams of providing the opportunity for students to attend a physics class at MIT in the morning and literature at Oxford in the afternoon. He also sees potential for exposing home-schooled students to the social benefits of the classroom experience, helping to alleviate isolation for children who are not involved in traditional schooling. The possibilities, he says, are endless.

     

    Exceptional growth with Enterprise Ireland

    Today, Immersive VR Education has a staff of 40 people. Sales of its applications and education licenses are growing at an average of 50% each year. The company sells products online globally, with its highest numbers coming from the US, UK, and Korea.

    Although Immersive VR Education flew through the official HPSU programme in just under three years, Whelan says that Enterprise Ireland is still very much part of their daily operations. They regularly send advisors to Waterford, provide advice and industry connections, and enable access to further support and grants.

    The company’s latest goal is to expand and hire more staff. Recently, it availed of the Enterprise Ireland GradStart programme, which Whelan says is invaluable when it comes to sourcing new recruits. Immersive VR Education expects to see exponential growth over the next three to five years as the company continues its work of revolutionising education around the globe.

    Is your business ready to take the next step towards becoming a HPSU? Contact our Start-Up Enquiries Team to find out more.

    Click here to learn more about becoming a HPSU or contact our Start-Up Enquiries Team to find out more.

    Is your business ready to take the next step to becoming a HPSU? Click here to learn more or contact our Start-Up Enquiries Team

    How Manna Drone Delivery is changing the global delivery industry

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    “Indigenous tech is at a huge disadvantage compared to FDI companies. Enterprise Ireland gives us policy support and the advantage we need in order to scale.”

    Bobby Healy, Founder, Manna Drone Delivery

    Overview:

    • Serial entrepreneur Bobby Healy of CarTrawler fame founded Manna Drone Delivery in 2017 to revolutionise food delivery.
    • The High Potential Start-Up team provided invaluable logistical support, training, and market access.
    • Healy plans to begin scaling the company globally in the next 18-24 months.

    Case Study: Manna Drone Delivery

    Bobby Healy is an experienced entrepreneur, but his latest idea is probably his most revolutionary yet. For the last three years, he’s been building Manna Drone Delivery, a service with which he plans to revolutionise the world of online food delivery. Healy says he noticed that major food platforms don’t deliver to suburban Ireland. The reason? It is nearly impossible to drive or deliver food profitably. The practice is cost-prohibitive but still needed in many areas. He saw an opportunity to use new technology as a solution to the problem: drones. Healy founded Manna and began hiring experts who could turn his idea into reality.

    A computer programmer by trade, Healy began his career writing video games for Nintendo. Since then, he has founded and led two successful businesses, including CarTrawler, the world’s largest mobility marketplace for airlines. Healy’s programming expertise was also the foundation for his drone delivery idea. Over the last two years, the Manna team has built and tested custom software, hardware, and batteries. They are also working with aviation regulators in multiple markets about airspace law. The end goal is to “make a 3-minute, low-cost food delivery service as pervasive as running water in Europe and the USA.”

    “Anywhere there’s an economy where food delivery is growing, we should be there. By 2021, we’ll begin to scale and then enter markets everywhere.” says Healy.

    The entrepreneur’s last two businesses were supported by Enterprise Ireland, so it was only natural that Healy went to them with his newest idea. He says that onboarding with the High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) team was a straightforward process.

    “The HPSU team were always available to meet and help us understand what they needed for us to qualify. It’s not a rigid organisation. They do everything they can to take care of formalities in the background as you get going on the work,” Healy says.

     

    HPSU making headway on foreign soil

    Currently, there are 23 people working for Manna. Healy says that with Enterprise Ireland’s guidance, he plans to begin commercially scaling the company in the next 18 to 24 months. He predicts HPSU will be invaluable when it comes to logistical support, training, and market access. He plans to lean on HPSU as he pushes Manna’s service into the global marketplace.

    One of the biggest challenges to launching international drone operations is airspace regulation. Flight rules vary from country to country and Healy’s team will need to negotiate with lawmakers in each region where they hope to fly. The partnership with Enterprise Ireland will be crucial for gaining permission to operate in foreign airspace. The key to success is access to the people who control those regulations.

    “Enterprise Ireland is there to help with introductions to regulators in foreign countries,” Healy says. “They offer an industrial international presence.”

    Healy admits that his company is facing some inordinately large challenges, saying it is probably the most complex business you could build. Manna must find solutions for custom cloud services, market integration, new hardware, regulations, certification, and licensing. On top of everything else, there is the matter of finance. Healy says the first hurdle in fundraising was educating and convincing investors that his idea was viable. The scale and audacity of the plan can be hard to fathom for some.

    Healy says, “Most businesses are predictable and believable. Ours is beyond cutting edge. We’re doing something totally new, but we’ve overcome disbelief and begun to successfully raise significant levels of capital.”

    The international business community has shown faith in the fledgling company’s new ideas. In addition to regulatory access across borders, Enterprise Ireland has been working to assist Manna throughout the fundraising process.

    “The team in San Francisco have been instrumental in opening doors for us as we raise funds,” says Healy. “They give us respectability and prominence in the industry.”

     

    Sights set on more than just food

    Manna is launching as a food delivery service, but Healy says the start-up won’t stop there. He decided to hone in on the food industry because the volume of potential deliveries is so high. Healy says this will allow the new business to be capital efficient. Once the infrastructure is in place, however, it plans to also roll out services for pharmacies, hardware stores, butcher shops, bookstores, and anything else that fuels a local economy.

    In order to reach these goals, Healy says talent acquisition will be important. As drone technology continues to develop, Manna will need more high-quality technicians, designers, and programmers on board to keep up. He predicts that the company’s ongoing relationship with HPSU and Enterprise Ireland will once again be valuable as it scales.

    “A small start-up company needs an endorsement that says, ‘These guys are a team to work with’. We’re competing with the big guys for talent, so HPSU helps address that imbalance.” says Healy.

     

    Is your business ready to take the next step to becoming a HPSU? Click here to learn more or contact our Start-Up Enquiries Team.

    Read how Flynn built its international presence

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    This time last year, none of us were aware of the disaster which was about to unfold across the globe. But 12 months on, industry across every sector is still reeling from the impact of the pandemic which continues to make its presence felt.

    But while some businesses were affected more than others, the construction sector in many areas of the world, has continued to carry out essential works and this, according to Cormac McKenna of Flynn, a Dublin based international construction company, has been beneficial for many companies which have expanded outside Ireland.

    “We have been active in mainland Europe for four years and have branches in Denmark and Germany,” says McKenna, who has been with the company for 12 years. “We are predominantly in the data centre sector in mainland Europe and our offices have a blend of both Irish and local staff.”

    “We have also been active in the UK for nearly three years and have a regional office in London, servicing this market in the general contracting, fit-out and data centre markets.”

    McKenna, a director with Flynn, oversees operations in Dublin and mainland Europe and says the move outside Ireland came about as a result of building on existing relationships and pitching the expertise the firm was confident would add value to European and UK projects.

    “Our network of clients, design teams and traditional contactor partners have brought us data centre opportunities in Denmark initially – and these led to further operations in Northern Europe, the Nordics and the Benelux regions,” he says. “We are fortunate to have been able to continue working in Europe during the pandemic as it affected Irish business badly because the sector has been shut down twice during national lockdowns.

    “Construction has continued in both the UK and Germany and because we have been working on data centres, which are deemed essential.”

    The main difficulty has been getting workforce to and from sites as every jurisdiction has its own restrictions – so in some places there are quarantine regulations and in other countries, there is a requirement to provide a negative PCR test. Everywhere is different, but you just have to roll with the punches, be nimble and able to change approach as and when is necessary. And we have relied heavily on our workforce to be flexible in their approach.”

    Of course it hasn’t all been plain sailing as operating in different countries can be challenging, even without a global pandemic.

    “Apart from the obvious challenges to be overcome such as supply chain, logistics, legislative issues, taxation, industrial relations and nuances in the construction regulations in any new jurisdiction we enter, working overseas also raises the additional challenge of ensuring that operations in remote locations are delivered with same culture and quality that we insist on,” says McKenna.

     

    Building an international presence

    “The main issues we have faced were around sourcing supply chain and getting to grips with local legislation from an industrial relations perspective and contract law perspective. But our auditors and accountants are Grant Thornton who have an international presence, which gives us a lot of satisfaction and comfort in knowing that our approach is correct.

    “We have opened offices in London, Copenhagen and Frankfurt. And Enterprise Ireland and our international auditors and accountants have been key to the successful establishment of a foothold in these markets.  The key to success has also been leaning heavily on our network and ensuring we asked plenty of questions of the right people.”

    Along with keeping its European interests ticking over, Flynn has also been looking after its clients here at home – but the various lockdowns have made this difficult at times.

    “Like all businesses in construction, Covid 19 has affected our operations,” says McKenna. “We, like many companies, have faced difficulties and have faced additional costs for control measures and also to cover for staff who either contracted Covid or were close contacts of someone with the virus.  But we managed to get through the past year by investing in people and systems along with physical controls on our sites to ensure we have industry leading controls and management systems in place.

    “Our business had well tested systems for remote working and collaboration to allow our project teams and regional offices to communicate effectively.  And as working restrictions were imposed, these existing systems have paid real dividends and we feel we are working as effectively as possible while keeping our teams safe.”

    The Dublin based firm has been in business for over 16 years and prides itself in the quality of its people and the prestige of its clients.  And according to McKenna, Enterprise Ireland has helped with this success.

    “Flynn is predominantly a main contractor but over the past five years we have brought our main contracting experience to package contracting in the Hyperscale Data Centre Market,” says the company director. “And we feel the expertise in bringing teams of trusted trade contractors together and managing the entire CSA solution for our clients, brings tangible added value to any Hyperscale DC we have been involved in.

    “Enterprise Ireland has been a key partner in our international growth. Their representatives are always at the end of the phone for advice and have provided key introductions in local authorities, supply chain parties and in some instances leads for new business.  They have also provided tangible supports from a training and marketing perspective.

    “In addition, we found the Market Discovery Fund and some of the supports we got in the marketing field to be very effective. Some of the introductions they made for us in both Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK was a great help. And also, just having someone at the other end of the phone to bounce ideas off, has been invaluable.”

    The company has over 140 employees across Ireland and Europe and is currently looking to further its portfolio with opportunities in Ireland, UK and Mainland Europe. and McKenna says while 2021 may be a difficult time for construction firms to be thinking of expanding abroad, once the current crisis is over, there could be plenty of opportunity for Irish companies.

    “There is a definite advantage to being an Irish company overseas, particularly one with Irish employees as we are known for having the mindset of getting things done,” he says. “In the high tech and data centre world, schedule is key and the Irish work ethic of doing what you say you will do and doing it on time, is a great advantage as we can be trusted to get the job done.

    “Our aim so to grow our client base across Europe, to grow our team and to bring added value to future data centre projects.  My advice to firms thinking of doing the same, would be to complete extensive research in the jurisdiction you are targeting and use the Enterprise Ireland team as they provide a lot of useful information and contacts.”

    Austria landscape

    Ambition Austria: Opportunities for Irish companies beyond Germany  

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    There’s a small, outward-looking, industrious country keen on exports that sometimes lives in the shadow of its larger neighbour. It thrives on innovation and its people are known to work and play hard.

    While the above could be a description of Ireland today, it is also true of Austria. And although Irish companies tend to overlook Austria in favour of its neighbour Germany, the Eurozone’s largest economy, exporters may want to rethink the opportunities available in its equally prosperous and resourceful neighbour.

    With just eight million in population but with the same landmass as Ireland, it may appear small but looking at present-day Austria in isolation ignores the deep-rooted and long-held trade links forged by the vast European empire that spanned central and eastern europe and the Balkans.

    Today, it not only remains a gateway to the very same eastern markets but with the conclusion of the Chinese Silk Road rail line, goods to and from China take around 10 days from Vienna.

     

    How to unlock export potential in Austria

    How to unlock Austria’s export potential was a core topic of the most recent Ambition Germany event in Limerick, organised by Enterprise Ireland.

    Despite its picture postcard image of Alpine vistas or Viennese opulence, Austria’s economy is driven by a high industrial base with a strong automotive sector, and it is Austria not Germany that manufacturers the iconic BMW 5 series seen on Irish roads. Only Germany and Switzerland exceed Austria’s per capita industrial output with its industrial base accounting for 28% of GDP.

    It’s not hard to see why it’s home to 300 multinationals and the European home to 28 Fortune 500 companies. It has a strong presence in cleanroom manufacturing (almost half of the world’s data chipped passports contain Austrian data chips), automotive expertise in diesel engines, high-spec powertrains such as F1 cars, electric vehicles and autonomous driving tech, as well as strong clusters of cleantech and environmental, as well as fintech. Its banking sector has long standing access to the Balkan countries.

    Ireland is currently a net exporter to Austria, with Irish businesses racking up a €200 million surplus in balance of trade on an export market worth €1.2 billion annually.

    Austria’s ability to act as a stepping stone to near markets is a valid reason for market entry. It shares land borders with eight countries.

    Graz is ideal for firms looking for a gateway to the south, and since the 1990s has evolved into a key health and medical hub, sharing a lot of synergy with the likes of Ireland’s own Galway.

    Doing business in Austria is relatively straightforward but there is local complexity in setting up a direct presence, according to Josef Tremel, CEO of Advantage Austria. Setting up a limited company can require clearance from some four separate bodies, Tremel told delegates.

    “The good news is that Austria has, like Ireland, because of its size, strong, tight-knit networks. You can certainly use this to your advantage to get sectoral referrals and reference projects. It’s definitely worth putting effort into a good contact in your sector because they will ultimately open up doors for you.”

    While business culture will be familiar to Irish firms, it still remains formal, with Austrians placing a great deal of importance on hierarchy and titles. Austrian firms abhor risk and value being able to plan long-term. Being able to demonstrate long-term commitment and the ability to meet future capacity will count in negotiations, according to Tremel.

    “We Austrians place a great deal of value on history, particularly in business, and many firms have a long family history behind them. It is always worth mentioning your own history as it generally reassures us,” he said.

    Austrian productivity is famous but it may be surprising to learn that many firms simply close at 2pm on a Friday. Irish firms used to flexible working should be mindful of Austrian work practices. Leisure-time, particularly family-oriented, is taken seriously.

    History continues to loom large over Austrian business and some Irish firms may be tempted to sell into market out of existing German centres but this is unlikely to go down well, the conference heard. While there are exceptions, of course, native German sales reps will find it tough going with the possible exception of Bavarians.

    For Fergal Keen, Managing Director of cargo-partner Ireland, the advantages of Austria were obvious.

    “There’s no doubt that actually setting up there is time consuming and frustrating but if you know what’s coming, you can live with it.

    “However, the benefits outweigh all that. It really is a gateway in the fullest sense of the word. Getting into Austria means getting Irish goods beyond the borders and they go further than Austria to the likes of Croatia, Bosnia and Eastern Europe. That’s the advantage.”

    Dmac Media Director of Sales

    Dmac Media – attracting new talent with GradStart

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    “Tech graduates are highly desirable and form a key part of our growth plans.  We had issues competing for that talent and GradStart allowed us to offer a much more attractive package to graduates.”

    Dave McEvoy, Sales Director, Dmac Media

    Overview:

    • Dmac Media is a web design agency offering a full suite of web solutions including web design, eCommerce platforms, content management and digital marketing.
    • With offices in Dublin, Sligo and Cork the company used Enterprise Ireland’s GradStart initiative to attract fresh graduate talent and drive business activity.
    • The GradStart programme offers salary support of up to 70% for the employment of graduate talent to assist companies when expanding into new markets.

    1. What attracted you to get involved in GradStart?

    Tech graduates are highly desirable and form a key part of our growth plans.  We had issues competing for that talent and Enterprise Ireland‘s GradStart allowed us to offer a much more attractive package to graduates.

     

    2. What did GradStart allow you to do that you wouldn’t have done otherwise?

    Bringing in fresh talent to our business allowed us to focus more heavily on business development as a daily activity rather than a paper based plan.

     

    3. What challenges and/or opportunities did GradStart help you address?

    With qualified personnel we had lower training and induction costs this allowed us to keep up in a fast paced sector in a sustainable way.  The challenge (as always) was finding the right graduates.

     

    4. Which areas of the business did the graduate contribute to?

    Our graduates have broadened both our technical skillset as well as our graphic design and process management skills.  The impact was noticeable from day one.

     

    5. How did participating in GradStart impact your business positively?

    GradStart gave us a headstart on developing new products which in turn has brought our entry into new markets considerably closer.

     

    6. Were there any learnings from your participation in GradStart that you have taken forward into your business?

    We have evolved from a company with very standard and fixed methodologies to one that is now willing to experiment and develop better strategies.

     

    7. Would you recommend GradStart to your business peers? If so, why?

    Yes, it gives you time to focus on the business rather than just working in the business.

    Learn more about GradStart and how it can support your business growth.

    Loci Orthopaedics

    How the Innovation Partnership Programme is helping Loci Orthopaedics de-risk product development

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    “NUIG has the expertise and the equipment to develop this technology much faster and more efficiently that we would be able to do in-house.”

    Dr. Brendan Boland, Co-founder, Loci Orthodopaedics

    Overview:

    • Galway company Loci Orthopaedics is developing innovative implants to address unmet need in the orthopaedic extremities space.
    • Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Partnership Programme enabled the company to work with experts in the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) to optimise technology to improve implant fixation.
    • The company will be undertaking its first clinical trials in Europe later this year.

    Case study: Loci Orthopaedics

    ‘Thumbs, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes’ is (almost) what the song says, and it more or less sums up the orthopaedic space within which NUIG spin-out company Loci Orthopaedics is operating. Co-founded in 2017 by Dr. Brendan Boland (CEO) and Gerry Clarke (CTO), the multi-award-winning company is targeting the fastest growing area in orthopaedic medicine – orthopaedic extremities.

    “In 2013, I became a fellow in the BioInnovate programme, where I met Gerry. We identified the unmet clinical need of treating upper limb arthritic conditions. That led to the establishment of Loci Orthopaedics and the development of our primary product, the InDx implant, which can mimic the complex motions of the thumb base joint,” explains Boland.

    The company then began work on a second product, a shoulder implant. Recognising that achieving good primary fixation is problematic for patients with poor bone stock, it licensed OsteoAnchor – technology that had been developed by Dr. Noel Harrison of the School of Engineering at NUIG, who is a leader in the field of additive manufacturing (3D printing).

    “The OsteoAnchor technology allows implants to better adhere to the bone by providing a roughened surface that the person’s own bone can grow into….” 

    We felt that this technology fitted our focus but we needed to optimise its effectiveness and de-risk it to give us the confidence to invest in developing new products using it. Having benefitted in the past from excellent support from Enterprise Ireland, we turned to its Innovation Partnership Programme for help,” says Boland.” 

     

    The power of partnership

    The Innovation Partnership Programme enables companies to access expertise within universities and research institutes and covers up to 80% of the cost of a research project. With NUIG’s recently opened Advanced Manufacturing Lab (developed by Dr. Harrison) located just metres from Loci Orthopaedics, it made sense to ask Harrison’s team to lead the Innovation Partnership Programme project.

    “They have the expertise and the equipment to develop the OsteoAnchor technology much faster and more efficiently than we would be able to do in-house,” says Boland.

    Dr. Eimear O’Hara is the technical lead and project manager. “It’s an ambitious six-month project,” she says. “We’re taking a concept implant and doing the design, prototyping and mechanical testing here in the lab, where we have extensive 3D printing capability. The deliverable will be a metal 3D printed shoulder implant.”

    The Innovation Partnership Programme will deliver benefits to both the company and the university.

    “As well as de-risking the technology, the Innovation Partnership Programme validates it to external parties because the project goes through commercial assessment,” says Boland.  “And there’s the potential for the Innovation Partnership Programme collaboration to lead to further innovation.” 

    From NUIG’s perspective it’s the chance to engage with industry to get insights into real world applications of 3D printing and to demonstrate the capability of its 3D metal printer.

    “This kind of collaboration also informs the content of my lectures, helping to keep Mechanical Engineering students up to date about additive manufacturing processes, materials and product design,” says Harrison.

    “It’s the first time we’ve used the 3D metal printer for an industry-based project. We’re hoping that many more companies will be interested in working with us on using our suite of 3D printers, not just in the medtech space but across all manufacturing,” he adds.

     

    The journey to market

    With the combined value of the markets for its shoulder and thumb base implants currently sitting at around US $2 billion, the outcome of the Innovation Partnership Programme project will be an important milestone for Loci Orthopaedics, enabling it to take the next steps on its journey to market.

    “Our primary market is the US and this year we’ll be making a regulatory submission relating to our InDx product in advance of commercialisation in the US in 2021. We’re aiming to do our first clinical trial of InDx in Europe in June and are anticipating commercialisation in the EU in 2022,” says Boland.

    The same process will apply to the shoulder implant, following about two years behind.

    “Meanwhile we’ll have an active in-house innovation and R&D programme. We’ve already secured patents, have four more filed and 16 more in development. Over the next five years we’re hoping to roll out a whole suite of products.”says Boland. 

    Until the products hit the market the company will run lean, maintaining just three staff and using manufacturing and processing partners. Financing currently comes from €6 million secured from seed funding, grants and prizes.

     

    The Innovation Partnership Programme experience

    Loci Orthopaedics received a grant of €85,000 from the Innovation Partnership Programme and contributed €16,000 to the project.

    “For a modest sum of money, we are getting a great deal of work done, a good bang for your buck, as they say. Moreover, applying for the Innovation Partnership Programme grant is relatively straightforward and Enterprise Ireland ensures that the IPP agreement clearly sets out what is expected from each party and what each will get out of it, for example, in the area of intellectual property or how new innovations resulting from the project will be handled. This project is enabling us to add to our R&D pipeline and increase our product portfolio,” says Boland.

    Dr. Harrison encourages companies to think big when considering the Innovation Partnership Programme: “A company may have a technical problem that they need help on but they’re thinking about it in terms of their bandwidth. Through the Innovation Partnership Programme, they can get access to a university’s massive suite of equipment, expert personnel and state-of-the-art facilities.”

     

     

    Beats Medical CEO Ciara Clancy

    Beats Medical: changing the approach to neurological disease

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    “It’s a huge honour to be supported by the European Commission and really push the limits of what we are doing with this technology….this grant will support us in having the impact we’ve always wanted to have.”

    Dr. Ciara Clancy, CEO, Beats Medical

    Overview:

    • Founded in 2012, Beats Medical is a game-changing medtech company developing new ways to treat Parkinson’s disease, speech and fine motor skills.
    • It has received feasibility funding, CSF and HPSU support from Enterprise Ireland.
    • In September 2019, Beats Medical was awarded a co-financing grant of €2.4 million from the Horizon 2020 Enhanced European Innovation Council Accelerator Pilot.
    • Today, Beats Medical delivers therapies to people in more than 44 countries and has offices in Dublin and Lisbon.

    Case study: Beats Medical

    At the age of 22, Ciara Clancy set up Beats Medical, a game-changing medtech company determined to find new ways to treat Parkinson’s disease. “From the start, I was interested in what is now called ‘digital therapeutics’,” she says, “It’s an established field of healthcare now, but then there was no name for it.”

     

    Falling short

    As a practitioner, Clancy was impressed by the ability of ‘metronome therapy’ to alleviate Parkinson’s walking symptoms. Through an auditory cue system, the therapy replaces the brain signals that are impaired by the disease, helping to overcome the shuffling walk, shortness of breath and freezing so often associated with the disease. While she had no doubt about the efficacy of the therapy, Clancy wanted her clients to enjoy its benefits not only in the hospital, but in their own homes.

     

    “For people with neurological conditions,” Clancy explains, “the symptoms vary not only from person to person but from day to day and hour to hour – no one solution fits all.” 

    This means that the therapy must be tailored regularly and precisely, making it challenging to prescribe it as ‘homework’.

    If she could find a way to deliver these therapies remotely, however, Clancy believed she could dramatically improve the lives of countless people living with Parkinson’s, giving them more control over their symptoms every day.

    When, in 2012, Clancy founded Beats Medical, her aim was to design a device that would give those with Parkinson’s access to therapy between hospital visits. She needed to create a device that could analyse individual needs and generate tailored metronome therapy prescriptions.

    “I had support from Enterprise Ireland at this stage,” explains Clancy, “as well as feasibility funding and Competitive Start Fund (CSF) support. The initial years of research were about seeing if it was even possible to do this.”

     

    The next step

    It was soon clear that Clancy was onto something. In 2015, she was named Laureate for Europe at the Cartier Women’s Initiative and the same year Beats Medical became one of Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Start-ups, giving Clancy the financial support needed to start building a team.

    “One of the first people I brought on board was Dr. Wui-Mei Chew, a medical doctor and researcher specialising in molecular medicine,” says Clancy. “We had met at university.”

    A year later, she won Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur and Best Established Business awards, which together earned her €60,000 via an investment fund from Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices.

    With their hard-won R&D funding, the team spent two years developing algorithmic and analytical processes and building the initial prototype. They then went on to test the device with a number of Irish universities, as well as with the UK’s largest Parkinson’s charity, Parkinson’s UK.

    After some trial and error, Beats Medical had developed a core technology platform that could deliver cost-effective daily assessments and individually tailored therapy to clients.

     

    The risk

    Despite these developments, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the young company. Not satisfied to stop there, Clancy had her sights set on expanding the technology to treat speech and fine motor skills. Beats Medical reported financial losses two years running while it tried to develop and expand its product but continued to make its existing device available to those with Parkinson’s.

    This tenacity paid off. In 2018, Clancy’s company launched one of the first digital therapeutics in Europe to attain direct reimbursement, with the Beats Medical Dyspraxia app covered by Vhi Healthcare.

    Today, the company employs twelve people and has offices in Dublin and Lisbon. It delivers therapies to people in over 44 countries.

     

    Change on the horizon

    Beats Medical has seen for itself how ambition can threaten financial viability. For SMEs like this, the high risk associated with innovative solutions can prevent ideas from reaching their full potential.

    This is where Horizon 2020 comes in. The EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation aims at helping to mitigate the hurdles to scientific development and innovation in Europe by supporting high potential SMEs. The fund provides direct financial support to selected SMEs, as well as nourishing innovation capacities.

    The Horizon 2020 Enhanced European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator Pilot is an incarnation of its ‘SME Instrument’. The pilot has €149 million funding available to distribute as grants to 83 SMEs and start-ups around Europe.

    “We applied for the EIC Pilot to be able scale up our current core technology platform in order to further deploy the technology in more disease areas,” says Clancy.

    In September 2019, Beats Medical was one of eight Irish SMEs to be awarded the pilot’s full-cycle business innovation support. It received a co-financing grant of €2.4 million, as well as coaching and mentoring.

    “For us, it’s a huge honour to be supported by the European Commission and really push the limits of what we are doing with this technology,” says Clancy. “Now, we can expand our product and research activities to multiple neurological conditions. We want to continue to better treat these patients and inform the health sector as a whole. The grant will support us in having the impact that we’ve always wanted to have.”

    The EIC Pilot will fund a two-year project as part of Clancy’s ambitious five-year plan to not only transform the way neurological conditions are treated but generate a better understanding of the brain. Already, the company has started new and promising research, and has just been assigned their EIC business coach.

    “The EIC Accelerator Pilot is a great programme,’ adds Clancy. “It’s really important that other companies focused on deep research and innovation know about this.”

     

    Cutting costs and reducing food waste: Positive Carbon’s solution for the hotel industry

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    We are all becoming more and more aware of our impact on the world, yet when it comes to business, profit often takes precedence. But if you can form a business that makes profit and helps the environment – then you’re onto a winner.

    Enterprise Ireland’s Competitive Start Fund (CSF) is encouraging applications from eligible companies that address the challenges and opportunities relating to climate change. “It’s really exciting to see more environmentally focused businesses coming through,” says Aisling Kirwan, co-founder and Director of Operations at Positive Carbon, a recent recipient of funding through the CSF. “If you can bring together a business model while answering environmental concerns, it’s a win-win. And people are becoming more aware of the consequences of their actions and their impact on the world around them.”

    Positive Carbon is a great example of a business looking to have a positive impact on the environment with a product that saves money for their customers. Aimed at the hotel market, Positive Carbon manufactures a solution to reduce food waste in as simple a way as possible.

    “From research, we found that hotels were the biggest wasters of food by far,” Aisling explains. “From talking to chefs and getting feedback from general managers, we came up with a solution that we thought would work the best in a busy kitchen, with the aim of halving food waste. A hotel, on average, spends €200,000 a year on food that ends up in the bin; if we can halve this, we can help the hotel save money while reducing the environmental impact of the waste.

    “Our solution is a fully automated food waste monitoring system. A weighing scales fits under any bin in any kitchen and sitting alongside that is a camera that looks directly into the bin. When waste is thrown into the bin, the scales weighs it while the camera takes a picture for identification. All of that information is collected and displayed for the client, so they can see exactly what is being thrown away. For instance, the information might reveal that 13 kilos of chicken was thrown away today – this clearly needs addressing. Avoidable food waste accounts for 66% of the waste in hotels, and with functions, that number shoots up to 87% – it’s an absolutely massive amount of waste, both food and money.

    “The United Nations has said that if we can reduce food waste, this is the single most effective thing we can do to reduce CO2 – and it’s such a quick and easy and achievable fix.” says Kirwan.

     

    CSF applications – a demanding, but rewarding process

    With a background in the food waste industry working with innovative companies such as FoodCloud, Aisling and her co-founder Mark Kirwan first applied to Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers programme to see if their solution to reduce food waste could become a viable business; Positive Carbon then opened for business in May 2020.

    “The CSF felt like the logical next step for us,” says Aisling. 

    “We used the funds mostly for product development, to bring out a new version of the product, and then to upscale manufacturing as we are bringing onboard a number of new hotels over the next few months.”

    “I’m also taking part in the Innovate programme as part of that, the three-month accelerator programme for women entrepreneurs delivered by Dublin Business Innovation Centre in partnership with Enterprise Ireland, which has been really great. It’s good to be in an environment where you can talk about any issues or thrash out solutions.”

    Like many other CSF recipients, Aisling says the application process was a rewarding exercise. “I definitely wouldn’t say it was easy! There are a lot of different stages to it, but it was also very enjoyable. It made us really think what we were trying to achieve in our business, get that down on paper and then be able to pitch our plan to a panel as well – and to be confident enough to answer questions. It’s definitely a demanding process but you get a lot out of it as well.”

     

    Covid – time to prepare

    Launching a new business during the Covid-19 pandemic certainly brings its challenges but for Positive Carbon it also gave them time to prepare. “With Covid-19 limiting hotel business, we’ve had the chance to sit down with general managers for a chat about our product,” says Aisling. “People are so generous with their time; it’s nerve-wracking to call up someone out of the blue but people are happy to talk to you and give you really valuable advice and feedback.”

    Aisling says that the reaction from the industry has been positive – and no wonder, as this product has the potential to save businesses a massive amount of money, something that the beleaguered hotel industry will welcome. “After such a difficult year, hotels are excited to try new things. Food waste is such an unnecessary cost – and it’s not just the cost of the food itself, it’s the cost of the staff time in prepping, cooking and storing the food. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) estimates that when you take in all the factors involved in food waste, the true cost is €5,000 a ton.”

    “We’ve come a long way in the last few months, and that’s with the support of Enterprise Ireland and the CSF”, says Kirwan.

    Visit this page for more information about the Competitive Start Fund.

     

    Ambition Benelux: Breaking into Benelux

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    Choosing the right international opportunities and how to address them are key success factors in every successful export strategy. At Enterprise Ireland’s most recent Ambition Benelux event in Athlone, Irish exporters shared the reasoning behind their move to this lucrative market that offers access to the rest of the Eurozone.

    For Azpiral, a Limerick firm running real-time cloud-based customer loyalty engagement software, it was the unavoidable consequences of Brexit that focused the minds of the management team as they moved to ensure regulatory compliance with data stored in the UK.

    Sales director Kevin Nolan told delegates: “We made a decision once the Brexit vote was taken that we had to make efforts on two fronts. Firstly, we had to move over data out of the UK, so it took a two-year project to bring it on to Microsoft Azure. Secondly, to move into the European market, in 2018 we started doing research into the forecourt and convenience market across Europe. We identified the main groups across multiple countries with the hope that, if we could win some of those, it would open up the market internationally.

    “We targeted Benelux specifically because we had integrations in place with the till systems of forecourt systems of that region.” says Nolan.

    Nolan reported that they had just concluded a deal that will see their cloud-based solution positioned in 350 AVIA service stations in the Netherlands, representing 10% of the market.

    AVIA is an international leader in the European forecourt sector, with over 3,000 stations across 15 European countries. Nolan says he is “hopeful that being the first choice in loyalty software for international brands like Circle K, Gulf Oil, Spar and AVIA will present opportunities for Azpiral to continue to expand internationally.”

    Project management firm Aspira, who specialises in software services and digital transformation, took a more analytical route into the region. Having served the Irish arms of many multinational clients in Cork and Dublin, it heatmapped the concentration of prospective clients and settled on Amsterdam. Both the Netherlands and Belgium have high concentrations of multinational HQs meaning key decision makers are within arm’s reach.

    Russell Moore, Aspira’s Resourcing Manager, said having face-to-face contact was vital: “We quickly saw that by having a local office near to where your clients were meant that you could expand quite rapidly.  It’s much better than doing FaceTime or Skype. So we weren’t afraid of looking at a new market. As time has gone on, the whole agile concept of the project management package is very interesting to Dutch clients who are very engaged with digital transformation.

    Localising for Benelux

    speakers at Ambition Benelux

    “We rebranded lots of projects that we had already done with this in mind, such as the Central Bank, Coillte and Aer Lingus, into the digital transformation journey that had been taken by these clients, and we’ve found that is resonating really well with the Dutch market in particular.”

    For Cork’s Over-C, who deploys an integrated digital platform providing transparency for all functions relating to the upkeep of high-footfall, scaling meant having to go beyond the Irish border. Their product suits high-footfall, high-risk public facilities, such as shopping centres, stadia and transit hubs, and ultimately there is finite amount of all of these here in Ireland. Over-C leveraged existing links with Dutch-owned client ScotRail when targeting the region.

    James Murphy, Head of Partnerships, told delegates:

    “I see the Netherlands as a gateway to the rest of Europe. The Netherlands are early software adopters, and Germany looks at the Netherlands and what works there, so it’s good preparation for new markets.” 

    Over-C’s innovative software uses artificial intelligence, data and analytics to provide industry professionals with key insights for time-critical decision-making. It has been operating in the Dutch market for two years, with customers including Facilicom, Trigion, Koopgoot, Plaza Nieuwegein Shopping Centre, and Wereldhave. Over-C is working with KPN to identify further opportunities through their customer base.

     

    Take the step into Benelux

    Events such as Ambition Benelux are one element of Enterprise Ireland’s Step into the Eurozone campaign, which supports Irish companies at each stage of their market discovery journey. Built around five steps, the programme assists with everything from scoping, assessing and validating new market opportunities, to acquiring funding for activities such as recruiting graduates with relevant language skills.

    With Nolan reporting that it took Azpiral 12 months to finalise its big deal in the Netherlands, these supports are hugely valuable for helping to sustain the investment of management time and direct costs behind successful market entry.