UpStarts.ie Podcast

Brendan Kilty SC rejoins us on the show this week to talk about his day job dealing with people personal and commercial debt issues. Dividing his practice between the high value commercial and international arbitration cases and pro bono human rights work, Brendan helps people who are struggling with debt come to agreements with their lenders and financial institutions as well as getting a fair deal that satisfies both sides of the arbitration. Brendan talks about how many in Ireland have debt issues and often there is something that can be done to relieve much of the difficulty.

Dayna Caceres returns to answer questions from our listeners on the business concerns and start up challenges. Samantha Kelly, the tweeting goddess joins us via phone to talk about her win at the start up awards, and Chris from the Brand Geeks calls in to help us award Dayna with our first UpStarts honours award.

Brenda Kilty SC from the James Joyce comes into the studio to tell us about his work restoring the house, turning it into a very special venue with a unique dining experience. He also tells us about the global connections the house has created and his work with creating a limited printing of replicas of Joyce’s ‘The Dead’

Melanie from STOMP Marketing & PR joins us in studio today to tell us her journey from stay at home mum to celebrating 1 year running STOMP. She discusses the opportunities for networking in Dublin and showcases some of her clients including Michael, who will be performing as in the Mrs DoubtFayre Musical in the RDS.

Jason Hassett from app company Warrick Hartman comes into studio to talk about a new business which is a collaboration of 3 different business who have come together under the umbrella WeDevelop.ie to give customers a better, more cost effective service for their social media, websites and apps.

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions joins us again in studio this week. She brings with her Aaron from TxtTutor who talks about his business which helps Leaving & Junior cert students with modules from the subjects they are taking and providing them with study aids and expert help. They discuss the challenges of selling the service to both parents and students and the right way for businesses to get to sell to their customers by really getting to know their clients needs.

In the studio this afternoon we host 2 women entrepreneurs in the creative and luxury good industries. Kritika joins us from ArtNouv.com which specialises in Handmade Custom Oil Portraits, Reproductions of Famous Artpieces and a Private Collection. We also have Niamh from Holos.ie which provides products which are hand-crafted in Ireland’s southeast to provide you with a natural, healthy and ethically produced choice in the care of your skin. www.holos.ie www.artnouv.com

Today's show is all about how to use video for success in business! We have Noel from Alonze Productions and Thady from Pressplay.ie Both are in studio to discuss concept to delivery to making your videos viral. They also give some advice to Margot from Booksplitz who calls in for tips on her informative video clips.

Stephen Cummins from Amasat comes back in to the studio reviving his topic of ways to get your life back when using social media. He talks about balancing life and using social media effectively and simple tips so as you are not being controlled by your online presence. www.amasat.com

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur. This week Dayna hosts a live coaching session with Fionnuala from Scarecrow Flowers.

Irish Biz party month continues in the studio today, and we have Helena Tubridy, an IVF coach, fertility therapist and miscarriage councillor. She talks about her long career in the medical area and how this is an important business. She discusses her contact with Anita White from Dolledup.ie and how they have since collaborated in a very different way.

Des from Dolmen County Retailers talks about his business exporting Irish products in such as Tayto, and Barrys tea to irish people living abroad. Niamh Pedreschi from Eco Appz tells us about running a successful contracting business for 21 years before starting a brand new business in the mobile apps market.

Denis Coleman from Innochan solutions joins us to talk about his training courses as well as delivering innovation and change through people. He talks about the need for companies to embrace behavioural change as well as standard training. We also have Darragh from Pawpals talks about his new pet oriented website which aims to be a one stop shop for all you need. www.pawpals.ie www.innochansol.com

Margot Fleming from Booksplits joins us to talk about her business that solves the age old problem of the weight of children’s school bags. Her unique solution an half the weight that children have to carry and also protects books from damage. We also hear from Michelle from Funky Crayons who make custom crayon shapes for all events and all ages.

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

On a packed show this week, former boy band member Alan Fitzsimons joins us to talk about his journey from music, to the corporate world and back to the music industry. Mick from Pet Sitters Ireland talks to us by phone about their pet minding service and their new Nose of Tralee competition to find Irelands best pet, and Stephen Cummins from Amasat tells us how we can regain control of our lives away from social media.

Chris Mack from Club Colours and Macks Corner joins us in studio to talk about the importance of branding for businesses and how he helps small businesses get branded promotional material at affordable rates. He also talks about Club Colours which brands and sells material for small sports clubs around Ireland, while letting the club profit from their own merchandise.

Tommy Ellis from Velvet Voice talks to us about the work of a voiceover artist and the courses he runs for people who are interested in work doing voice overs, while Paul Kelly joins us from shoot audition to talk about actors filming auditions against green screens as well as the return of Matress Mick.

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

Fionnuala McAuley from Scarecrow Flowers joins us today to discuss taking over a business she previously knew very little about, struggling through the recession and building her business while learning and upskilling herself. She talks about the challenges she’s faced being a one woman jack of all trades, and the positive experience of joining #irishbizparty. She shares her success at using social media and in particular twitter to grow her supporters as well as a dress made out of flowers that got her in the media.

Stephen Cummins from Amasat.com returns to talk about innovation and how companies need to continue to be innovative inspite of their size or position in the market. He talks about his new direction with Amasat to build an app to get businesses in the salesforce eco system to connect with the best apps and supports for them.

Taylor Jensen from Marionette Media talks about her move from the USA to Ireland, becoming an entrepreneur, how social media is important for all businesses and shares her tips for good use of online channels.

Claire Burge from international company Get Organised returns to set Andy & Kelly an 8 step creativity challenge on this show. Claire will challenge us to set a goal and work towards a creative output after 8 steps. You can follow our progress online or with the hastag #UpSpin Claire launched her popular creativity book in Dublin last month – Spin: Taking Your Creativity to the Nth Degree. The book takes you inside the process of a productivity expert who understands both the mysterious and technical nature of creativity. Now UpStarts will take up the challenge! Connect with Claire: @claireburge

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

On the show this afternoon we welcome Stuart McHugh, CEO of Newsaccess. Newsaccess is Ireland’s leading media monitoring agency has grown by more than 50 percent in the last year. This growth is driven by the recent acquisition of Media Hub and BusinessWorld.ie. Stuart has a wealth of experience in the Media Intelligence Industry. He became CEO of Newsaccess in 2007 and oversaw the merger of NPC and NMS that year. He then managed Newsaccess’ implementation and launch of diversified digital services. He previously held the positions of Sales & Marketing Director and Head of Insight in Newsaccess and holds a Batchelor’s degree in Marketing.

This week we are joined by Justine Murphy, founder and creator for The Rebel Pebble Gallery. Rebel Pebble is a virtual gallery that specilises in artwork and paintings using reclaimed materials. Much of the work uses pebbles on the paintings to give a three dimensional feel to the work. Justing tells us about her decision to leave a secure job to travel and eventually set up the gallery. #UpStarts

Our guest today is Claire Burge. Claire is a successful businesswoman who heads up the international company Get Organised in Ireland. She has also co-founded Sorted Circus—an online creative service that helps people reach their productivity goals.Both companies aim to help people work smarter.Claire is also an expert on creativity and its vital role in business. Claire launched her popular creativity book in Dublin last month – Spin: Taking Your Creativity to the Nth Degree. The book takes you inside the process of a productivity expert who understands both the mysterious and technical nature of creativity. Claire said: “I wrote Spin: Taking Your Creativity to the Nth Degree because I am realising that creativity is becoming an essential skill in the workplace. Productivity and creativity work hand in hand. The one needs the other.” Claire Burge is also a productivity specialist, model and food photographer. Claire is a regular blogger and productivity contributor for 99U, LifeHack and Get Organised. Furthermore, Claire is a contributor to Image Magazine and speaker at business events. She is media savvy and has received great success with her blog http://99u.com/articles/7274/how-i-gave-up-email-and-reclaimed-3-hours-a-day Connect with Claire: @claireburge http://claireburge.com/ http://claireburge.com/blog/

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

Blogger, entrepreneur and CEO of Amasat, Stephen Cummins joins us in studio to talk about his career path, his work with Salesforce.com and his Alpha App award. He discusses his time in Sales Force as a 'power user' of LinkedIn and give advice to people on good LinkedIn citizenship. He shows the easy ways to improve your linkedIn experience and to avoid the pitfalls of over posting and not filtering correctly.

Entrepreneur, angel investor and innovator Ian Lucey joins us in studio today to talk about the many sides of his business and interest in start-ups from • Funding – what’s available to concept stage start-ups (Country Enterprise Boards, Enterprise Ireland, priming grants, etc.) • Smart Accounting – the different relief schemes available to founders that allows them to free up old taxes they’re entitled to upon starting a business etc. • Lucey Fund – the model he usesto invest is different and innovative in that we build products for people who understand a marker, but not the tech side. • MindUnit – this is a London creative agency which Lucey acquired in 2012. They are one of the market leaders in the UK arts sector and have clients such as Borough Market and London Symphony Orchestra Ian Lucey is founder and CEO of Lucey, a cloud computing and web development company with offices in Dublin, London & Milan. Ian is also an angel investor through the Lucey Fund, and has made investments in 16 startups since the funds foundation 20 months ago. Ian is currently a board member with the Irish Internet Association and was DIT Hothouse Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 Previously Ian has been Sales Director with Relate Software, a Deloitte Fast50 company, managed the Accountants Division in Sage Ireland and was Ireland’s youngest National Student Union officer. Ian has experience building and selling SaaS, ERP, Accounting, Time & Billing, CRM and Payments systems around the world. Lucey is at the forefront of cloud technology for the SME sector, partnering with local and multinational companies to offer online portals, payments, collaboration tools, mobile platforms and much more. Our goal is to help businesses work smarter. By bringing more customer interaction online we can help business become more efficient, more responsive and more profitable. Lucey Investment Fund Lucey Technology invests in exceptional people who have ideas with the potential to change the way we do business. The fund is a new twist on angel and seed investment in that its investment is part cash and part development. MindUnit MindUnit is one of London’s longest established Digital Agencies with a long history in the Arts world and beyond with customers such as the London Symphony Orchestra, The British Postal Museum, Photographers Gallery and many more. Lucey Social Lucey Social is a division of Lucey Technology that donates development time to social causes. To date Lucey Social has donated over €200,000 in development time to a range of good causes

Marc Rafferty from Linked Finance joins us in studio to talk about the changing face of crowd funding and how small businesses who are finding it difficult to get loans or finance can now crowd source their needs from investors and people in their locality. He shows how Linked Finance can help small businesses get quick approval and start getting lots of small lenders to help them reach their goal.

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur.If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

On the show this afternoon Alan Foy from BlueFace talks to us about cloud and internet based communications as well as their packages to save businesses costs on mobile and landline. He discusses the advantages of cloud communications over traditional forms with benefits like a single mailbox for your landline and mobile, and the ability to take you landline number with you anywhere. He also tells us of his own interest in start-ups and how he can help with advice and support to a business with a great idea.

Christina and Karl from Panama Lifestyle join us in the studio to talk about their direct sales business providing luxury, trendy and organic make up goods direct to your door. They talk about their range of different products, the growth of their door to door business which is all about networking, and how they are looking for enthusiastic and self motivated people to join their sales teams.

Today on UpStarts we talk about the importance of cloud computing and its impact on all types of businesses, we explain what cloud software is and how it can save businesses time and money. David Kerr from Cloud Institute Limited comes in to tell us about their training and support for individuals and organisations that want to embrace cloud computing or upskill themselves. He talks about their partnering with businesses to develop their cloud solutions and support. Richard Wilson talks to us from Cloud9DigiDine, a cloud company about to launch their innovative backend solution and front end tablet based menu for the restaurant business to help owners and chefs run their kitchen efficiently as well as giving the customers a more innovative and informative service.

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur.If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

Toby Farren, founder of Play Tank joins us in studio today to talk about their modularized and crowd controlled app and platform for creative projects. PlayTank is a web app aimed at democratizing innovation by providing a platform where anyone can contribute to large scale creative project development. The app handles all the project management; project progression; reward distribution and more so people can concentrate on the creativity.

David Wicks from Merlins Enchanted Balloons joins us in studio today to talk about the very unusual but rewarding business of balloon sculpting and folding. He talks about the creative community around the art and how it can be a viable business for those looking for something really different. He talks about the move away from childrens events and festivals to doing more work for corporate events and professional settings.

Barbara Gordon from Whatswhat.ie joins us in the studio today. What's What is a full feature B2C and B2B platform that offers you a professional presence on the Internet *and provides you with tools that will help you grow your business and *interact with your customers and other businesses. She talks about the evolution of the business from mail shots to web in its early days and to being a pioneer in listing online businesses.

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur.If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

On the show this afternoon we are joined by Declan Cunningham and David Ryan from Flynn O'Driscoll a business law firm focused on achieving practical business solutions for its clients. They talk about their varied work with start-ups as well as the importance for them of being part of the whole journey for a small business offering not only legal support but also advice. They talk about some of the pitfalls they've seen in start-ups including giving away equity too early.

Highlights and speeches from the UpStarts 'Get Business Fit' event in the Digital Hub on Tuesday 14th January 2014. Speakers include: Lord Mayor Of Dublin Oisin Quinn Senator Feargal Quinn Dayna Caceres from Disctinctions Consulting Eibhlin Curley from Dublin City Enterprise Board Paul Dunne, CEO of Digital Skills Academy

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting and Marika MacCarvill from Digital Skills Academy join us in studio to talk about their participation and support for the UpStarts 'Get Business Fit' event taking place on Tuesday January 14th. Conor Sweeney from Intertrade Ireland comes on the phone to talk about their cross border work with small businesses in Ireland and their Seedcorn competition. Dorothy Creavan from Element Wave Software, a previous winner phones in to tell us a little about her experience with Seedcorn. Finally, Samantha Kelly from Twitting Goddess tells us about networking and getting your message out on social media.

On our last show in 2013 we have Racheal Daly and Amanda Butler from the amazing Bizarro Cupcakes showing how their home baking business has gone from strength to strength in the last 3 months through partnerships and collaboration. They even bring UpStarts cupcakes into the studio for us to enjoy. We also have David Wicks from Merlin's Enchanted Balloons talking about his transition from festivals and street shows to the world of corportate and business balloon decoration. And of course Dayna from Distinctions comes in to wrap up the year with some great advice for our guests.

In studio this afternoon we have Joerg from Dublin Events Guide, talking about his events guide that started as a hobby to inform his friends about what's on in Dublin to over 40,000 followers on Facebook and a huge mailing list. He talks about balancing and juggling with other work and interest in his life as well as his hopes to build relationships for support and advertising while keeping the whole business free. He also tells us about some of his favorite events coming up to Christmas.

Fabio from Funky Christmas Jumpers comes into the studio today to talk about their unusual and very seasonal business. He talks about the challenges of running a business so reliant on Christmas sales, their pop up shops, and the successes they've see in the media and the public eye.

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

Rose from One Parent Holidays joins us by phone to talk about their success in the UpStarts Key To The City Competition, as well as the need for one parent holidays in Ireland. Brian J Showers comes in studio to talk about being an independent publisher in Ireland and his passion for Irish Gothic, supernatural and fantastic literature. And Marika from the Digital Skills Academy tells us about their Get WebActivated event this month for small businesses to boost their online presence.

Shen Wong from Shen Wong Jewellery comes onto the show as the 4th Place winner from the UpStarts Key To The City Competition. She talks about giving up a job in marketing to go it alone, and the knowledge this gave her as well as the challenges of starting out with bills to pay. She tells us about the support she received from family and friends as well as the opportunities for collaboration ahead.

On the show this week, the top three winners of the UpStarts Key To The City competition join us to talk about their businesses and their wins. Clodagh from Cula Bula Parties Laura & Ian from Dreamtime Bouncy Castles Timi & JR from Picture This Dublin. We talk about how they used social media to win the competition and what their plans are next.

On the show today, Neil Curran, founder of Improv Fest Ireland comes on the show to tell us about the different forms of improv. He dispels the myths that it is only a comedy business. He talks about the uses for businesses, confidence, team building and public speaking. We also announce the winners of the UpStarts Key To The City competition and talk about the winners event and UpStarts networking in January.