iGAP Influence spreads across Europe (Internet Growth Acceleration Programme)

Posted by AnnaMarie Turley on 13 March, 2012 in Conference | Developers | entrepreneur | Entrepreneurship | EU | Europe | Gaming | IGAP | Internet | StartInIreland - (1 Comments)

This is a guest post from Mary Carty, a participant in IGAP 1. We in Enterprise Ireland are delighted to announce that they we are planning to run a further Internet Growth Acceleration Programme in Quarter 4 of 2012. 

Participating in iGap 1 changed everything. From working with Sean Ellis, Oren Michels, Justin Knecht, Cathy Winston and Brian Caulfield many things become abundantly clear and you find yourself becoming an evangelist about lean startup, customer development and most of all, being passionate about your customers.

As well as applying what I have learned to my own company, I have been blogging about bringing this thinking to the arts and cultural sector. From this, I have been invited to mentor on Growing Pains, a business development programme for 12 Danish and Swedish female Transmedia producers. Held over six months, participants will engage in modules on developing new services, financing, media training, sales, presentation skills, business development and investment. In May, they will take part in Nordic Game, one of the largest game conferences in Europe.

 

Image (c) http://www.stranger.no with thanks

Growing pains came from a report investigating the barriers facing Transmedia producers when seeking government support in Scandinavia. The researchers looked at funding, management and financing among others. Research found that male and female producers site similar needs for support access to funding, mentorship, investment, networking etc. It showed that more women than men apply for government funding from this sector, yet very few of them are successful.

 

When looking at risk taking for example, it observed that on average, men take bigger risks with significantly larger losses, should the enterprise not work out. Men also look for larger revenue deals than women. Whereas, females are less risk averse, with often a more sustainable company over the lifetime of that enterprise. Many female producers felt they needed more knowledge and training before making the leap into business, while men on the other hand, threw themselves into the enterprise.

While these findings are not new; proportionately more men successfully accessing support and being more open to risk taking; it does point to a specific need when developing enterprise development programmes for women. Why such a large proportion of women do not succeed in accessing public supports is worth examining. Putting mechanisms in place to deal with specific skills gaps is crucial to the future success and development of these entrepreneurs.

It is also important to look at risk, how women view risk when starting a business and to challenge these perceptions. Motivation and perception are very necessary ingredients when starting out, as these motivations may differ significantly from person to person and between males and females. In understanding, supporting and challenging these issues, skills gaps and perceptions, programmes like Growing Pains will help build pathways to success for female entrepreneurs everywhere.

Why is a programme like this so necessary for Transmedia right now? Digital production and distribution has made old value chains, distribution and business models obsolete. This is a great challenge for the public support system. At the same time, this new disruptive technology is the keystone for Transmedia producers’ success; to strengthen their entrepreneurial skills, to thinking beyond public project financing, in developing and exploiting brands and being innovative in finding alternate sources of funding.

The measure of success for any new programme is the traction and buzz it gains. And Growing Pains is no different, as applications to this first programme were well over subscribed. This shows there is a definite need for programmes like this and I know that it will prove to be a valuable contribution to these entrepreneurs’ success.

 

I am extremely fortunate to be working with two visionary leaders in this field; Cecilie Stranger-Thorsen who devised the programme and Angeli Sjöström process and implementation coach. Both Cecilie and Angeli bring the best thinking and an in-depth knowledge of this field together and I’m looking forward to learning lots from them. The Growing Pains programme is funded under the EU Regional Development Fund in partnership with Nordic Game Resources.

 

 

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iGAP 3 – Why Should You Participate?

Posted by Ray Walsh on 31 August, 2011 in Cloud Computing | Developers | Digital Media | ecommerce | eMarketing | entrepreneur | Entrepreneurship | Event | Gaming | IGAP | Innovation | Internet | Ireland | IT Services | Saas | startup | Training - (4 Comments)

Internet or Games based Start Up? – Apply for iGAP Here

Over the last 2 years 29 companies, 58 promoters have completed iGAP.  We in Enterprise Ireland believe that IGAP  is a brilliant and innovative internet start up programme.  More importantly so do the participants…..

In an Internet based startup? You should apply for iGAP.

Ronan Skehill co-founder of Cauwill. www.cauwill.com

“I know many such management training and incubation programmes exist, we were on LEAP which was good for us at the time, but iGAP is different because it focuses specifically on the needs of internet businesses.  Over a period of seven months, six modules were led by international lean start-up and customer development experts such as Eric Ries, Scott Rafer, Paul O’Dea , Justin Knecth, Sean Ellis and Oren Michels .Over the programme they addressed issues such as lean startup theory, product market fit, monetisation strategies, internet customer acquisition, business development using APIs, etc. Here is a quick synopsis of the content covered by the speakers………http://www.ronanskehill.com/2011/02/05/in-a-startup-you-should-apply-for-igap/#comments

 In a Games based startup? You should apply for iGAP.

Steven Collins, Swrve, www.swrve.com

“The iGAP program is an excellent opportunity to both network with a peer group of companies all experiencing many of the same challenges as you, and to hear from some of the world’s leading speakers on building companies and products.  The speaker lineup was second to none, with lots of opportunities for interaction and feedback and to build connections.  The program itself is very well structured, with lectures, group sessions and mentors and a great curriculum.  It presented me with the perfect opportunity to reflect on my own startup and to put the spotlight on our processes for customer discovery, product design and business strategy.  I can’t recommend the IGAP program highly enough to anybody building an internet or games industry company and lucky enough to be offered a place.

In a Business 2 Business internet startup? You should apply for iGAP.

Connor Murphy, Datahug, www.datahug.com

“iGAP is one word…. ‘mandatory’. If you want to accelerate your web business and compete globally then you NEED to be on iGAP. If you want to learn from Silicon Valley insiders and world class thought leaders then you NEED to be on iGAP. If you want to collaborate and learn from a brilliant peer group then you NEED to be on iGAP.”

Ronan Perceval http: www.phorest.com

 “The really great benefit for me has been the other companies taking part. We were a bit concerned because our company has been in business for longer, but actually the start-up companies on iGap has given us a new lease of life. We’ve started thinking more like a start up again and that’s given us a real focus. That alone has been great.

Hopefully we’ve been able to share some stuff back with other people on the programme as well.

One of the big benefits of iGap has shown in our marketing. I think it’s much more focused now. It’s the first year we have a proper marketing plan, and we’re analyzing the metrics so we’ll actually know for sure what’s working and what’s not.

All in all I think iGap is the best programme Enterprise Ireland has done. Why? Because it’s all practical. They seminar leaders are all guys who have done it.”

Brian Caulfield

Brian Caulfield was the Programme Lead for the iGAP1/2.

“I have spent the last eight years as a venture capital and angel investor in technology companies.  Prior to that, I was a technology entrepreneur for ten years.  In those 18 years working in and with start-up companies I have become convinced that many entrepreneurs fail simply because they don’t have a clear vision of what their business really is…who their customers are; what their proposition for those customers is; how they are going to reach those customers; how they will make money from those customers.  In a nutshell, they don’t have a clear strategy.

Getting to that clarity is essential for every business.  That clarity enables you to prioritise tasks amidst the chaos of a start-up. It enables you to focus the team on what’s important. It enables you to articulate a clear and, hopefully, compelling investment opportunity to potential funders of the business.

Get your application in today! Online applications close on Friday 9th of September

 

 

Siún from TunePresto – what I really leaned about Internet Marketing and funding on IGAP

Posted by Ray Walsh on 14 April, 2011 in eMarketing | IGAP | Links | Social Media | startup - (Be the first to comment)

Following last weeks IGAP finale, this is a guest post from IGAP 2 participant Siún Ní Raghallaigh’s of TunePresto, which allows you to create music using video and pictures. This post originally appeared on Siún’s blog.

I have been a participant on the Enterprise Ireland iGAP program and it has been fascinating so far. Some of my iGAP colleagues have blogged about iGAP previously, Ronan Skehill wrote a particularly succinct account last month.

I know that Enterprise Ireland sometime get a lot of criticism but the work of the iGAP team deserves praise. Brian Caulfield and the EI team devised a very practical program, bringing the best of Ireland and Silicon Valley together to inform, challenge and prepare us fledgling Irish companies in executing on our passion and vision for a scaleable internet business.

On Wednesday we had our penultimate session, preparing for fundraising. I have done some fundraising before and it is always daunting. I wish I had access to this program when I was starting out. One of the many upsides of a program like iGAP is the networking, not just with the tutors and mentors but also with the participating companies.

The program started with Paul O’Dea who introduced us to the Business Battlecard, a practical set of tools to get you focused on what you are offering, who your customer is and how to reach them. This was followed by a highly motivational session with Eric Reis who introduced us to the magic of the lean startup model. I suppose the opposite of this would be the fat startup model i.e. spending lots of time and money making the product perfect before you engage with your customer. With the lean startup model, you release a minimum viable product and learn from your customers what you need to do to make it a product that is worthy of a cash transaction.

Scott Rafer gave an amazing session on revenue models. (more…)

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10 myths of building a business online – guest post from Alan of Spoiltchild

Posted by Paul Browne on 11 April, 2011 in eMarketing | IGAP | Internet | Links | Marketing | Social Media | startup - (17 Comments)

Following last weeks IGAP finale, this is a guest post from IGAP 1 participant Alan O’Rourke of Spoiltchild, creators of the Toddle business newsletter tool. Alan talks candidly about the 10 biggest mistakes he’s made in online business.

The following are all assumptions / mistakes I made over the years.

1.       It costs nothing to start a business online.
It is true that infrastructure costs have come way down. With the right technical knowledge you could set up an online shop or simple web application for about €50 and a little time.  With no technical knowledge, costs are closer to €10,000 and up. For you reading this, it is probably somewhere in the middle.  Compared to setting up a physical business on the high-street it is still a pittance.

But your website only gets you about 10% of the way. Now you need to start building a business. Time, marketing, advertising, sales guy(s), running costs, legal …did I mention time? Without upfront investment to hire the above resources, expect 2-3 years of hard work before your business starts supporting its self. Can you support yourself for that long?

2.       Build it and they will come.
Why would they? How do they know you exist out of the trillions of websites out there? If they do happen across your site why will they remember to come back when they actually need what you sell?

3.       The website must be perfect / fully featured before you launch. (more…)

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How To Sell In Mexico When You Don't Speak The Language

Posted by Tracy Pryce on 2 March, 2011 in Health | IGAP | Internet | Links | Mexico | spain - (3 Comments)

This is a guest post from Caelen King, founder and CEO of WhatClinic.com, a seach engine for health clinics worldwide that has recently expanded into the UK Dentist & UK Plastic Surgery markets. Caelen recently completed Enterprise Ireland’s iGAP 2 Programme.

Recently I was listening to Dermot, one of our salespeople, while he was on the phone. He was slowly but clearly spelling out our key advantages, but it was obvious from his careful enunciation that he was talking to someone whose English was very poor. What I didn’t know was that he was talking to a dentist in Mexico who didn’t speak ANY English.

From my perspective everything looked pretty normal. Dermot waited for the dentist’s reply and nodded sympathetically. Unfortunately, however, Dermot speaks no Spanish, other than a poorly pronounced “Hola” or “Gracias”. Despite this, and in his best Limerick accent, he stated the price of our product in Euro and in Pesos several times and listened.

Somehow, even with the language barrier, he made himself understood, and he listened again to the dentists unintelligible reply. The conversation continued like this for another five minutes before I finally heard Dermot taking down the dentist’s credit card details and closing the sale.

Now, I’m sure hearing this story you’re thinking that it is slightly implausible, if (more…)

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iGap, YouGap, He/SheGaps … Phorest on Enterprise Ireland's iGap programme

Posted by AnnaMarie Turley on 7 February, 2011 in eMarketing | IGAP | Internet | Links - (Be the first to comment)

This is a guest post by Ronan Perceval, CEO of Phorest and one of the ten EI client iGAP 2 participant. Now in its second half, Ronan looks back over the programme so far. Previous posts on iGap.

Update: Alan from IGAP1 has the photo’s from the  Internet Business Development Event on the Toddle blog.


What is iGap

iGap is a programme for the fastest growing internet businesses in Ireland. It’s a full day programme, once a month, for six months. Each month you do a session on a different area of the business, and then try to implement it into your business.

Experts (more…)

iGAP 2 – A Participants Perspective

Posted by Ciara Crossan on 26 January, 2011 in eMarketing | IGAP | Links - (Be the first to comment)

This is a guest post from the inimitable Ciara Crossan, CEO of WeddingDates.ie, and participant in iGAP 2.

I am one of the current participants of iGAP 2, and have been asked to write about my experiences on the program.  iGAP is a 6 month program and is fairly intensive work-wise.  One day per month, all the participants come together with their cohort leaders, EI and the presenters and have a full day session on one topic, hear war stories from other successful internet entrepreneurs and discuss in their groups the challenges faced by the previous sessions assignments.

Company Logo for WeddingDates.ie

I am the Founder and CEO of WeddingDates.ie an innovative website that generates leads  (wedding couples) for hotels and wedding venues for dates they have available to sell.

In his previous blog post, iGAP leader Brian Caufield said that “many entrepreneurs fail simply because they don’t have a clear vision of what their business really is…who their customers are; what their proposition for those customers is; how they are going to reach those customers; how they will make money from those customers.  In a nutshell, they don’t have a clear strategy.”

Thus far, we are finding the programme invaluable.  In terms of the speakers and the assignments, iGAP really challenges your assumptions about your own business and forces you to work on developing a concrete strategy.  We have found going through the exercises outside of the day-to-day operations a real benefit and we are already thinking about our company differently than before.  I feel that iGAP is giving us a more mature long-range outlook on the business and has brought our own team together to develop the strategy as a single unit.

We have made concrete changes to our business on the back of the iGAP sessions.  We have re-evaluated our pricing model, and have honed our communication of value to our customers.  We understand better what exactly is the difference between us and our competitors and why our customers value us.

One of the main benefits of iGAP is that 2 people from the company do the programme together, and for us it has meant much closer collaboration between myself and my colleague Paul.  Previously, Paul was much more operations focused and by him being involved in this programme, he has become completely engaged in the strategy of the company alongside me.

Another massive benefit is the learning from the other iGAP participants themselves.  We have gained great inspiration from our peers in our cohort group and from our cohort leader and know that there is so much that we can all learn from each other, as well as the fantastic range of high profile speakers.

The iGAP programme packs a huge volume of material into 6/7 months and the assignments require a huge amount of focus and additional work outside of your day-to-day so there is significant time commitment involved.  But in terms of the value that you get from going through the work that iGAP expects you to do, it is certainly time very well spent.  I would highly recommend the iGAP programme to any internet entrepreneurs who are gearing up for growth.

iGAP Needs You!

Posted by David Scanlon on 11 November, 2010 in Event | IGAP | Links - (Be the first to comment)

The hugely successful Internet Growth Acceleration Programme (iGAP) has been nominated for a prestigious TechCrunch Europe ”Europa” Award under the “Best Ongoing Startup Programme 2010″. It’s fantastic to have the programme listed alongside other high-profile startup programmes such as DigitalMission and Seedcamp, and is a credit to the energy and enthusiasm of participants and organisers alike.

iGAP Internet Growth Acceleration Programme

Nice and all as it is to be nominated, we can go one better and claim top spot: all you need to do is head over to the voting page (proudly powered by PollDaddy, yet another Irish tech success story!) and give us your support.

Hat-tip to @primaryposition for getting this rolling, much appreciated!

MicksGarage looking for a Head of Online Marketing – could it be you?

Posted by aoifeosullivan on in ecommerce | eMarketing | IGAP | Internet | Jobs | Links | Marketing | UK - (Be the first to comment)

A client company I’ve been working with over the past few months, MicksGarage www.micksgarage.ie, is recruiting for a Head of Online Marketing.  MicksGarage is a young, exciting, fast growing, iGAP company well known in Ireland and the UK.


The successful candidate will be someone who has strong online marketing skills with a specific focus on the UK market.

Key responsibilities include: (more…)

DataHug Win Spark of Genius at Dublin Web Summit

Posted by Ray Walsh on 3 November, 2010 in DWS | IGAP | Links - (1 Comments)

We all love winning, but when you come out top in front of almost 600 event attendees, you just might feel like breaking open a case of beer. That was surely what Irish technology mapping firm, DataHug, must have felt like when, at the recently held Dublin Web Summit, they won the Spark of Genius 2010 competition, not only earning kudos and respect from its peers and iGapers but also walking away with a cool €30,000 worth of selected prizes.

DataHug Logo

Supported by Enterprise Ireland, DataHug was co-founded in 2009 by Connor Murphy and Ray Smith, and has developed technology which indexes corporate email systems and generates actionable insight about the everyday connections between people. Commented one member of the judging panel

Like LinkedIn/xobni on steroids,as it not only answers who knows who, but how well they know them.

As well as the €30,000 worth of prizes (which includes costs towards legal, hosting and translation services), DataHug also won a partner package and speaking opportunity at next year’s Dublin Web Summit. Colm Rafferty, partner at Dublin’s Maples & Calder (which provided €10,000 worth of legal services), said that DataHug was chosen out of the five finalists because it was the one that best answered the judges’ question: ‘which company would you invest in?’

On his company’s win, DataHug’s Connor Murphy noted that the prize offers

“a fantastic opportunity for DataHug to accelerate its growth and market profile. We are already live with several clients in the US, UK and Ireland, and we are looking forward to launching our public beta towards the end of this year.”

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