GET STARTED 2019

EARLY STAGE STARTUPS

For the last conference of the DICE module, we had Get started 2019, which focuses on starting a business and what that entails. Something I believe is very important for college students as the chances of someone starting a business in my year, even in my group of friends is so high. Since more than half of first-time businesses fail it is essential we learn from people who have succeeded in this very difficult task.

Image result for entrepreneur

LEWIZE MCCAULEY – CEO & FOUNDER OF “EXIT & ENTRY”

First to come to the stage was Lewize Mccauley. I was surprised that her first “business” was when she was 15 and she had researched about jeans and had known they were very hard to come across in Russia. So, when she was there on holidays with her school she set up a booth and within an hour or two she had completely sold out. Although this was not a long lasting business you could tell that she had the right mind for entrepreneurial work. She had started many other businesses along the way but due to the recession, there were many financial problems she encountered. But this didn’t stop her and now she has started the company “Exit & Entry”. What I found the most beneficial was the fact that although her first or second idea did not work out she learned from her mistakes and persisted until what she wanted to do came to light.

LOUISE MURPHY – SALES DIRECTOR AND FOUNDER OF “CYC-LOK”

Louise’s idea was about finding a smart solution for an everyday problem. The solution was to find a secure and affordable bicycle parking solution. While this is a source of income for her it has also made the lives of many commuters which easier and stress-free as they now have no worries of bicycle theft. Louise has taught me that there are still many everyday problems that require solutions and I feel that if you pay more attention to these problems there might be a business waiting for you.

Image result for cyc lok

DAVID POLLARD – STARTUP WEEK DUBLIN

The last person in the “Early stage startups” theme was David Pollard. Although David has done many other events like “Tech labs” I am going to focus on startup week Dublin. This event takes place in a number of locations in Dublin and it includes networking events, keynote speeches, panel discussions and workshops covering issues such as getting started, joining a tech company, finding funding, how to build out your team, and how to promote diversity. There will also be mentoring opportunities from leading entrepreneurs and investors. I thought that this was a very smart idea as I believe that one of the best ways to learn about something is from someone who has done it. Who knows, maybe David will have myself or someone I know at his event soon!

Image result for start up weekend dublin

PANEL

After David had spoken they came together to form a panel and answer a variety of questions, I believe that this was the most beneficial. I managed to grasp a good understanding that early stage startups face and the biggest challenge of them all is capital. It can be so hard for early-stage startups to acquire this. But, one of the most important things they said is to surround yourself with the right people and to build a network with the right people as you never know when you might need a hand with someone they could excel in. “The advice is out there is there, go for it”. From this, I will make sure to take note of every person I meet and to try and form a good bond to build this network.

Image result for network

Overall I found the conference to be very enjoyable and there were many valuable things i took from this conference.

GET DIGITAL

Get Creative – My experience

Before I sat down in my chair alongside my group there were many thoughts that were going on inside my head. How much will each speaker grab my attention? What various skills they could teach?

I gathered some thought on creativity before the conference and what kept coming to mind was the importance of creativity. Many, if not all the people I look up to are creative in their own way, creativity is not limited to art or music. How people solve problems, different ways to approach simple addition or starting up a new business, creativity is everywhere we go. As I thought about this more I found myself looking forward to this conference more and more as I realized creativity has no limits and there are so many thoughts on creativity that can be discussed.

Aisling Cowzer – Accenture

The first speaker was Aisling Cowzer. She is an Experience strategy manager from Accenture. She started off by talking about the term “digital”. She stated that digital wasn’t only limited to technology but can relate to many other aspects. Something she focused on was design being a mindset, a tool we use in everything we do. For example, the relationship between the business and the customer. She talked about the double diamond which is about insights, research, ideation, and prototypes. I believe that this related to DICE quite a bit as I learned a lot about dealing with customers needs and all the various actions that can influence people which is important to know without a doubt.

Tania Banotti – Creative Ireland

Up next was Tania Banotti, the Director of Creative Ireland. The speaker mainly discussed her role in creating a more Creative Ireland. All the work stemmed from the 1916 commemorations. She talked about the 5 pillars needed for a more Creative Ireland. Although I found it interesting to learn about the work she had done I found that it was not as useful to me as it was more of a talk about her role rather than sharing her thoughts on creativity.Here is a video of Tania speaking about Get Creative. 26:14Tania Banotti | Get Creative 2018 | DCU Business School

Joanne Looby – Head of Innovation, Baileys Global Brand Team

As the 3rd speaker, we had Joanne Looby, the global head of innovation for Diageo. First, she talked about the history of Baileys which I found quite interesting. The various struggles they faced and how they broke through these challenges, changing Baileys to not just a drink, but a treat. She talked about the various methods they used to increase sales as they had dropped during and after the recession. They had to bring Baileys back. With recruiting new products as well as introducing products limited to a certain season the popularity began to increase. I found learning about the various methods they used to break through the market was very interesting. I found that by the end of this I was craving a Baileys, but, that was one problem I noticed. During the talk, I felt like Baileys was being sold to me and the whole learning of creativity began to fade away which was the only problem I had, but overall, an interesting speaker.

Ailbhe Keane – Founder & Creative Director, Izzy Wheels

After Joanne, we had Ailbhe Keane the founder of Izzy Wheels. I found this talk very interesting as I thought it was such a creative idea and that’s what this conference was all about, creativity! When I heard there are around 67 million wheelchair users I was shocked that someone had not thought of something like this before as it is such a huge market. This gave me a thought. A lot of the time I think to myself that now it is so hard to create something new as there has been so much time for someone else to think of it but after hearing this my outlook has changed completely. There are still so many hidden possibilities waiting to be discovered, like how Ailbhe discovered the idea for Izzy Wheels. She talked about how they have expanded by recruiting new designers and spokespeople as everyone has different ideas, their own creativity. There is no doubt that this was a very interesting talk.

Patrick Hickey – CEO Rothco

As our last individual speaker, we had Patrick Hickey, the CEO of Rothco, a creative ideas agency. He started off by talking about the design thinking process which focuses on inspiration and ideation. I found the 3 methods he talked about interesting. Method 1, keep saying no. This will lead to better results as it will force you to make it perfect, to always strive to better something. Method 2, ‘What if?” To always look for different ways things can be done and to always question something, this is a very creative process without a doubt. The last method he said was “Stick like glue to the brief”. To follow something exactly and to not deviate from it at all. These methods are quite different but it is important to know them, as one, if not all will help, whether it be working in a group or even in writing this blog! Video attached. 25:11Patrick Hickey | Get Creative 2018 | DCU Business School

Panel – Akhil Voorakkara, Brian Dillon, Mark Bennett

The primary theme for the panel was creativity and their thoughts on it. Each speaker agreed that everyone was creative in their own ways and there are many forms of creativity. I found it interesting as their thoughts were the same thoughts I had before this conference. They proceeded to talk about the role of creativity as well as how important it is. I enjoyed listening to how they come up with their ideas, usually walking or listening to music. From this, I realised that the environment is very important when trying to be creative. Although the ideas they had are their own I noticed it is important to take in everything as they can amalgamate together to form a new idea, creativity can use a lot of things that you know already. I was shocked to hear that Akhil had met Elon Musk, a man who I believe is one of the most creative men in the world. The panel was my favourite part of the whole conference as I thought it was more engaging and a lot of the questions I had were answered during it.

Reflection

I was extremely happy that I attended this conference as I believe that it was really beneficial to me. All the different topics covered and their thoughts were intriguing.