FOSTERING ENTREPRENEURS OF THE FUTURE In association with Entreprise Ireland

Brendan Flood, Divisional Manager, Entreprise

The contribution that Irish entrepreneurs, and their innovative enterprise activities, have made to Ireland's economic success story is well recognised. Our entrepreneurs, quite rightly, have been acknowledged as the engine fuelling much of our economic growth and social development. Indeed, this has been one of the driving objectives of Enterprise Ireland - to help and support the development of a seedbed of new, vibrant, innovative enterprises that have the capability of growing to compete in the global marketplace.

The challenge now is to ensure that this strong indigenous enterprise culture is sustained well into the future by encouraging and fostering an entrepreneurial spirit in the next generation - the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Models of Entrepreneurship

This is the focus of Enterprise Ireland's latest initiative, a resource pack designed to promote and support the teaching and awareness of entrepreneurship in the Irish third level education sector. "The Irish Entrepreneur-Role Models for a New Ireland" provides detailed case studies of six successful Irish entrepreneurs and is aimed at encouraging third level students, from across all academic disciplines, to view entrepreneurship as a valid career choice.

The Irish entrepreneurs featured in the case studies are: Colum O'Sullivan of food company, Cully & Sully, with its premium range of high-quality ready meals; Louise Grubb of Nutri-Science, a leading developer of nutraceutical products; Philip Martin of Cora Systems, producers of a suite of web-based project management products; Joanna Gardiner of Ovelle Pharmaceuticals, manufacturers of a range of skin care products; Moya Doherty of Tyrone Productions, one of Ireland's most successful production companies that gave the world 'Riverdance'; and Eleanor McEvoy of Phonecard Warehouse, providers of the 'Top Up Station' vending machine for mobile phone credit.

EI Focus

According to Enterprise Ireland CEO, Frank Ryan, this entrepreneurship pack complements other EI initiatives all designed to promote and foster an enterprise culture among Ireland's third level students. Most notable among these is the annual Student Enterprise Awards competition with its prize fund of €44,000 on offer to students with a novel business idea that has commercial potential. In addition, there is also a wealth of enterprise activity undertaken by the third level institutions themselves including dedicated incubation and innovation centres, entrepreneurship study programmes and strong linkage initiatives with industry, with much of this supported by Enterprise Ireland.

"It is hoped that learning about the actual experience of entrepreneurship, as illustrated by the start-up stories of these six role models, will help to inspire students by highlighting the challenges, practical issues and the opportunities involved in taking the entrepreneurial path," adds Frank Ryan.

About the Resource Pack

The entrepreneurship resource pack was developed by Enterprise Ireland in conjunction with educational publishers, AG Education Services, and involved significant input from the third level sector. Designed for use across a variety of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, the case studies, together with supportive teaching and learning materials, aim to stimulate class discussion on the opportunities and challenges involved in setting up and growing a business in Ireland, as well as to illustrate entrepreneurial traits as demonstrated by these six entrepreneurs, and to encourage the belief in students that 'I can do this too'. The resource has already been distributed to over 300 lecturers and teaching staff in more than 70 third level colleges and institutions throughout the country and initial feedback has been very positive.

What Role Models Say

"Remember that you don't know it all and don't be afraid to keep asking the questions. Keep talking to people. And if you don't have a way to talk to the right people, pick up the phone and come up with one."
Colum O'Sullivan (Cully & Sully)

"Building relationships is vitally important if a business is going to grow and develop. It's all about relationships; even doing business on the Internet is about relationships."
Louise Grubb (Nutri-Science)

"The creation of ideas should always be valued, even at primary school. We need a culture of creativity."
Joanna Gardiner (Ovelle Pharmaceuticals)

"Entrepreneurship is being able to have the stamina to sustain in the long term. It is about a passion, it is not about a business."
Moya Doherty (Tyrone Productions)

"Entrepreneurship for women or men is straightforward; it is about spotting an opportunity and turning it into a profitable business. Try it. Do it. Go for it."
Eleanor McEvoy (Phonecard Warehouse)

"I learned two important things from that lettuce experience when I was twelve; one was about product quality and the other was about international competition."
Philip Martin (Cora Systems)