Skip to main content
Tag

women in business

Dec 14
Business advice from New Frontiers Programme Manager Jenni Timony

Former Programme Manager Jenni Timony Shares Insights For Startup Founders

By New Frontiers blog
Jenni Timony is a past New Frontiers Programme Manager and, more recently, the founder of her own startup – FitPink. In a wide-ranging conversation, we explored Jenni’s three decades of entrepreneurial experience, and how it has shaped her approach to her new business. Jenni Timony, former New Frontiers Programme Manager and founder of FitPink Based in Donegal, FitPink is an activewear business selling functional fitness clothing for women. The company takes a women-focused approach to product development: designed for women and run for women. Starting off with leggings and sweatshirts, Jenni soft-launched the company in 2019, fitting the work around her day job at the Innovation Centre in ATU - Sligo Campus. In fact, she didn't work full-time on FitPink...
Read More
Jul 27
Derya Kianda TechnologiesNew Frontiers programme alumna

Alumni profiles: Breaking the code, building the dream

By New Frontiers blog
Just one in two hundred people knows how to code. That’s a lot of people around the world relying on a small pool of programmers! This knowledge gap is something Derya and Osvaldo Sousa were intent on solving when they developed their no-code application platform, Kianda Technologies, in 2017. The dream to develop their own tech startup was 16 years in the making, but back then - as a young couple studying in Portugal - it was difficult to see how they could make it a reality. “It was a bit risky for us back then. There wasn’t a lot of support. We didn’t have great examples and so it just faded away,” Derya says. They moved to Ireland in...
Read More
Feb 28
Enterprise Ireland’s Action Plan For Women In Business targets diversity - New Frontiers programme

Enterprise Ireland’s Action Plan For Women In Business

By New Frontiers blog
Enterprise Ireland has launched the Action Plan For Women In Business, an ambitious and wide-reaching strategy to achieve greater representation of women in business and, particularly, in business leadership across Ireland. We spoke to Sheelagh Daly at Enterprise Ireland to find out more. Numerous studies prove that having women in executive positions and on boards leads to better outcomes for organisations – with better financial performance and higher employee engagement. Putting women in decision-making roles improves all kinds of business metrics, but we are still not seeing gender parity in business. An ongoing commitment to gender balance Focusing on gender balance in business is not new for Enterprise Ireland. There have been a number of initiatives over the past years...
Read More
Sep 12
Immersive VR Education builds on startup success with a strong team

Immersive VR Education builds on startup success with a strong team

By New Frontiers blog
In 2018, Immersive VR Education became the first New Frontiers startup to be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange’s Enterprise Securities Market. Just four short years after it was founded, Sandra and David Whelan’s company went public with a valuation of around €21.6 million, the first Irish tech firm to be listed on the exchange since its inception. How did the company create an offering that has landed it clients such as the BBC, JESS Dubai, Oculus, and the University of Oxford? We spoke to Sandra Whelan, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, to discover what goes into building the team that drives a successful tech startup. Q1. Everyone has their own route to startup. Where did your business idea come...
Read More
May 10
Orlaith Carmody interview -leadership starts with the self - New Frontiers programme

Orlaith Carmody: leadership starts with the self

By New Frontiers blog
What is the secret to success? Orlaith Carmody, Irish businesswoman and author of Perform as a Leader, says it stems directly from authenticity. Entrepreneurs don’t succeed just because their idea is perfect, but rather it is down to their own unique blend of background, interests and passions. Orlaith Carmody Orlaith’s own background as a news reporter and working on the board of RTÉ before diving into the world of serial entrepreneurship, lends well to the leadership and communication skills necessary for building start-ups from scratch. But Orlaith recognises that the transition isn’t easy. In her book, she highlights how being an entrepreneur can be a lonely journey, especially if you were previously employed. The camaraderie, support and teamwork are suddenly...
Read More
Jul 27
Starting up how to beat entrepreneurial isolation

Starting up: how to beat entrepreneurial isolation

By New Frontiers blog
My business was set up to help those who might be suffering from social isolation, and yet that is exactly what happened to me in the first 12 months of my startup. Since identifying it and talking to others, I have found that this is an issue that can and does affect a lot of business owners, especially those in the startup stage. I want to share with you how it happened to me, but more importantly how I identified it and managed to overcome it, just before I threw in the towel. The unsuccessful success Like most startups, money was limited when I began planning my business venture. Therefore, working from home was the perfect and only solution. I...
Read More
Jun 08
Participant Aisling Byrne Think outside the box to stay inside the circle New Frontiers

Economy: think outside the box to stay inside the circle

By New Frontiers blog
As the global economy continues to expand, the challenge of meeting the increasing demand for products and services means that most businesses have adopted growth strategies that are not sustainable long-term. But there is an alternative to the traditional open-ended economy, and many startups are adopting these business models to build profitable companies with a lower environmental impact. The circular economy Over the past number of years, the circular economy has grown in popularity. In some cases this is out of necessity, in others it stems from the realisation that as a society we have created unsustainable practices - and within this problem lie significant business opportunities for those who wish to provide sustainable solutions to ensure the stability of business in the future....
Read More
Mar 30
New Frontiers programme How personal experience shapes my startup vision

How personal experience shaped my startup vision

By New Frontiers blog
According to Sir Richard Branson, "The ideas for the best businesses tend to come from personal experience. There are many great ideas that have arisen by other means… but when you are generating ideas for a business, first-hand experience is essential." This certainly resonates with me and reflects the inspiration behind my company, Itchy Little Monkeys. My startup offers solutions for kids with eczema. Our products are designed to remove the stress eczema can cause both children and their parents, which is something that I have experienced first hand. Let's examine why Richard Branson feels personal experience is important and what that means for my business. 1. "Personal connection equals commitment" My daughter Sienna is the inspiration behind setting up the...
Read More
Dec 02
rachel hanna new frontiers startup journey

My startup story: belief, support, action!

By New Frontiers blog
"All roads lead to Damascus." Someone very close to me once said these words when I was having one of my mental blocks, and it has come to be a bit of a mantra I tend to use on this roller-coaster entrepreneurial journey. Believe and Do! The belief part of this equation is at times difficult, and we can all have periods of doubt, questioning and “what the hell am I doing?" moments, but it is the inaction that stifles any startup and I am convinced that it is the latter part of this equation that separates the winners and losers in business. We can all read and buy into a lot of the self help books and entrepreneurial success stories out there...
Read More
Nov 03
becoming an expert in your field new frontiers advice

Startup PR: increasing awareness and becoming an expert

By New Frontiers blog
For new businesses, raising brand awareness is the key to building a community of fans and driving sales. A good way to do this is to highlight the expertise of the founder or co-founders with public appearances and authoritative content.  When I started Mummy Cooks, there was no such thing as a ‘weaning expert’ in Ireland. By virtue of being the first person to start talking about this topic, I became the weaning and feeding expert - initially for Eumom and then for MummyPages. I also became the weaning expert for the Pregnancy & Baby fair; talking at events in Dublin, Belfast and Cork. In order to promote my fledgling business, I started to work on my PR. I have...
Read More
Dec 11

My two babies: being a parent and running a business

By New Frontiers blog
Someone in this world calls me Mummy (well not quite yet, she is only one year old). Being Rosie's Mummy is the most wonderful and most important role of my life. And the toughest. I also have a business - a new business. People refer to it as my other baby, and they’re right. Becoming a parent and starting a business are similar experiences. 1. Sleepless nights It is a given that when you become a mother, you are never going to sleep again. Never, ever. The same thing happens when you start a business. They both need your attention, your time, your patience... and, of course, you worry about them at all times. People ask me if I sleep when...
Read More