Fund Recs co-founder through to National IBYE final.

A young Waterford entrepreneur has won a place at the first ever national final of Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE) competition, for a chance to share a €100,000 investment fund.

Padraig O’Scanaill of Fund Recs will represent the Munster region in the Best Start-up category at the national final in Dublin this December and has already won €20,000 worth of investment from Waterford Local Enterprise Office.

Founded in 2013, Fund Recs provides cloud based software to the Investment Funds Industry, targeting a need for disruptive technology to automate the manual reconciliation of data and deliver streamlined workflows. Not even a year in business, Fund Recs already works with a Top 5 Global Bank, a FTSE 100 company and a globally renowned independent securities depository.

Originally from Ballyvourney, Co. Cork, Padraig graduated from UL and after several years working in Limerick, Galway and Dublin came to Waterford and volunteered as a CoderDojo mentor.  Padraig now regards Tramore as home.

Speaking of the IBYE journey, Padraig was delighted with the company’s progress in the competition. “The competition has been a fantastic experience for me personally and also for the company.  The starting point was being accepted onto the local IBYE programme, where we received mentoring and attended intensive business bootcamps.”

“I thought winning the Best Start-up category in the Waterford final was a major achievement, particularly in the face of such tough competition.  However going on to win the Munster regional final was tremendous. Representing Munster in the National Finals has focused so much positive attention on the business.  That, coupled with the support received from Waterford LEO has given our business invaluable exposure, funding, networking opportunities and potential to grow.”

Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition is an integral part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 and is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through the 31 Local Enterprise Offices around the country. 

Mr. Ciaran Cullen, LEO Waterford said, “It is very fitting that Padraig will go on to represent Munster in the national final in December.  Over 1,000 businesses entered from every county in Ireland and the competition was intense.  Padraig’s company Fund Recs develops cloud based reconciliation software and was recognised for its strong concept, innovative nature, originality and international growth potential.”  

“We are delighted to support Padraig and his company, which is testament to the entrepreneurial spirit in Waterford.  Business challenges and business opportunities are breeding start-ups, like Fund Recs.  Locally, there is a wealth of talent, intellect and vision, all combined with sound business acumen, which is ensuring that we see more young innovative companies like Padraig’s start, grow and flourish in Waterford.”

For all the latest news and updates about the Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition, visit www.ibye.ie, www.localenterprise.ie or search #TeamWaterford or #IBYE on social media.

A recipe for successful food production!

Following the success of the Harvest Festival 2014 Waterford food producers are on a high. For year’s Waterford relied on a small number of prominent food producers, though lagged behind the prolific success of counties such as Cork and Tipperary. However, in recent years the Deise has seen an explosion of food production.

Success and national acclaim have followed. The Blaa receiving PGI status in 2013, the first five graduates of the Food Academy, all from Waterford, now on the shelves of SuperValu stores across the country and all on the shoulders of such giants as Flahavans and Dawn Meats.

This is why the timing couldn’t be better for John Noonan of Flahavans to give his ‘Top Ten Tips for Food Producers’ on Thursday October 23^rd. Following on from the success of these lunches with speakers such as Des Whelan of WLR fm, Louise Grubb of Q1 Scientific and Ronan Mulligan of Mulligan’s Pharmacies, John’s tips are sure to be eagerly received by Waterford’s business people and food producers alike.

These ‘Top Ten lunches’ are a series of networking events on the theme of ‘my Top Ten Business Tips’ delivered by successful local business people and occurring once per month. Each lunch will outline a speakers’ views on a specific topic and take place in the Bistro in the Tower Hotel from 12.30pm to 2pm.

There is a considerable pool of business talent and experience in Waterford and the Local Enterprise Offices hopes to harness this expertise to inspire Waterford’s new and existing business communities.  

John Noonan is currently Sales & Marketing Director at E. Flahavan & Sons Limited

John graduated from UCC with a B.Comm and is also a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK.  He has over 25 year’s experience in marketing, having worked abroad and at home in various marketing roles including, Guinness GB, London International Group, C&D Petfoods and Cahill May Roberts Group. In 1997, John moved to Waterford as Marketing Director with Flahavans, becoming Sales and Marketing Director in 2007.

John is a previous Chairman of the Bord Bia Brand Forum and  is a director of Love Irish Food, an initiative led by Irish manufacturing brands which seeks to promote Irish Food and Drink brands in the Republic of Ireland.

The Local Enterprise Office is also looking forward to Grainne Walsh of Metalman Brewing speaking at the following networking lunch on Thursday November 27^th.

The cost of these lunch events is just €8.50.  Booking is essential. For more information or to register your interest please contact your Local Enterprise Office in Waterford on 051-849905 or email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie

Food Academy gives small food producers a big chance

What began as a collaboration between SuperValu, Bord Bia, 31 Local Enterprise Offices and hundreds of small food producers, has seen the first ‘class’ of food producers graduate from the Food Academy Start programme.

Local producers from Waterford City and County; Gino’s Ice-cream, Ponticelli Coffee, The Early Bird Egg Company, Edelicious and Sea of Vitality took part in the tailored retail programme and this week saw their products displayed on the shelves of Caulfield’s SuperValu in Waterford.

Thomas Caulfield of Caulfield’s SuperValu Group, welcomed the new producers to the aisles of the Morgan Street store, commenting that “There is a rich tapestry of tastes and flavours on offer from the five companies, from coffee roasted exclusively in Waterford and bread made from seaweed to fresh flavoursome ice-cream, home-made sauces and accompaniments and organic, farm-fresh, free-range eggs.”

He added, “We are delighted to offer these new businesses the opportunity to showcase their products in our store and to introduce these new, exciting, indigenous ranges to our customers.  The producers in question are in start-up or early start phases and the products they are bringing to market are the embodiment of all that is good about Irish foodstuffs and we are proud to support them on this journey. ”

In September 2013, ‘Food Academy Start’ was launched in order to help develop Ireland’s artisan food industry, to deliver a consistent level of food marketing knowledge created for new and early-stage food business owners and to provide small food business with a solid foundation to progress to shelves of retailers.  The five Waterford producers participated in a series of workshops and one-to-one mentoring followed by a process of focus group testing and brand development. 

Ciaran Cullen of Local Enterprise Office Waterford which implemented and funded the programme was pleased to be involved with the initiative.  “SuperValu and Bord Bia developed a challenging yet rewarding programme for the participants.  The five Waterford businesses have unique food products which they worked hard on developing and deserve to reach a wide customer base on the shelves of SuperValu, as their product will be available in local SuperValu stores for a period of twelve weeks.”

“The food culture in Waterford has shifted perceptively in the last few years.  While consumers look for value, they still want, where and when possible, to support local producers because of their assured quality and traceability.  Here in Waterford we are lucky to have a dedicated group of food producers who are making great strides in putting Waterford on the Irish food map.”

The five local food producers will be trialed throughout the rest of the Waterford SuperValu stores and will be on the shelves of Garvey’s SuperValu Dungarvan, Quish’s SuperValu Tramore and Kelliher’s SuperValu Cappoquin from September 2^nd.

If you have a business idea, find out about what assistance is available to you from your Local Enterprise Office at 32, The Mall in Waterford City or the Civic Offices in Dungarvan. Alternatively you can email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie .