START-UPS
MORE SPACE FOR START-UPS AT GEC
NEWS, VIEWS AND PROFILES ON THE LATEST START-UPS IN IRELAND
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Increase in net employment achieved by the 56 participants in the latest Going for Growth female entrepreneurs programme. Their combined turnover increased by 8.8% to reach over €176m.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
LOUELLA MORTON and SHEENA BAILEY, CO-FOUNDERS, TESTREACH What problem are you solving with TestReach?
Until this technology was developed, there was no way to provide professional online invigilation combined with assessment delivery, all within one single application.
What’s the best advice you were given?
Always plan for things to take longer than you expect and build in contingency. This advice has proven invaluable across so many different areas, from hiring staff to closing deals.
What has been the most important lesson you have learned?
The people in a company are by far its biggest asset and it’s really important that everyone enjoys a positive work environment, in which they feel valued as a contributor.
Your biggest make or break moment?
The Covid-19 pandemic certainly represented a pivotal moment for TestReach. Almost overnight there was huge demand to run exams remotely as test centre networks shut down globally. Although it was a huge opportunity for us, scaling so quickly was challenging.
Is there anything you would change in hindsight?
We would probably be a bit more protective of our time and more selective about making commitments. When you’re starting out, there is a tendency to say “yes” to everything without fully understanding the impact it may have.
Company: TestReach, founded in 2014 Location: NexusUCD, University College Dublin Product: End-to-end, cloud-based solution for exams Staff: 70 Website: www.testreach.com
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Guinness Enterprise Centre (GEC) launched its new 100,000 sq ft space in November as part of an €11m expansion project. Due to strong demand, GEC has already committed 80% of its additional capacity to start-ups and expects to be at full capacity by early 2022. The expansion consists of two additional floors at the GEC’s home in Dublin’s Liberties and is resulting in a 75% increase in net floor space with capacity for 762 start-up employees. Collectively, the investment will enable the GEC to support 150 resident companies, up from 85. The facility can accommodate 220 co-working companies, up from 160.
END-OF-LIFE PLANNING SERVICE LAUNCHES Dara O’Shea and Louise O’Brien have launched RHEA, describing it as “Ireland’s first dedicated, end-of-life event planning company”. With over 30 years’ event planning and management experience between them, O’Shea and O’Brien have worked on events of all sizes, including the visit of the Prince of Wales to University College Cork in 2018. “Our unique service was born out of personal experience of loss, and seeing firsthand the burden of work that falls on families during the most difficult days of a death,” said O’Shea. Based in Cork, RHEA provides a full suite of bespoke memorial event design and planning services.
InBUSINESS | WINTER 2021
22/12/2021 11:18
