Find out about what Enterprise Ireland can do for you

Enterprise Ireland’s Tom Early will be attending Enterprise Nation’s Show Me the Money event in Dublin this week.

Tom gives us some information about Enterprise Ireland ahead of the event.

Tell us a bit about some of the ways Enterprise Ireland supports Irish start-ups.

We deal with thousands of companies as long as they fall into the manufacturing and internationally traded service.

We work with the entire ecosystem, from pre-start-up and start-up, all the way through to large multinationals - that could be everything from funding technology centres to funding research in universities to encouraging spin outs etc.

The New Frontiers Program is one of ours, working directly with entrepreneurs to get them to a point where they actually can develop their business idea into an investable company.

We provide funding directly to start-ups too. We classify them as High Potential Start Ups - essentially what we mean by that is that they have the potential to employ at least 10 persons within three years of starting and to generate revenues of at least €1million. 

Enterprise Ireland also funds the funders, we will have a lot of funds, in which we have invested, managed by external VC funds.

We also have dedicated development advisors to work with companies to help them challenge their business and funding plans.

And we provide a lot of support like mentorship, investor ready workshops, investor ready training programs, leadership for growth, scaling programs, everything around trying to build the capability within the start-up themselves.

What conversations will you be having with start-ups attending the event?

I want to pass on advice in terms of where companies can go, what they can do, and just generally make it easier for them to do it.

As far as I'm concerned, the ecosystem can be an extraordinarily confusing place - I would always encourage every start-up to start with Enterprise Ireland or the Local Enterprise Offices.

Why should start-ups consider Enterprise Ireland investment?

Last year we closed in or around 337 new investments, your average VC does about 10 - 15 new investments a year, the corporate financiers wouldn't do any near that level of investments either. So, when I say we get to see an awful lot of deals, we see the majority of the deals happening in Ireland - we get to see all the weird and wonderful things.

As an investor, we are not going to take second place behind anybody else, our money is as good as anybody else's - we'll just make sure that nobody's been taken advantage of at the same time.

Event details

This is a free event on Thursday 9 June at TU Dublin Aungier Street where attendees will gain tips on how to access finance, connect with funders and learn from panel discussions.

What to expect

• Hear from opening keynote speaker We are Riley as they share their entrepreneurial journey and offer top tips to raise and manage money.

• Join a panel session with funding source experts Barry Brennan Venture Partner of Elkstone Partners and Tom Early Head of Funding and Scaling Solutions, Enterprise Ireland and We are Riley hosted by fund-raising expert Johnny Harte, and ask questions on pitching and funding.

• Meet funders from across Ireland who are looking to invest in early and growth stage businesses.

• Network with other like-minded business owners and grow your connections.

About Access to Finance

Enterprise Nation Ireland has teamed up with a range of finance partners to show you which funding options are available and help you gain access to them.

Take part in interactive workshops, e-learning modules and free in-person consultations to move your business to the next level. Visit the Access to Finance Hub now