Ulster Bank’s Entrepreneurial Spark hatchery, based in the heart of Belfast, is a business accelerator with a difference. It is part of a major international movement to encourage and support startup and scale-up businesses, and can host (and accelerate the growth of) up to 80 startup businesses and early-stage entrepreneurs at any one time. Lynsey Cunningham, Ulster Bank’s Entrepreneurial Development Manager, gives Sync NI readers an insight into how this revolutionary business accelerator is helping to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland.
Working with early-stage entrepreneurs, day-in-day-out, has given me real insight into what is truly required to build a business that will thrive. The Entrepreneurial Spark Hatchery, powered by Ulster Bank, has been in existence for just over six months, and I can already see the positive impact it is having on the culture of business in Northern Ireland – largely down to the calibre of people that it has been able to support.
We hear about the blood, sweat and tears associated with entrepreneurship, but these entrepreneurs have let me into the secret that building your own business is actually also good fun – something that’s easy to lose sight of! There are unique stresses and challenges to overcome, but the long-term satisfaction of taking an idea from inception to fully-fledged business creates a degree of engagement and sense of achievement that is hard to beat. The businesses that we see in the Hatchery have an infectious enthusiasm for what they do, and my job is to ensure that that is allied to the right support and guidance to channel it into business success.
We do this is by encouraging a culture of innovation – helping our people see that innovation isn’t a single ‘eureka’ moment when you come up with a new idea for a business, but rather a lean way of approaching all decisions to strip out the baggage, making you more agile in responding to fast-changing market trends and customer preferences. It better prepares startup and scale-up businesses for the unpredictability of the real world, and means that they are more equipped to deal with change while still meeting sales targets and marketing their business.
That is our ethos in action – focusing not just on the idea but the people who will deliver it. We aim to build the people who build businesses – helping them put in place the skills and processes that they need to make themselves credible, scalable and backable to outside investors, so that they can articulate their vision productively.
Entrepreneurs might only get one chance at turning their ideas into successful reality - and they might not know that moment until it has passed. The approach I take is to encourage them to 'go do' – done is better than perfect and so much early-stage entrepreneurship is based around finding out what doesn't work as quickly as possible, rather than spending time constructing plans that are sophisticated but fragile.
Since working with Entrepreneurial Spark, I've come to see that much of what determines success is a growth mindset. It is about learning aptitudes, being brave enough to admit when you have reached your limits, and strategic enough to find the partners and sources of information that can help you overcome those barriers and grow a sustainable business in the long-term.
As we open applications for our next cohort of ‘Chiclets’, I look forward to seeing the new and diverse sectors and people that will be represented. There is support out there for people with a good business idea, or a business that is looking to take it to the next level, and I’d encourage anyone who feels that they could benefit from this support to find out what we’re all about: www.entrepreneurial-spark.com
Meet two Chiclets
Gary McDonald
Gary McDonald is a Northern Ireland businessman who is working to bring to market a technology-based data solution that will help customers get the best out of the shopping experience, while simultaneously helping retailers better understand and target their customers through increased profiling.
Gary set up Limitless, which is based in Belfast city centre, just over six months ago with a plan to help retailers and customers by drawing on his two decades of experience working with one of the biggest supermarket chains in Northern Ireland.
His technology, which tracks shopping habits, will be available to use both online, and in store using mobile triangulation.
Retailers will be able to monitor where customers went online or in premises, and can collect data about which products customers looked at and what goods were purchased.
It will even be possible for retailers to create a typical shopping list and send a text message to a customer before they leave the shop to remind them they have forgotten something they usually buy.
Another component of the Limitless technology will alert retailers to the presence of a customer in an area when there are no staff in the vicinity. Marketing material can also be specifically targeted to individual customers.
Gary is currently concentrating on building the best possible team for the launch of Limitless, and will initially target Northern Ireland before expanding to a global market.
Evan Wagner
Evan Wagner set up Bua Ltd to bring a new hurling helmet to the market, combining aesthetics and safety for players in what is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous field sports in the world.
The 29-year-old from south Belfast has spent four years developing the helmet.
The traditional hurling helmet design is based on the helmets used by ice hockey players. Having an interest in ice hockey as a result of spending his early childhood in Canada, Evan decided to look into developing the hurling helmet into a piece of safety equipment that looks good and also meets the needs of players as much as possible.
Evan also worked closely with hurlers to find out how they would like the traditional helmet to be improved.
Bua Ltd’s helmets feature several layers of padding, and are designed in such a way that they do not have to be attached to the chin, so the jaw does not absorb the impact if a player is hit in the face. In addition, the material used inside the helmet does not absorb sweat, meaning it is more hygienic.
Looking to the future, Evan wants Bua Ltd to design and create equipment for GAA sports.
He plans to supply directly to the customer and hopes that he will eventually sell his helmet as far afield as Australia and the US.
For now, however, he just wants to see his helmet on the market.
"Hurling is a fantastic sport and there is great potential for growth," Evan said. "I will be happy when I see one player in the All Ireland final wearing my helmet; I couldn't really ask for much more than that."
