A busy week

It's been a hectic week here at Synergy Centre - what with hosting the iFactor finals on Monday night (www.innovationfactor.blogspot.com); welcoming John Green for a Franchising Juice on Tuesday morning; and spending Wednesday with our EPP participants making their parting pitches! As if I didn't have enough on my plate I had to run the gauntlet of Vincent Browne last night (http://www.tv3.ie/shows.php?request=tonightwithvincentbrowne). Now I know how our entrepreneurs feel when grilled on their business plans! The Juice was particularly interesting though as John took us through the pros and cons of being both a franchisee and a franchisor. For our client companies I noted the necessity to have been in business long enough to have acquired a track record and ideally to have trialled the franchise concept once in a "safe" environment before selling on.

Synergy is Recruiting

Synergy Centre has been approved under the Fás graduate workplace programme for the position of Student Enterprise Champion. We are seeking a graduate who is outgoing, motivated and thrives on student life while balancing it with a professional approach. to qualify for the scheme you must have been unemployed for at least 6 months. For more info click on the title link or e-mail innovate@synergycentre.ie.

Getting Busy Again

In the past week or so we've really felt things beginning to buzz again here at Synergy as the summer lull draws to an end. With our Enterprise Launch Programme starting on the 4th September and being in the midst of recruitment for the Synergy Enterprise Platform Programme we are looking forward to welcoming a new crop of enterpreneurs to Synergy Centre. In the meantime Jos, Onray and myself are planning the coming year in terms of "The Juice" speakers, Brown Bag topics and book club reads - all suggestions gratefully accepted. Synergy centre is also leading the iFactor - a competition for Dublin incubation centres which challenges them to come up with the most innovative product or service. The Student Synergy Awards for 2009/10 are also looming on the horizon and Onray is working hard to have everything ready to kick that off when the students start back in September. In the meantime we are all reading "Who Moved My Cheese" ready for book club on the 25th August - everyone welcome.

Bizarre - we want a 40 (+) Hour Work Week

Thus was the verdict of the Synergy Book Club this afternoon having read Timothy Ferris' book The Four Hour Work Week. Mr Ferris didn't win too many friends through this book and readers questioned whehter he will ultimately be happy with a business based on online reselling and working hard to master various life skills from martial arts to languages. Some lessons were taken from the book however on rationalisation and eliminating unnecessary tasks and people from a business. Automation and outsourcing were key to freeing up time and buying life-flexibility. The August book is "Who Moved my Cheese" - a short read for the quiet month.

Enoy the Long Weekend!

And don't forget to read "The Four Hour Work Week" for next Tuesday's Book Club!

Synergy is The Business

John Murray of RTE Radio's "The Business" visited us today and met with a number of our entrepreneurs to find out what goes on here at Synergy Centre. He spoke to Seamus Kilmartin of UltilitySaver, Karen Bolger of HowtoProjectManage, Conor MCGoveran of Onformonics and Dave McDonnell of VisualID. The rain just about held off for an external interview after which John and Alan (producer) were heading over to the newly opened Tallaght stadium. Tune in this Sunday morning at 10am to hear more! http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_thebusiness.xml
[Synergy interview is at 21 mins].

Free Online Marketing Advice

Check out www.digitalmarketingschool.ie for a new website that aims to bring us all up to date on the terminology and techniques behind online marketing. starts right at the beginning without being patronising - v. interesting. The brains behind it - Andrew Jenkinson and Niall O'Driscoll - have been at this online marketing business for years and have the experience, understanding and industry plaudits to prove it.

Make Yourself Heard

Win a €15k promotional campaign with 4FM, Unique Media and the Sunday Business Post. Now is not the time to be experimenting with advertising as a small business - the funds involved make the risk/reward ratio too unattractive. I'd argue, in fact, that in a business2business market it rarely makes sense to spend big bucks on advertising. HOWEVER - if someone will pay for it for you, it gives you a tremendous opportunity to build brand awareness. The pr package attached to this prize also offers an opportunity to work with Unique Media (who do all of Synergy Centre's PR work) to develop a national media presence. When all that is required is a 500 word submission, what have you got to lose?!? For more info visit http://www.4fm.ie/competition.asp.

A Day of Deep Breathing

It's been a day of deep breathing from the get go here at Synergy Centre. We kicked off at 8.30 with a breakfast session with Martin Toner, the golf specialist. Martin not only worked on our golf game, but also showed us the importance of switching between left and right brain activity to achieve optimum results. Focus, passion, preparation and understanding are what we must bring to bear in all aspects of our lives to be happy. Our March intake of EPP participants were given a chance to put it all into practice during their 6 month "Dragons Den" - style sessions with a panel of mentors. Each made a 20 minute presentation followed by a 40 minute Q&A session. Deep breaths all round - managing the nerves in advance, answering questions under fire, dealing with the constructive criticism, and then - most importantly - taking time to rethink, redirect and refocus. Passion, Preparation, Understanding & Focus.

Tallaght - Centre of the Universe

It's official - Tallaght is, according to An Bord Snip Nua, the place to be. The recommendation by Colm McCarthy's review group is that Blanchardstown Institute of Technology and the three DIT sites be relocated to our own campus here at ITT Dublin. This runs alongside proposed swingeing (what a great word!) cuts to R&D funding and serious rationalisation of the Enterprise Development arms of the state including the subsuming of the County Enterprise Boards into Enterprise Ireland and a reduction of 200 staff in that latter entity. While it is inevitable that every man/woman/entity will defend their own right to continue in existence, and these pleas fall largely on sceptical ears once one steps outside one's own realm, it is to be hoped that cuts in R&D and enterprise development are made with one eye to the future. As Enterprise Ireland's recent publication on the Technology Transfer Strengthening Initiative highlights - it can take a while for funding to translate into outcomes - particularly when the funding is there to create a serious shift in strategic outlook and approach.

Seedcorn: Effort & Reward

Synergy Centre will host a presentation and Q&A from Intertrade Ireland on Monday lunchtime as part of our Brown Bag series. The topic will be the agency's Seedcorn Competition which offers decent cash prizes and much kudos in the business start-up/investor world. The competition mimics an investment decision-making process: It demands a succinct (25 pages), believable, goal and growth oriented business plan in the first instance. This presents a challenge for many entrepreneurs - even those who have a solid business plan. Whittling it down to a useful 15 pages can be difficult - particularly for those who are technology focussd and want to describe in detail the nuts and bolts of their massive invention. The trick is to focus on the outcomes - for the clients, for the company, for the investor. The next step, having been shortlisted (hopefully), is regional rounds of presentations and, following that, national rounds. These presentations are tough - the Q&A sessions are incisive and challenging and those who emerge from the room are inevitably exhausted. So the question is - "Is it worth it?". And the answer? Yes it is - not based on the prize sums involved, but rather the prestige of the competition, the access to potential investors, and the discipline of the process itself. Come along on Monday for more info or visit www.intertradeireland.com/seedcorn .

Scary, Speedy Summers

A sign of the times we live in? The recently blogged Innovation Vouchers Call from Enterprise Ireland that opened on Monday is now closed. With over 100 applications received in just three days, in the height of summer this has to be both scary and reassuring. Scary for those of us who support young, high-tech start-ups - the challenge is for us to marshall our resources so that we are in a position to respond in an accelerated fashion to their requirements. While resources of all types are scarce in a system that is largely public sector based - EI, CEBs, Incubation Centres, Colleges, FAS etc - we must also look to cut the red tape that can unnecessarily stretch and absorb these resources. On the upside it is reassuring that in the current economic climate a three day call throws up one hundred small businesses who are are actively seeking to commercially innovate - develop dramatically better products or processes. And these are all short-term projects with short to medium term results - we won't have to wait too long for their impact on Ireland Inc. Next call for Innovation Vouchers opens 1st September - watch www.innovationvouchers.ie for more info.

FAS Work Placement Programme

Announced in May this year, the FÁS Work Placement Programme is designed to offer unemployed people, including unemployed graduates, the opportunity to obtain 6 months quality experience in a work situation. Placements must provide quality work experience, with a work plan, for a 6 month period. There must not be a vacancy in the work activity in which you are offering placement. Participants on the Work Placement Programme will continue to receive their existing social welfare entitlements from the Department of Social and Family Affairs for their duration on the programme. Further information on the scheme and full details of the eligibility criteria are also available online at http://www.fas.ie/en/About+Us/News/pressReleases.htm.

New Innovation Voucher Call

For those of you not familiar with them, Innovation Vouchers are just genius for small companies with an R & D bent. Enterprise Ireland will give you a voucher worth €5000 to use with any third level college in the country to do some development work for you. All you have to do is to find the right person to work with (and pay VAT on the 5k). The next open call for the vouchers is in September but there is a limited call (of 75 vouchers) currently open in the FastTrack format. this requires you to have already agreed the project with the academic institution. Quite a number of Synergy Companies have benefitted from the voucher system - it really is incredibly easy to navigate. Visit http://www.innovationvouchers.ie/ for more info. Note that you have to be a registered company and you cannot have more than one voucher active at any time.

Synergy II: Excitement Building

Just finished a long session with the design team for the extension to Synergy Centre which will include the new PRTLI funded Centre of Applied Science for Health, more Innovation laboratory space for commercial rersearch, and double the amount of business incubation space. A lovely discussion in the incubation space focus group around interaction vs. privacy/productivity and the challenge for the architects is going to be maintaining one while maximising the other.We discussed flexible space, more meeting rooms, comms facilities, phone booth-style pods, storage space, showers, heat and light and more. Next draft of plans in two weeks time - will keep you posted!

Back in Business

Apologies for the lack of posts - been out sick since Thursday last - boo hoo! While out though I've been reading the Harvard Business Review's "Innovation" compilation which my kind hubby picked up for me in Boston's Logan Airport. Lots of ideas now for accelerating the development of our own innovation factory here in Synergy Centre. I'll pop the book in the Synergy library when done and would highly recommend a read - it's the sort of thing you can just dip into being a collection of articles rather than an end to end book. [Note mention of Chris Kurjan (of Innovation Delivery who tutor on innovation in our Enterprise Platform Programme - www.innovationdelivery.com) as head curator of IDEO's ideas boxes.]

From Bunker to Boardroom

Okay - I've twisted his arm, but I honestly think it will be fascinating! Martin Toner, golf guru and mind-man will visit us on the morning of Tuesday, 21st of July for the next Juice session on balancing your work and your life. I've been aware for some time that the myriad of concerns - all the things that you have to do, and all the things that might possibly go wrong - can become paralysing for entrepreneurs. The mortgage payment competes with the technology prototype; the search for a plumber with the search for a funder, networking (IT) with networking(in person). If you stop to think about it all you might never get started again. And bizarrely, when I wondered what to do about this Martin popped into my head. You see, playing sport is a lot like this - when you stop to think you lose your momentum. And yet if you don't play smart, you will never be the best. Martin gets in the minds of athletes and helps them to do both - think, be smart, but don't get paralysed. Hope I'm not overselling it but really looking forward to the 21st.

Synergy Baby en Route!

What a lovely post to be able to put on the Synergy blog :-). Onray, our Enterprise Officer (and general "keep the Synergy Show on the road" man), has told us that he expects to be a Dad in the new year! We already have high hopes for the bairn and I am currently working on a reading list to accompany the monopoly board and fisher-price mobile phone that will be my first birthday gift. Congrats Onray!

One Day Whinge Window

If you have been giving out about the government response to credit crisis for small business then you have a one-day window to get your spoke in! The County Enterprise Boards are carrying out a survey to establish what the situation is now and what changes (if any) have taken place so they can present the situation to the Minister. Please participate by completing this survey (below) by close of business this Monday 29th June. It only takes 5 minutes and will be very helpful to present the current situation.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=2_2b7MxqVFTXf2jpDQ4Z_2f7ZQ_3d_3d

Extension - Your Input

On Friday week, 10th July, Taylor Architects will be hosting a focus group here in Synergy centre for client companies to get input on the extension to the incubation centre. To get best info from the group they'd like to keep numbers between 6 and 8. If you're a synergy client company and would like to attend please just let Onray or Nicola know. Don't have a time as yet (likely to be afternoon) but this will take about 1.5 hours and will be held in the Glasshouse.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

If building a business is about Blood, Sweat and Tears, then at the moment I'm all about the blood. I was on to the Stillorgan clinic yesterday rearranging my donation appointment (you can't give for 28 days on return from the US at the moment) when they told me about how they are desperate for blood at the moment - particularly in advance of the August bank holiday weekend. I'm on the hunt now for people to come with me to donate on Friday, 31st of July - the IBTS will lay on transport from Synergy at 10.30am and we should be back in business by 12.30 with coffee and sandwiches thrown in. A slightly longer coffee break than normal - but for a good cause. Drop me a line if you can make it. For more info you can visit www.giveblood.ie.

Book Club Kicks Off

So we had the first meeting of the Synergy Book Club at lunchtime today. The book up for discussion was Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat" and the general consensus was that it is an eminently worthwhile read (some attendees might actually be reading it post-event!). Discussion focussed on the ups and downs of increasing technology-driven communications such as blogs :-) that facilitate easy information sharing but are open to abuse and can damage a company's reputation if not monitored and managed. Also on the table was the insourcing/outsourcing phenomenon epitomised by Dell and UPS operations. The Synergy group tended to be a bit more cynical about outsourcing elements of a business to the India/China of this world and the lack of control that might entail, but were all agreed that by sheer dint of numbers, these countries are a serious threat to Ireland's goal of becoming a knowledge economy. In fact, the feelign was that if we stumble and fall now due to short-sighted economics and decisions, we may well never pick ourselves up. The next book for review will be "The Four Hour Work Week" by Timothy Ferris. I'll let you know when copies are in.

Legal Eagles Land on Synergy Centre

Synergy Centre, ITT Dublin’s Innovation space has appointed Philip Lee Solicitors and FRKelly Patent Attorneys to provide legal services to its entrepreneurs. The deal sees the two law firms partner with Synergy Centre in the development of high technology start-ups throughout the Synergy enterprise launch programme, enterprise platform programme and full incubation. The law firms will provide template and advice documents, workshops, one-to-one clinics as well as a legal hotline to companies within Synergy Centre.

Design Led Thinking: Rubbish?

Toby Scott was in to visit us for this morning's Juice breakfast. Beginning with a powerful video on the increasing rate of change and our somewhat slower rate of response to it, he immediately captured the audience of entrepreneurs and academics. He spoke of the powerful effect that using design to drive strategic thinking has on SMEs - increasing product demand by 250%! Unfortunately only 15% of Irish SMEs are doing just that. A salutory lesson for us. The key message from my perspective was that to be truly innovative you must ascertain latent unmet needs and that this is best done by walking in the users (all users!) shoes. And all users means everyone - in the case of a rubbish bin it includes those who empty the bins, those who sit on the bins post-pub, the vandals who want to light a fire in the bin, the people who install the bins, those who clean the street around the bins - oh yes, and those who put their rubbish in the bin. A load of rubbish? I think not. See http://www.pentaclethevbs.com/ for more info on Toby.

Calling all Gamers: the E3 experience first-hand

If you're a gaming fanatic check out http://hivemindgames.ning.com/, the blog of Hivemind Games CEO, Mark Tattersall, who's on the current Synergy Enterprise Platform Programme. Mark's just back from E3 and has posted playtest reviews, trailers and gameplay videos to the site as well as updating hisBlog with all the new trimmings Microsoft announced for the Xbox at E3, a must read!

Free, Free, Free

The sun might have gone in and it may be Monday but there's always something to smile about! Sage are now offering their TAS Books Basic and Quickpay Free to small businesses free of charge - they say they are perfect for companies with 5 or less employees. To download the software visit www.tassoftware.ie/free. In a similar vein, don't forget that Synergy is a network partner for Microsoft's BizSpark programme see http://www.microsoft.com/BizSpark/ for more info. Also another quick reminder of the next in The Juice series of breakfast briefings - tomorrow morning Dr Toby Scott talks about Design innovation - one not to miss as he is a genuinely fascinating speaker with a wealth of knowledge. Will let you know how that goes. To book a free spot just drop us an e-mail.

Books Abound

News just in that 3 copies of The World is Flat, Synergy Book Club's June read are now available in the ITT Dublin library - just ask for the Synergy Book Club book - and thanks to Niamh and Gilian for organising. Two copies are also available from the Synergy Honour Library. The book's fairly big so you can just focus on chapter Two - The Ten Forces that Flattened the World - if you're struggling! The club will meet at 1pm on Thursday, 25th June in the Glasshouse in Synergy Centre - all welcome.

Bags of Potential

Ronan Ganter, who took part in the last Enterprise Launch Programme here at Synergy, has just launched his new business http://www.bagcab.com/. BagCab picks your luggage up from one destination and delivers it to another for a mere five euro, leaving you free to walk, cycle or hitch hike from one destination to the next. Currently operating in Galway/Westport/Clifden area, Ronan has plans to add new routes as the company takes off.

Primary Promoters!!!

Watch out entrepreneurs - the next generation is hot on your heels. Tallaght Library is currently showcasing projects from South Dublin County Enterprise Board's "Bí Gnóthach" project aimed at entrepreneurial primary school kids. Mini-businesses set up by the kids range from Sensational Smoothies to Book Fairs and Craft Shops. First prize went to 6th class students from St Martin de Porres National school, Tallaght with their project Funky Glasses. Unlike our own entrepreneurs these students are a little more altruistic with proceeds going to charities chosen by the children.

Business Book Club

The new Synergy Business Book Club will meet for the first time on Thursday, 25th of June from 1-2pm in The Glasshouse. The first book under discussion will be "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman (2006). The title is a metaphor for viewing the world as a level playing field in terms of commerce, where all competitors have an equal opportunity. The book is all about globalisation, outsourcing, insourcing, offshoring, uploading, workflow, etc with lots of examples of companies such as Dell, Wal-Mart, UPS, Infosys, Microsoft and AOL. Apparently, Ireland even gets a couple of pages. Haven't read it yet myself but looking forward to it. There'll be a couple of copies available in the Synergy library(please try to turn them around as quickly as you can) and we're hoping to get some stocked in the ITT library too - stay posted for more info. Thanks to Seamus for kicking this off!

Student Entrepreneurs Carry On Regardless

Unfortunately, none of the Student Synergy Awards winners made it through to the finals of the Enterprise Ireland Student Awards which will take place in Coleraine on the 10th June. Undaunted, our winners are working away on their businesses - we just got a mail from Niall of All Mountain Experience (http://www.allmountainexperience.com/) in Italy - they've had 20 clients through their Lake Garda camp in the last three weeks. We're looking forward to the Carzii marketing campaign this summer which Simon assures us will kick off post-exams (see http://www.carzii.ie/). Also have high hopes for the Quicknets and Liquistal teams. Well done to all and thanks to South Dublin County Enterprise Board for their sponsorship.

Recuiting for Autumn Programmes

Synergy Centre is currently recruiting for its Autumn 2009 Enterprise Development Programmes. There are two programmes running this Autumn -aimed at would-be entrepreneurs who are at slightly different stages of their business development.

The Enterprise Launch Programme runs over 6 wks, part-time, Fridays (6.30 – 9.30) and Saturdays (10 – 1). The cost is €300, and the programme starts 4th Sept, deadline for applications is August 21st. This programme is aimed at those who have a concept but have not fully investigated its viability at this point. This programme is designed and timed to feed into the Enterprise Platform Programme:

The Synergy Enterprise Platform Programme (M50 Programme), a 1 year, full-time, programme starts 2nd November, deadline for applications is 25th September. This programme takes the viable concept through to either trading or investment ready status.

For more info on eitehr programme visit http://www.synergycentre.ie/ or www.m50-enterprise.ie.

Synergy Centre Starts Blogging

Hi folks,
there's so much going on here in Synergy and sometimes we just don't get to tell everyone about it so we decided to stop making excuses and start blogging! We'll give you updates on events that take place in the centre, dates and deadlines for programmes that we are running and recruiting for, and news on how our client companies are getting along. Stay tuned!
Synergy