5TH - 10TH OCTOBERSTARTUP GATHERING 2015

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PLEASE SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE STARTUP GATHERING

Download the Startup Gathering app at

www.startupgathering.ie

Add a Startup Gathering Twibbon to your Twitter account

http://twibbon.com/support startupgathering2015

Share your Startup Gathering news stories by using the hashtag

#startupIRL

or posting here bit.ly/SGStories

and we’ll help get your message out

“At stake is nothing less than the economic future of our towns, cities and regions.”

BRAD FELD,

Author of ‘Startup Communities’

2015Welcome to

STARTUP GATHERING

WELCOME TO THE STARTUP GATHERING 2015

The Startup Gathering is about uniting

communities in towns, cities and regions across

the country behind their local startups. To

help more people to start, scale and succeed

from Ireland the Startup Gathering focuses in

one week (October 5th-10th) over 350 events

nationally. These events, programmes and

initiatives help create opportunities for startups

to collaborate and develop new relationships

with the key partners they need to accelerate

their growth in Ireland. These partners include

enterprise agencies, investors, large corporates,

the banking sector, service providers, research

centres and many others.

The Startup Gathering is an initiative of the not-

for-profit Startup Ireland Partnership and is a

key action in the Government’s Action Plan for

Jobs 2015. Bank of Ireland is sponsor and key

corporate partner to the Startup Gathering.

Ireland needs a step

change in the number

of people choosing to

take the entrepreneurial

journey. Ireland has

the ideal attributes to

become a global startup

hub for entrepreneurship

and innovation, what is

needed is a catalyst.

A national network of events and initiatives that support

ambition, scale and calculated risk taking will help make

this happen. Creating the opportunities for genuine

collaboration between startups and the partners critical to

their successful growth is at the heart of the Startup

Gathering.

Startup Ireland is an independent, not-for-profit

organisation committed to helping create an environment

where Ireland’s entrepreneurs can lead the way in making

our country an internationally competitive startup hub by

2020, a true startup island.

STARTUP IRELAND

EOIN COSTELLO

Startup Ireland

“Our goal is to help make Ireland a global hub for startups by 2020.”

EOIN COSTELLO Startup Ireland

As I have said before, we

have great entrepreneurs

in Ireland, we just don’t

have enough of them.

Two thirds of all new

jobs across the economy

are created by startups –

that’s why it is so crucial

that we get our policies on entrepreneurship right.

We have put in place a startup plan aiming to create

almost 100,000 extra jobs from startups over the coming

years, and we have created new mentoring supports, new

incubation spaces, new tax measures and a new competition

to find Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur.

The Startup Gathering is a major part of this plan, and the

response to the initiative to date is more evidence of the

huge potential that exists. I would encourage anyone with

an interest in starting a business to get involved, and I look

forward to meeting hundreds of our existing and future

entrepreneurs at events across the country.

We know that Ireland has

a great entrepreneurial

spirit and the Startup

Gathering is about

harnessing that drive,

showcasing it and

encouraging others to

get involved. I am delighted to have chaired the Steering

Committee for the Startup Gathering. It allowed me to

witness at first-hand the determination and enthusiasm

across the public and private sector to drive engagement

with this initiative and help make the Startup Gathering a

success.

Organising more than 350 events across 22 counties

is a credit to the hard work of those involved and shows the

appetite there is across the country to support and promote

startups. The events are accessible to all and I hope will

encourage more people to take the first step on the road to

entrepreneurship; to access the supports needed to grow

their business or to entice new businesses with high potential

to choose Ireland as their startup home.

MINISTER RICHARD BRUTON T.D. Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

MINISTER GED NASHT.D. Minister for Business & Employment, Chairman of

the Startup Gathering National Steering Group

MINISTER RICHARD BRUTON T.D. Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Bank of Ireland is

Ireland’s Enterprise

Bank and is committed

to working with small

businesses as they start,

scale and succeed. We are delighted to be proud sponsor

of, and key corporate partner to, the Startup Gathering

which reflects our commitment to the startup ecosystem,

working with serial entrepreneurs, student entrepreneurs,

investors, educators, service providers and Government.

Our Enterprise and Innovation programmes are designed to

collaborate both with small business and the communities

in which they operate. From traditional ways by providing

more credit to SME’s than any other Bank in the Irish

market - in the first half of 2015 Bank of Ireland provided

2.5bn of new approvals to the SME market, up 18% on

the same period last year - to other key initiatives which

include; our bi-annual National Enterprise Week, Enterprise

Towns, Workbench spaces in Grand Canal Sq. Dublin and

Mainguard St. Galway, sponsorship of the National Startup

Awards and the recently launched portal for small

business, ThinkBusiness.ie. These initiatives are designed

to provide opportunities to; established and would-

be business owners to network, meet potential new

customers, hear experts and acquire advice, showcase

their business, access free work and meeting spaces in

key locations, and above all, connect with like minded

people and supportive communities.

In our role as key sponsor Bank of Ireland has worked

side by side with the Startup Gathering team in helping

put the programme together and, hopefully, adding

value beyond simply acting as a sponsor bringing funds

to the process. Startup Ireland is a small team and,

effectively, a startup in it’s own right - our collaboration

on this initiative is, hopefully, an example of what we’ve

called out above, namely that our role in supporting the

startup ecosystem has to be not just about the provision

of capital but increasingly about the way we engage and

leverage our scale and capability on behalf of startups,

small business and communities right across Ireland.

We wish the Startup Gathering team continued success

as they scale and succeed with this momentous project

and, on behalf of Bank of Ireland, hope you enjoy this

inaugural Startup Gathering week in whichever part of

the country you experience it.

LIAM MCLOUGHLIN Chief Executive, Retail Ireland, Bank of Ireland

owners, at all stages of business-growth, to optimise their

potential.

We work intensely with startup businesses that

demonstrate early ambition and capability to serve

international markets. We fund their international growth

strategies, drive innovation, through access to new ideas

and experts, build effective management teams, plug them

into first-markets of greatest suitability, and help them

close international sales contracts.

Our aim is to harness the innate entrepreneurial

spirit that exists in Ireland, to motivate creative business

people, to innovate, to disrupt and to drive growth,

through internationalisation. Our role is to impact on

the entrepreneurship ecosystem, so that it facilitates

entrepreneurs in starting new and exciting businesses.

We are delighted to collaborate with the Startup Gathering

initiative as it shines a spotlight on the vibrant Irish startup

ecosystem and aims to promote Ireland’s offering to the

diaspora and other international entrepreneurs.

The success of Irish businesses

is critical to our economy

and new start-up businesses

are crucial since they have

such a positive impact on

job creation in Ireland. A key

priority for Enterprise Ireland

is to foster and encourage

founders of Irish businesses,

by providing practical supports

to entrepreneurs and business

JULIE SINNAMON CEO Enterprise Ireland

Sponsors

ACTION PLANFOR JOBS

2015

Supporters:

Media Partners:

Check out any of our new co-working spaces at 1 Grand Canal Square, Dublin or 22 Mainguard Street, Galway to start, scale and succeed your startup idea.

Wifi? Check.Caffeine? Check.Heat? Check.Free? Check.No Catch? Check.

CoderDojo is about encouragingcreativity and having fun in a relaxed, social environment. JOIN US.Learn how to code, develop websites, apps, programs, games and explore technology in an informal and creative environment with Bank of Ireland.

If you know of any young person who would like to attend, talk to our CoderDojo Champion in branch.

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NOTE: BOI Vector Bubble

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Key Corporate Sponsor: Government Sponsor:

Sponsors:

STARTUP ISLAND 2020 FORUM To help achieve the country’s ambition of becoming a global

hub for startups by 2020, the Startup Gathering day in the

5 cities (Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway)

opens with a ‘Startup Island 2020 Forum’. The goal of each

Forum is to bring together key decision makers in each city

to hear international experts from the Startup Commons

organisation (please see more information below) provide

insights into what underpins successful startup ecosystems.

To help accelerate the city’s momentum towards the 2020

goal attendees will then participate in a breakout session

facilitated by Startup Commons.

Following this they will hear senior representatives from their

city of the key enablers of successful global startup hubs

(investors, state agencies, large corporates, research centres

and service providers) share how they are contributing to

the 2020 goal by growing their collaboration with local

entrepreneurs and their startups. Each Forum features a

high profile keynote speaker sharing their vision for a key

opportunity for the city and is also the opportunity for the

voice of the city’s entrepreneurs to be heard about their first

hand experience of what it is like to start, scale, succeed

from Ireland.

Overview of the day in each city STARTUP ISLAND 2020 FORUM

PROGRAMME

October 5th - Dublin - 8.30am-1pm in Google HQ, Barrow St

October 6th - Waterford - 8.30am-1pm in Tower Hotel, The Mall

October 7th - Cork - 7.30am-1.30pm in Vertigo, City Hall

October 8th - Limerick - 8.30am-1pmin LSAD Gallery, LIT, Clare Street

October 9th - Galway - 8.30am-1pm in Meyrick Hotel, Eyre Square

Full details of the speakers & participants

for each Forum is available on the

Startup Gathering app, please see

www.startupgathering.ie

October 10th - Limerick - 10am - 10:30amBriefing at Megadojo Event, LIT, Moylish Park

If you have an innovative business idea that has potential to create up to 10 jobs and generate exports, Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Startup Team can provide advice and �nancial support to get your idea o� the ground.

About Startup Commons www.startupcommons.org

Led by Óscar Ramírez and Valto Loikkanen, Startup Commons

is a team of leading international experts on startup ecosystem

development. They provide integrated online solutions for cities

and governments to manage, measure and monitor startup

ecosystems. These solutions help in ecosystem development,

operation and international benchmarking. They also specialise

in measuring economic development created by startup

ecosystems via innovation, jobs creation and international

investment.

OPEN CITY REGION EVENTS

There will be a full schedule of events, programmes and

initiatives organised by Startup Gathering hosts across each city

region all day.

The full schedule for each city is available here:

www.startupgathering.ie or by downloading the

Startup Gathering 2015 app.

“Helping startups plug into their local communities is key, if they’re in a

robust local network startups have a much greater chance of success.”

Scott Case, CEO of Startup America Partnership

“Startups are the new FDI companies”

John Kennedy, Silicon Republic

If you have an innovative business idea that has potential to create up to 10 jobs and generate exports, Enterprise Ireland’s High Potential Startup Team can provide advice and �nancial support to get your idea o� the ground.

For more information go to

www.enterprise-ireland.com/startup

THE NATIONAL NETWORKBehind the Startup Gathering 2015

STARTUP GATHERING NATIONAL STEERING GROUPMinister Nash, Chairman of the Startup Gathering National Steering Group

Gerry Prizeman, Head of Enterprise, Bank of Ireland

John O’Dea, Manager, High Potential Startup Unit, Enterprise Ireland

Meetings facilitated by

KEY PARTNERS TO THE STARTUP GATHERING REPRESENTED BY

CITY AND REGIONAL COORDINATORS

Gene MurphyDublin

Gillian Barry Limerick

Barry O’Dowd

Stephen O’Driscoll

Oisin Geoghan

Michael Maddock

Grainne Lennon

Tara McCarthy

Claire McCarthy/Joe Hutchinson

IDA Ireland

Science Foundation Ireland

Local Enterprise Offices

Irish Business Incubation Centres

InterTradeIreland

Bord Bia

Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade

John Breslin Galway

Siobhan Finn Cork

Breanndán CaseyIreland North East

Eugene CrehanWaterford

Michelle ConnollyIreland North West

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Eoin Costello, National Director of the Startup Gathering 2015

Department ofJobs, Enterprise and Innovation

NATIONAL BUSINESS NETWORKS AND ENTERPRISE SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS

HIGHER EDUCATION REPRESENTATIVE BODIES

Sharon Higgins

Joanna Murphy

Ian Talbot

Ned Costello

Ciarán O’Catháin

Ibec

Connect Ireland

Chambers Ireland

Universities Association of Ireland

Institutes of Technology Ireland Thank You To

Minister Bruton and Minister Nash. Our Startup Gathering City

and Regional Coordinators. The Bank of Ireland team nationwide

for their ongoing committment, enthusiasm and support

throughout the project. Brendan, Andrew and the Board of

Startup Ireland. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise & Innovation

and Enterprise Ireland. Ciaran, Jane, Elaine and Mark from IDEA.

The members of the Startup Gathering steering groups, sponsors

and supporters. All the event organisers across Ireland who have

been part of this project, for their time, energy and dedication to

helping make Ireland a startup island.

Without you all the Startup Gathering 2015

would not have been possible.

“We know that Ireland has lots of ambitious entrepreneurs and we are looking for even more of them to come forward and build a

Startup revolution.”Minister Ged Nash

“It’s all about how we support and enable small business and startups – to grow, to succeed, and to become the economic force

within communities across Ireland.”Liam McLoughlin, Chief Executive, Retail Ireland, Bank of Ireland

“Network Connectivity is the most important component driving startup ecosystem growth”

US Chamber of Commerce and the 1775 International Startup Competition, 2015

Tell us in 1 tweet why your business

will start, scaleand succeed

to be in with a chance

to win €1,000*

Bank of Ireland

is Proud Sponsor

of the Startup Gathering 2015

Simply tweet @BOIstartups

why your business should win.

@BOIstartups

*Terms and conditions apply, see bankofireland.com/SGCompetition.com for more details.Bank of Ireland is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

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