Launching the 2018 Entrepreneur Experience

The Entrepreneur Experience®, a 24 Hour Experience, is a unique opportunity for 24 Entrepreneurs to gain unparalleled access, advice and mentoring from 24 of Ireland’s most successful Entrepreneurs and is taking place on the 2^nd & 3^rd of March in Ballymaloe, Co. Cork. 2018 will be the 8^th Entrepreneur Experience.

The 2017 Entrepreneur Experience is an event “By Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs” which focuses on providing advice and guidance based on personal experiences. At this CorkBIC organised event there is no room for textbook theory, advice must be tangible and an emphasis placed on the practical execution of plans.

Speaking at the event Johnny Walker, Health Founders commented, “The Entrepreneur Experience is special and a little bit of magic is created each year. If we can help the Entrepreneurs from going into the potholes and over the cliffs we have then it is worth the journey.”

Speaking after the 2017 event Peaches Kemp, co-founder its… commented “Peer-to-Peer advice is to surround yourself with a great team, to continually work on being a strong and focused leader and to push on in the face of huge challenges and adversity. I expect that like many others, I have come away from the Entrepreneur Experience even more focused and determined than when I walked through its doors 24 hours earlier with a renewed belief that the future of innovation and industry in Ireland is strong and bright.”

Sean Ganley is CEO and co-founder of Westbrite Technologies and participated in the Scaling Business Group commented that ‘The Entrepreneur Experience was a golden opportunity for Westbrite to learn more about globally commercialising our product and scaling the business. It gave us access to some of the country’s top entrepreneurs, and an unparalleled level of mentoring. Leaders in cleantech and technology openly shared their expertise, and offered key insights into how Westbrite can make our IoT technology pervasive.’

Partners for this year’s Entrepreneur Experience® are Bank of Ireland, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Grant Thornton, HOMS Solicitors and The Sunday Business Post

Over the past seven years the Entrepreneur Experience® has gone from strength to strength.

• Over 170 Emerging Entrepreneurs including Startups; Investor ready companies and scaling companies have participated from over 10 countries
• Over 80 Seasoned Entrepreneurs have participated; including Mary McKenna, Tour America; Johnny Walker, Health Founders; Colette Twomey, Clonakilty Foods; Jim Barry Barry Group, Patrick Hickey, Rothco, Larry Bass, ShinAwil; Liam Casey, PCH; Terry Fox, Cupprint; Grainne Kelly, Bubblebum; David McKernan, Java Republic; Pádraig Ó Céidigh, AerArann; Peaches Kemp, its… and many more
• Of the 80 Seasoned Entrepreneurs, the top 20 have an average turnover of €54m and their average number of employees is 400
• 40 Enterprise Ireland High Potential Start-ups (HPSUs) have been approved
• 41 companies have subsequently raised investment
• Over €40m has been raised by the 41 companies who have raised investment
• Entrepreneurs have come from across the globe including, UK, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Chile, Rwanda, the US and all over Ireland, including Dublin, Derry, Galway, Meath, Limerick, Waterford, Kerry, Clare and Cork!