Upstarts.ie Podcast

Stephen Cummins from Amasat.com returns to talk about innovation and how companies need to continue to be innovative inspite of their size or position in the market. He talks about his new direction with Amasat to build an app to get businesses in the salesforce eco system to connect with the best apps and supports for them.

Taylor Jensen from Marionette Media talks about her move from the USA to Ireland, becoming an entrepreneur, how social media is important for all businesses and shares her tips for good use of online channels.

Claire Burge from international company Get Organised returns to set Andy & Kelly an 8 step creativity challenge on this show. Claire will challenge us to set a goal and work towards a creative output after 8 steps. You can follow our progress online or with the hastag #UpSpin Claire launched her popular creativity book in Dublin last month – Spin: Taking Your Creativity to the Nth Degree. The book takes you inside the process of a productivity expert who understands both the mysterious and technical nature of creativity. Now UpStarts will take up the challenge! Connect with Claire: @claireburge

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

On the show this afternoon we welcome Stuart McHugh, CEO of Newsaccess. Newsaccess is Ireland’s leading media monitoring agency has grown by more than 50 percent in the last year. This growth is driven by the recent acquisition of Media Hub and BusinessWorld.ie. Stuart has a wealth of experience in the Media Intelligence Industry. He became CEO of Newsaccess in 2007 and oversaw the merger of NPC and NMS that year. He then managed Newsaccess’ implementation and launch of diversified digital services. He previously held the positions of Sales & Marketing Director and Head of Insight in Newsaccess and holds a Batchelor’s degree in Marketing.

This week we are joined by Justine Murphy, founder and creator for The Rebel Pebble Gallery. Rebel Pebble is a virtual gallery that specilises in artwork and paintings using reclaimed materials. Much of the work uses pebbles on the paintings to give a three dimensional feel to the work. Justing tells us about her decision to leave a secure job to travel and eventually set up the gallery. #UpStarts

Our guest today is Claire Burge. Claire is a successful businesswoman who heads up the international company Get Organised in Ireland. She has also co-founded Sorted Circus—an online creative service that helps people reach their productivity goals.Both companies aim to help people work smarter.Claire is also an expert on creativity and its vital role in business. Claire launched her popular creativity book in Dublin last month – Spin: Taking Your Creativity to the Nth Degree. The book takes you inside the process of a productivity expert who understands both the mysterious and technical nature of creativity. Claire said: “I wrote Spin: Taking Your Creativity to the Nth Degree because I am realising that creativity is becoming an essential skill in the workplace. Productivity and creativity work hand in hand. The one needs the other.” Claire Burge is also a productivity specialist, model and food photographer. Claire is a regular blogger and productivity contributor for 99U, LifeHack and Get Organised. Furt

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

Blogger, entrepreneur and CEO of Amasat, Stephen Cummins joins us in studio to talk about his career path, his work with Salesforce.com and his Alpha App award. He discusses his time in Sales Force as a 'power user' of LinkedIn and give advice to people on good LinkedIn citizenship. He shows the easy ways to improve your linkedIn experience and to avoid the pitfalls of over posting and not filtering correctly.

Entrepreneur, angel investor and innovator Ian Lucey joins us in studio today to talk about the many sides of his business and interest in start-ups from • Funding – what’s available to concept stage start-ups (Country Enterprise Boards, Enterprise Ireland, priming grants, etc.) • Smart Accounting – the different relief schemes available to founders that allows them to free up old taxes they’re entitled to upon starting a business etc. • Lucey Fund – the model he usesto invest is different and innovative in that we build products for people who understand a marker, but not the tech side. • MindUnit – this is a London creative agency which Lucey acquired in 2012. They are one of the market leaders in the UK arts sector and have clients such as Borough Market and London Symphony Orchestra Ian Lucey is founder and CEO of Lucey, a cloud computing and web development company with offices in Dublin, London & Milan. Ian is also an angel investor through the Lucey Fund, and has made investments in 16 startups si

Marc Rafferty from Linked Finance joins us in studio to talk about the changing face of crowd funding and how small businesses who are finding it difficult to get loans or finance can now crowd source their needs from investors and people in their locality. He shows how Linked Finance can help small businesses get quick approval and start getting lots of small lenders to help them reach their goal.

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur.If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

On the show this afternoon Alan Foy from BlueFace talks to us about cloud and internet based communications as well as their packages to save businesses costs on mobile and landline. He discusses the advantages of cloud communications over traditional forms with benefits like a single mailbox for your landline and mobile, and the ability to take you landline number with you anywhere. He also tells us of his own interest in start-ups and how he can help with advice and support to a business with a great idea.

Christina and Karl from Panama Lifestyle join us in the studio to talk about their direct sales business providing luxury, trendy and organic make up goods direct to your door. They talk about their range of different products, the growth of their door to door business which is all about networking, and how they are looking for enthusiastic and self motivated people to join their sales teams.

Today on UpStarts we talk about the importance of cloud computing and its impact on all types of businesses, we explain what cloud software is and how it can save businesses time and money. David Kerr from Cloud Institute Limited comes in to tell us about their training and support for individuals and organisations that want to embrace cloud computing or upskill themselves. He talks about their partnering with businesses to develop their cloud solutions and support. Richard Wilson talks to us from Cloud9DigiDine, a cloud company about to launch their innovative backend solution and front end tablet based menu for the restaurant business to help owners and chefs run their kitchen efficiently as well as giving the customers a more innovative and informative service.

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur.If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie

Toby Farren, founder of Play Tank joins us in studio today to talk about their modularized and crowd controlled app and platform for creative projects. PlayTank is a web app aimed at democratizing innovation by providing a platform where anyone can contribute to large scale creative project development. The app handles all the project management; project progression; reward distribution and more so people can concentrate on the creativity.

David Wicks from Merlins Enchanted Balloons joins us in studio today to talk about the very unusual but rewarding business of balloon sculpting and folding. He talks about the creative community around the art and how it can be a viable business for those looking for something really different. He talks about the move away from childrens events and festivals to doing more work for corporate events and professional settings.

Barbara Gordon from Whatswhat.ie joins us in the studio today. What's What is a full feature B2C and B2B platform that offers you a professional presence on the Internet *and provides you with tools that will help you grow your business and *interact with your customers and other businesses. She talks about the evolution of the business from mail shots to web in its early days and to being a pioneer in listing online businesses.

Dayna Caceres from Distinctions Consulting comes back on the show this week for our monthly Business Advice Clinic. Dayna answers questions and provides advice to our listeners on challenges in business they have sent to UpStarts, and provides expert tips on dealing with the issues and day to day trials of running a business and being and entrepreneur.If you have any questions, please contact us at info@upstarts.ie or you can submit a question for Dayna at www.upstarts.ie