Voices
Having spent the first chunk of my working life in the warm embrace of employment, where the shareholders in the businesses I worked for took all the risk, raised all the capital (and had all the fun), my foray into entrepreneurship was quite the baptism of fire.
While Intro, the first company we started, was in services and could be self-funded, when I first had the idea for what would become Chirp, child-protection software for smartphones that would help parents insulate their kids from cyberbullies, online child abusers, and ugly/easily accessed self-harm material, I hadn’t bargained on just how irrelevant my experience, even as a CEO of a media business, would be.
It was like starting all over again and everything needed to be looked at through a completely new lens. And that had nothing to do with being a different sector, but the stark contrast between start-up founder and worker.
Being a paid CEO of a well-funded company with a team of employees to support the growth of a business is a world apart from being an unpaid founder/CEO where you must wear all of the hats from head of sales to HR manager to office cleaner. It Is a lonely place because it’s all on you. That is the case in the early, building days, but it really doesn’t change as the company grows. Entrepreneurship is unique and not much in paid employment prepares you for it, you don’t really know anything until you start.
This realisation came to me at a party in San Francisco when I was explaining my idea — then only a concept — to someone who looked after a fund. She said she loved it and asked for a pitch deck. And I replied, ‘What’s a pitch deck?’ And that was a truly humbling experience. I had thought I knew it all. I did not.
In the wake of that moment, I have tried to position myself amongst people who know more than me because I can learn something from everyone and I’ve embraced any chance I get to meet other entrepreneurs.
In that context, I applied for the Entrepreneur Experience (EE) in Ballymaloe, run by Cork BIC (since rebranded to AxisBIC) in 2022, and was fortunate enough to be accepted. I attended as an ‘Emerging Entrepreneur’.
In Ballymaloe once a year, 24 up-and-coming entrepreneurs at various stages of their business journey from concept to scaling, are paired with relevant seasoned entrepreneurs who have been around the business block and have learnings to impart. The EE is all about paying it forward but since I was invited back last year to co-captain alongside the inimitable Jim Barry following Pete Smyth’s retirement from his captaincy, I now realise it’s as much about paying it back. Because everyone gains.
It is 36 hours of intense openness. A safe space where entrepreneurs both fledging and veteran, whose friends don’t really understand them or speak their language, can communicate with others that have felt or feel the pain and immense pleasure of starting and building a business.
This year was my second year as co-captain and in opening the proceedings to the emerging cohort, I asked them to think about why they had come. What did they want to achieve — in business generally and over the course of the experience? I encouraged them to figure out how to get closer to those goals throughout the weekend. No better opportunity to figure out what success looks like and how to get there.
‘Purpose’, our theme this year, ranged from expanding the network for support or advice, solving a tricky problem, defining a scaling plan, fine-tuning strategy, meeting investors — or learning how to, figuring out how to tell the story of their product or simply to be heard and understood.
When 24 ‘emerging’ strangers arrive at the crack of dawn on day one, there’s caution, trepidation, and apprehension because nobody knows what to expect. By the end of the weekend, there are hugs, lifelong friendships, and even tears. Everyone gets into the spirit of sharing dreams, admitting failures, confessing struggles, and confiding fears. Having availed of what is effectively a free support group, a free focus group, and a room full of qualified advisers, there is renewed energy, problems have been solved and there are clear strategies.
Everyone leaves exhausted but energised for the future — ‘emerging’ leaves with the benefit of the insights of the ‘seasoned’, and the ‘seasoned’ leaves with a new perspective on the current challenges for entrepreneurs and fresh ideas. Batteries refilled, all around.
While in the thick of starting or scaling a company, there never seems to be a good time to stop and take a cold, hard look at your business and where it’s going. How it can be done better, faster, and smarter. While I gear up for a Series A raise for Chirp, it seems to be all planes, trains, and automobiles with an endless ‘to do’ list and the pressure of family, friends, and general life. I am no different from every other entrepreneur. Learning to say ‘no’ and prioritise the must-do’s and must-attend’s are crucial. The Entrepreneur Experience offers that retreat-style distance from the reality and breakneck pace of a start-up, something that is absolutely invaluable. You can learn that sometimes you can be simply too close to see the wood from the trees and solutions can be staring you in the face.
At the Entrepreneur Experience, nobody speaks in acronyms to inflate their sense of self-importance. People are kind, and open and they share. A place where you can comfortably ask without fear of judgement, ‘what is a pitch deck?’
Further reading:
The Entrepreneur Experience 2024: Meet the 23 businesses selected for this year’s event
“Running something for sentimental reasons is a fool’s errand”
The Currency is the media partner for the Entrepreneur Experience. It is organised by AxisBIC alongside their other event partners Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Grant Thornton, Broadlake and William Fry.
