The Now Factory – a multimillion euro business in five years


23 Jun 2011

Founder of The Now Factory Tom Morrisroe worked on his father’s farm in Rosscomon from the age of seven, and knew by age 12 that whatever he did in life he would be doing for it himself.

The Now Factory, launched in 2006, helps communications service providers to turn their ever-growing volumes of data traffic into revenue. It provides insights for running networks more efficiently and for building out new services that help customers to grow their businesses.

In the five years since its launch, The Now Factory has become a multimillion euro business, increasing revenues by more than 70pc every 12 months. Operating from its Dublin base, the number of employees at the company has risen from five to 120 in just four years.

With an international customer base of 35 operators in 25 countries spanning four continents, some of the company’s clients include Vodafone, T-Mobile and Telefonica. In 2010, the company opened new offices in the Far East and North America.

After graduating from the University of Limerick with an engineering degree, Morrisroe worked for Kodak in the UK, but the entrepreneurial spirit was still burning – weekends were spent buying cars at auctions, doing them up and selling them on at a profit.

First taste of success in Australia

However, it was in Australia that he got his first taste of real business success, starting his first company in the water technology sector that would ultimately achieve a million-dollar turnover.

On returning to Ireland, he co-founded and subsequently sold on another technology company, Arantech, which pioneered customer experience management (CEM) solutions for the mobile industry. Arantech taught Morrisroe how to scale a business and that the communications sector was the place to be – lessons he applied to his next venture. 

“Achieving success with Arantech only whetted my appetite to start something from scratch, a global company that I could build out of Ireland. The communications sector is evolving so quickly that there are lots of opportunities, which means it is also incredibly competitive. Something in me is attracted to both,” he said.

Morrisroe is a finalist in the emerging category of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.

Photo: The Now Factory founder Tom Morrisroe

Article courtesy of Bizstartup.ie