Eircom has set up a new initiative called Start Up to reach out to innovative start-ups that are less than two years old. The Small Firms Association and First-Step Microfinance are also involved in the initiative, whereby one start-up will win a telecoms package worth €2,300 at the end of each month for the next three months.
Eircom launched the Start Up website on 1 March.
Start Up is open to any business less than two years old, be it a local business, high-tech, export-led or a new spin on something traditional, explained Carolan Lennon, chief commercial officer at Eircom.
She said the aim is to develop a community of active and successful entrepreneurs and to give them the opportunity to network online with other businesses across Ireland.
So how will Start Up work? Interested new ventures are being asked share their start-up story, in the form of a two-minute video, which will be filmed by Eircom’s video team.
Each company will be interviewed about their business, their motivation for setting it up, the highlights and challenges so far and their plans for the future.
And, at the end of each month, for the next three months, the judging panel will then select five businesses as the ‘Start Up businesses of the month’. Each month, one overall winner will get a telecoms package from Eircom worth €2,300, which will include landline, broadband, mobile and teleconferencing for one year.
“If there has been anything positive to come out of our recent economic woes, it is that Ireland’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking. There are thousands of people who have taken the plunge and set up their own businesses, out of circumstance rather than choice, in many cases,” said Lennon.
She added that Start Up would be a way of providing hands-on support to such creative start-ups, whatever the sector.
The judging panel will be comprised of members from Eircom, the SFA, First-Step Microfinance and Small Business Can.
