Has anyone been successful in getting a grant from enterprise ireland for a new startup?
Assuming you meet their requirements for high potential startups, overseas export potential etc..
I am interested to hear from people who got a grant specifically what was the process they went through, how long did it take to process their application, do they make you jump through hoops, how much help are enterprise ireland in getting your business off the ground asssuming you meet their criteria outlined for a grant etc....
The first grant people generally apply for is a feasibility study grant, supposedly to see if the project you're proposing is feasible.
Enterprise ireland state that they will award you with 50% of costs associated with the study, payable after the study has been completed, and you've spent the money. There is also a bunch of small print to wade through about NDP logos, and ramifications of selling the company etc.
The amount of paperwork, compliance and red tape involved is huge. You'll probably have to hire an accountant at some stage to help you out. You'll need to fill in various application forms, environmental impact reports and submit tax clearance certificates galore.
You may be 'geared up' for this and have someone who is good at filling in all this paperwork and putting down what EI want to hear. If you are not in this position then you have a choice to make, 'grant junkie' or try to get your business off the ground. There aren't enough hours in the day to realistically expect that you can do both yourself.
Good luck, whatever you choose.
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Apply for this programme.
If you get accepted, you will be entitled to apply
for the cord grant. Which 50% of your previous years
salary up to 38K.
You will also get a standard grant of €550 per month
but this is subtracted from the cord.
This is all tax free.
Grant process was 45 minute meeting, 1 month before starting
getting the cash.
Getting your business off the ground is totally up to you.
EI will give you a mentor, a DA and make you aware of
events you can attend but they can not do any miracles
CORD is not tax free. You have to pay income tax on any portion not related to expenses.If you get accepted, you will be entitled to apply
for the cord grant. Which 50% of your previous years
salary up to 38K.
You will also get a standard grant of €550 per month
but this is substracted from the cord.
This is all tax free.
We never heard of this scheme, and hired an accountant.You don't need an accountant, the IRDG will do 90% of the paperwork for you
Claiming the grant is the hard part.If EI or another body thought my business had enough merit and potential to give me a grant I would be really encouraged by that... ...If EI or another body thought my business had enough merit and potential to give me a grant I would be really encouraged by that...
EI Grants obviously must work for some companies, but for us it was nearly the kiss of death. We were so bogged down with paperwork, our business started to suffer. It didn't do too much for our morale either. It was far easier for us to just earn the money, and less risky! Since giving up the grants we've done much better.
I suppose it suits some companies, but didn't suit us.
Thanks for these replies. I had heard about the CORD grant but it involves working fulltime on the project which I am not in the situation to do at the moment. But in another year or so I might be. Its good to see other people have gone through the process successfully. For me giving up full time work is the hard part as I have expenses that require a steady income so its a very difficult deciision to make. If EI or another body thought my business had enough merit and potential to give me a grant I would be really encouraged by that.
For those of you who have been through the process, do you mind me asking how is your business doing? Or what stage of the process are you in currently.
My own stage in this process is at the very end. Briefly, a few years ago I stared a company with someone and got BES investment in, along with a small amount of EI support (we were classed as a high-potential start-up). We got some additional support from EI over the years, but for a variety of reasons nothing too major. As an aside, we raised a substantial sum from a VC company subsequently. The company is no longer trading (very long story, not that relevant to this).
Anyway, my own experience is:
- I’d echo some of the other posts in that there is a lot of red tape involved in dealing with EI. However, it helps if you look at if from their point of view: they’re handing out taxpayer’s money, so you’d hope they’d be careful with how they do it – and they are. If you go with their flow in dealing with them it makes it a lot easier. If you use your contact within EI, they will help get you through the hoops: what they won’t do is bend the rules.
- You will not start a company on EI funding alone! They won’t do this: any funding is at lost a % of the requirement.
- At the time, and I believe this is still the case, you get approval for BES investment based on EI support (i.e. the Revenue essentially use EI to certify that you’re an eligible company), so if you do the BES route for funding, you’ll have to deal with EI anyway
- Do NOT use EI to validate either your technology or business (i.e. say to yourself “if EI are funding me, it must be a good idea”). You need to do this yourself. EI do a certain amount of due diligence, but not sufficient to take a business decision based on it
- By far the best investment cash you can get for a business is sales revenue. Start selling from day one!
- EI cash is not free: as others have pointed out, you will spend time and effort getting it (better spent in getting sales?). It’s really up to you to decide if it’s worth it or not.
- Regardless of whether or not you do get a grant, they are useful and helpful, and will often point you to other places and people who can help.
My advice would be to go and have a talk with them, to get some feel for what they can do and what’s involved.
Best of luck!
What part of the country are you in homeowner?
When it comes to grants for existing businesses the BMW area gets most, Dublin gets bugger all. Start ups are different but if you are working out of a village on an island off the west coast it will go better for you than if you are in D4
Really good post ang1170. Sorry to hear that it didnt work out.
So would you advise that I call EI soon considering that I would not be in a position to work on this fulltime for another 18 months or so? What could/should I do in the meantime to prepare....feasibility study? Business Plan? Research the market more?
If you could do it over again what would you do differently?
CORD is not tax free. You have to pay income tax on any portion not related to expenses.
I also know about 30 other people who also got CORD and they all claimed it tax free. It is classed as a training grant.
One thing that I am not clear about, when you prepare a business plan when looking for a grant/investment, do you include yourself in salary and wages on the plan or no? Surely it is expected that you will pay yourself something. What is the point of a grant if it isnt to help you live while trying to get the business off the ground or am i missing the point?
CORD is tax free I have written confirmation from the revenue.
BMW? I am in Dublin (unfortunately, it would seem!)
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