Grant aid and an online business

S

shnaek

Guest
A friend and I are currently working on an e-business idea. We have drawn out a business plan, we have done our research and we have all the analysis and uml ready to go.

Both of us are working from home having been made redundant recently. Both of us invested in new pcs and are now living very frugally!

So I am asking whether it is possible to get help from state bodies in the lines of an office or a grant or broadband etc.

and

if this is possible what is the best way to approach these people?

I approached the local enterprise board and the leader and other groups four years ago when I had another idea and they were about as helpful as the local leprechaun. Their best suggestion was to do a course.

Cheers for the help!
 
Call Enterprise Ireland in Glasnevin in Dublin and ask them about grant funding etc. If your business will generate and own any intellectual property you will be eligible for RTI (research, technology and innovation) funding.
Have a look at their website first as most of the funding comes from EU structural sources and the qualification criteria may change for each fund release.
 
Hi shnaek,

as one who has laready explored this area.......some advice;

1. Do you really need broadband to start off? Make sure you are in a broadband-available area. Should business develop, then get connected.

2. Never overestimate the public use/trust of the web. Consider that you have a high chance of failiure, and study every cost before you pay out.

3. Keep costs to a minimum. Don't take out long leases on offices or any leases on equipment. Some towns have a surplus of office space, so discuss a 3 month trial lease with landlords.

4. Don't get any bulk printing/promotional items made up. Price small volume ones with printers.

5. How are you going to promote your business? Check out advertising costs of the media you intend to promote with. How long will you be able to sustain these costs.

6. Enterprise boards, in my view, are helpful. They need to be approached with a professional looking business plan and forecast. Their main interests are naturally ones that will create employment, create exports and/or decrease imports.

Best of luck!
 
Thank ye both for the advice. I will call to my local enterprise board tomorrow and have a chat with them as they are not too far from my house. I'll let ye know how I get on.
 
Don't just "drop in" to the enterprise board. Make an appointment, wear a suit and have a summary typed out of what you want to do.

Remember, how you approach them, is how they perceive you will approach prospective clients. Stand out from the crowd.
 
This reminds me of myself and business partner, who started a business several years ago and the first port of call was the local City Enterprise Boards followed by the Business Innovation Centre (BIC), followed by Enterprise Ireland.

While we had some success in acquiring feasibility study grants, we found the whole process extremely time consuming and of limited benefit.

I really feel that unless you are 'well connected', your chance of getting funding from certain bodies is limited. If you look at it from their point of view, total strangers coming in off the street are going to be high risk unless they have a killer idea and are very convincing.

Some of these bodies will offer you a business mentor for a small amount of equity. If you go down this road, dont be afraid to ask questions regarding your mentor's background and involvement in start up business. Remember, If you dont have a business background, you will be depending on this mentor to give you good advice.

Try to get a slot at firsttuesday.ie. This is a gathering of entrepreneurs and investors, where the potential investor gives a 4 minute oral presentation on the business idea.
Afterwards, an informal gathering brings together the investors and entreprenuers, each wearing different colour badges. Witin this arena, you will have genuine investors who are willing to look at ideas that they think will work. Dont worry about approaching the investors, if they feel you have a good idea, they will approach you.

Anyhow, good luck with the venture.
 
In fairness though, I don't think these boards should be handing out cash to all and sundry. Instead they use the money to provide discounted training courses and other informative seminars which IMO provide much more value for money and long term benefits to budding entrpreneurs. A startup that requires funding shouldn't find it any easier to get that money from a government agency than from a bank or other investor.
 
I agree that the boards shouldn't be handing out cash to all and sundry, but the government do actively seduce foreign companies here with very generous grants and I feel that we as a nation should support home grown industry. If local people come up with a solid business plan and some innovative ideas then I feel they should be supported.

The Irish are never very good at supporting their own though, and I do feel that Pudzer has a point about it being very time consuming achieving any level of support with these groups. I consulted a friend of mine who runs a business in the IDA park in Galway and he said that it wasn't worth the effort getting in touch with these people.

Still I am willing to give them a shot. We are working on getting a section of our product working so we can call to them with both business plan and a part of a product. I'll post back when we have our answer!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top