How Irish Start-Ups Improved Their Business Opportunities

Here are some very brief, yet highly engaging, stories explaining how Irish start-ups I worked with recently got attention and improved their business opportunities.

Elder Home Share – Founder Saoirse Sheridan

“Elderhomeshare.ie is Dublin’s first home share service and provides peace of mind for elderly citizens to live happily and independently at home by matching them with home share companions. It’s an alternative home support solution for the elderly and can work well instead of paying for a live in carer at night, if the homeowner does not need night time assistance”.

Journey Protector – Founder Anne Lawlor

“JourneyProtector.com solves problems faced by haulage companies due to theft and damage to their load. We have developed a system which will protect drivers, haulage firms and their freight from loss or damage caused by clandestine stowaways or fires, saving time and money for our clients and giving them a competitive advantage over their rivals”.

The Shoes Story

While training a group of students on the Trinity College innovation program to pitch, a student told this story which still resonates with me weeks after the event.

I have used this story as an example of how a simply told yet powerful story can engage and evoke a response from an audience.

Here is the story as retold by me:

Some years ago this student was part of a group of Irish people working in Moscow who found the Russian people to be wonderful hosts, full of warmth, friendliness and welcoming.

After two years the group decided they should do something by way of response to the kindness of their hosts so they wrote to three charities and asked them for suggestions as to how they could be of help?

Two of the charities replied saying please send money; the third charity replied as follows:

“We need 82 pairs of shoes and here are the shoe sizes.”

The next day they ordered the shoes and had them shipped to the charity; they also continued to support this charity for the six years that they remained in Russia.

Here, on the other hand, are some examples of what I would call business speak/jargon:

A N Other: is a cloud-based solution for sourcing and digitising what is currently done manually.

(Whoopee! I bet people are beating a path to your door)

A N Other: We are a branding/design agency who offer creative services such as brand creation, marketing & strategy, packaging design, promotional design etc. etc. etc.

(Probably all their competitors say the same)

Listen to Christy Moore singing – ‘Lingo Politico’ for a great example of how jargon can be used to mislead us.

If you found the story of Elder Home Share or Journey Protector interesting and you would like to know more please do get in touch with Saoirse or Anne; they would be delighted to hear from you.

If you would like to explore with me how telling an engaging story could help your business, why not get in contact?