How to Raise Seed Funds and Venture Capital (VC) in Ireland
Funding tech startups in Ireland is a bit like fixing the economy. Everybody talks about it, but those actually doing it are not in such common supply. So, founders and CEOs face the question – how do I raise funds to grow my business? If you are serious about growth and need investors, you have to understand what an investor wants and then, deliver that. My Slideshare below, “How to Raise Seed Funds and Venture Capital (VC) in Ireland, outlines what founders and CEOs need to address before seeking investors. If you’d like to find out more, I’ve previously written […]
Read MoreRaising Seed Funds and Venture Capital in Ireland
This article first appeared in the June 2013 edition of “Accountancy Ireland” magazine. American Computer Scientist, Alan Kay, once said; “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Irish technology companies are certainly doing their part to invent the future, but of course, it all has to be funded. Equity finance is the best-fit long term finance for high growth, high risk technology companies that could not, in any event, access capital from public markets or banks. Equity finance consequently forms a vital part of funding growth in the Irish technology sector, and this article looks […]
Read MoreChartered Accountants Business Networking Group
I have recently taken over as Chair of Wexford Chartered Accountants Business Networking Group (CA BNG). Members in business and practice are welcome to attend our first meeting of 2013. It’s not a stuffy group, nor is there a hard-sell of any kind. We have quite a range of knowledge, skills and connections between us and an exchange of a little bit of these will happen by default. Details: Date: Thursday, March 14, 2013 Time : 6.30pm to 7.30pm Venue: St Helen’s Bay Golf Club Kilrane, Co Wexford. […]
Read MoreOnline Accounting Software for SMEs – Accountants Roadshow as Surfaccounts launches in Ireland & UK
Online Accounting Software Online accounting software is a growth area as business owners warm to the benefits of being able to access, and update their accounts from multiple devices, rather than waiting to “get back to the office”. Real time information has real benefits – checking on what a customer owes you as you head into a meeting is just one. Online accounting software is offered as a SaaS product, (Software as a Service), which means you can use the service for a monthly fee and not invest money up front in purchasing a product that is soon out of […]
Read MoreHow to Fix Troubles Caused by Hidden Windows in MS Excel
Microsoft Excel, (both 2007 and 2010 versions), allows you to work with multiple windows open within one spreadsheet file. MS Excel also allows you to hide a window, which is a function that probably has very limited use. It is far too easy to accidentally hide a window, because the “hide” button is placed right beside the “split” button, which you would more commonly use to split your screen. In other words, you can hide a window, but not be aware that you have done it. The problem is that if you save a file with one or more windows […]
Read MoreDigital Business Developments that Made a Difference – Confessions of An Accidental Accountant
Towards the end of last year, I attended a Silver Jubilee ceremony. No, I am not secretly a member of a religious order, although ‘Silver Jubilee’ has priestly connotations. It was an event to celebrate 25 years as a member of Chartered Accountants Ireland. It took six years of apprenticeship and exams to earn membership, so that’s 31 years invested in the profession. An advanced sense of the ridiculous and a fascination with how people turn ideas into businesses has kept me somewhat sane and quite enthralled. The world has changed hugely since 1987, and the technology and equipment that we used then are actually featured in […]
Read MoreDropbox. It Just Works. Here is How.
Dropbox – the Company With a funding round of US $250 million in 2011, which included investments by both Bono and The Edge, and more than 50 million users worldwide, Dropbox is a company that regularly makes news. According to Dropbox, the company “was founded in 2007, by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi, two MIT students tired of emailing files to themselves to work from more than one computer.”This article looks at the functions and benefits of Dropbox and why, in the company’s own words, “it just works”. Managing Your files with Dropbox Most people work on their files using multiple devices. This […]
Read MoreHow to use VAT to Improve Your Cash Flow
If you thought VAT was somewhere to store whiskey, it can be a bit of a shock to discover that, in business, you can become an unpaid tax collector for the government. You can become a part-time VAT man, (or VAT woman). Often, the business of your business is time consuming, technical and maybe even tedious. You know about that stuff. But after a while in business, lots of phrases routinely fall from your lips, such as “cash flow management”, “claiming the VAT back” and heaven forbid, “moving forward” and you may not even realise that you don’t actually know what these phrases […]
Read MoreWhen Being Right is Wrong for Your Business
In business, as in life, we tend to put a lot of store in being right. But sometimes being right has no value. In business, it’s not enough to be right, we need to only concern ourselves with adding value. In fact, even failure has a value. This post looks at how adding value is a better objective than being merely right. Perfectly Right My dad used to tell a lot of accountant jokes, until I became one. Two men are flying in a captive balloon. The wind is strong and they are blown off course until they have […]
Read MoreThis is My New Blog
Today is Sunday. It’s September 30, and it’s the day that we moved my website and blog over to WordPress. I say we, because Kieran, who did my web design in Cork, did the techie stuff. It also means he worked today, Sunday, as well as yesterday, so thank you for that Kieran. Why Sunday? Over the past six months, I’ve written a series of articles for “Accountancy Ireland” magazine about blogging for accountancy practices. Tomorrow, the October issue will be published, in which I reference my new blog. The copy deadline was a month ago, and then, as I wrote […]
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