Image: Startup Week Dublin
In October, Startup Week Dublin will return with five days of events to help entrepreneurs at all stages of their journey.
On Thursday (26 September), Techstars announced that Startup Week Dublin will take place again this October, with continued support from Dublin City Council.
There were more than 50 separate events at last year’s inaugural Startup Week, with 115 speakers imparting wisdom and experience on the 2,500 attendees.
‘People can meet and get to know the next person that can help them either start a company, scale a company, or move into working in a high-growth company’
– GENE MURPHY
This year’s Startup Week will take place from 21 to 25 October, bringing together entrepreneurs, innovators, local leaders and the start-up community over a five-day period.
Gene Murphy, founder of Startup Boost and co-organiser of Startup Week Dublin, said: “Building businesses is tough but it doesn’t need to be difficult. At Startup Week, right across Dublin, people can meet and get to know the next person that can help them either start a company, scale a company, or move into working in a high-growth company.”
Murphy said that last year’s event exceeded expectations and the team has heard back from numerous attendees who launched start-ups on the back of Dublin Startup Week.
One of the businesses founded by an entrepreneur at last year’s event is called Slunchbox, which is a healthy, packed-lunch subscription service for pupils and teachers. Another is Learn in a Flash, which is an international traineeship marketplace.
A panel discussion from last year’s event. Image: Startup Week Dublin
Events
Murphy said that this year’s event will bring forward an even more diverse and extensive array of events. Ahead of Brexit, Startup Week Dublin will be looking at ways start-ups all over the island can collaborate and weather the uncertainty ahead.
There will also be advice and resources, including one-on-one mentorship sessions provided by the Local Enterprise Office, which will take place daily in Dublin City Council’s Wood Quay Civic Offices.
There’ll also be a DCC Basecamp, which will host a ‘Techstars Day’ where global reps will fly in and share their ideas and advice. Enterprise Ireland is set to hold an innovation day, StartUp Ballymun will host a special evening with advice on how to grow a business, UpStarter will host a technology recruitment event and Dublin BIC will host a funding and scaling session.
Image: Startup Week Dublin
Last year’s Startup Week saw around 54 separate events take place, but there’ll be plenty more to see, do and take part in across the 2019 event.
Co-organiser David Pollard, innovation projects manager at Rehab Group and lecturer at the National College of Ireland, said: “So who is Startup Week Dublin for?
“It doesn’t matter what stage of the entrepreneur’s journey you are at. If you have the spark of a start-up idea and want to take the first step in entrepreneurship, or you want to join a high-growth company, or if you’re planning to scale your own start-up, Startup Week Dublin will be valuable to you.”
From left: Dr Helen Zidon and Furkan Karayel having a discussion at the Startup Week Basecamp in 2018. Image: Startup Week Dublin
Dublin community
Steven O’Gara, senior economic development officer with Dublin City Council noted that Dublin alone saw 10,313 new companies established last year – making it home to 46pc of the new companies in Ireland.
“Local Government is supporting this activity through initiatives such as the Local Enterprise Office (LEO),” he said.
“In 2018, the LEO network nationally directly invested €18.2m in over 1,259 business projects, which in turn supported the creation of 3,656 new jobs. Dublin City Council is proud to build on this activity by powering Startup Week Dublin and enabling increased entrepreneurial activity which is so critical to the regional and national economy.”
Will you check out “Growing a business in turbulent times, advice from Dublin entrepreneurs” All Welcome! 23 October joined with @StartupWeekDub #startups #startupcity https://t.co/OS2B7C8Re9 @EventbriteUK pic.twitter.com/U9dLtVg7Ou
— Billy Linehan (@BillyLinehan) September 26, 2019
Mary Mac Sweeney, deputy head of economic development and enterprise with Dublin City Council, added: “Dublin City Council is hugely excited to sponsor Techstars Startup Week Dublin for a second year and we look forward to once again hosting many of the events, workshops and mentoring sessions throughout the mornings and afternoons in the Civic Offices.
“The week shines a light on our strong, innovative, entrepreneurial community here in Dublin and the potential for further growth within that community. We love that we’ve been given the opportunity to work with a wide range of stakeholders who help foster that growth.”
