37 West owner opening new restaurant venture in Galway City – 56 Central

Business and Leadership Ltd.

Owner of restaurant 37 West in Newcastle, Co Galway Gill Carroll is starting a new venture in Galway city – she is re-launching Lynch’s Café on Shop Street it as 56 Central once it is revamped. Lynch’s Café has been in existence for 20 years and it will re-open as 56 Central on 19 May. Carroll previously worked there for two years. She said: “I knew then I always wanted to return and put my stamp on this restaurant. 37 West is open two years now and is firmly fixed on people’s radar, for bringing healthy and ‘sexy’ food to the table and will continue to do so. “56 Central…

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27pc of all parking transactions in Luas Park+Ride locations now via Parkbytext

Business and Leadership Ltd.

Irish mobile parking operator Parkbytext has reported that so far in 2015, 27pc of all parking transactions in Luas Park+Ride locations are originating from the app. It said Stillorgan is the busiest Park+Ride location for parkbytext, accounting for an average of 40pc of all parking revenue. Overall the Red Cow is the busiest Park+Ride location. Parkbytext and Nationwide Controlled Parking Systems started a five-year contract last November with public transport operator Transdev to provide managed parking systems in the Park+Ride car parks attached to the Luas. Since then, over 1,900 Luas Park+Ride customers have registered with Parkbytext, which accounts for 88pc of all Luas Parkbytext transactions – the remaining 12pc…

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Ignite alumni plan expansion thanks to Competitive Start Fund

Business and Leadership Ltd.

Three early stage businesses that took part in the Ignite Graduate Business Innovation Programme at University College Cork (UCC) are among the 81 recipients of Enterprise Ireland’s ‘Class of 2014 – Competitive Start Fund’. Uniwink, Ottera and Mohago are the three Ignite alumni that are receiving up to €50,000 each to help them expand and grow under the fund. Founded by Sarah Dineen, Uniwink is a peer-to-peer online learning platform that caters specifically toward the educational needs of third level students. Its objective is to help students to achieve high grades through the provision of tutorials and notes online. With aspirations to become the No 1 peer-to-peer online learning platform…

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AIB Discovery Programme invests in Pointy technology to help small retailers get online quickly

Business and Leadership Ltd.

AIB and Frontline Ventures have announced their investment in Pointy, a new technology company that aims to help independent retailers get online fast, through the AIB Discovery Programme. Pointy enables retailers to create a website listing all of their products in just five minutes by connecting its technology with the retailer’s existing barcode scanner and point of sale system. The retailer scans the products and they appear automatically on their Pointy page.  Pointy also helps retailers to appear higher on search engines. “Almost 90pc of commerce is still conducted offline; the internet hasn’t really touched it yet,” said Dubliner Mark Cummins, who co-founded the company with Charles Bibby. “Finding products…

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Nettl:Click&Collect Targets Small Retailers with Launch

nettl:click&collect

A strategic partnership has been announced between web design studio Nettl.com and web transactions company Epos Now, which both expect will “transform the click and collect opportunities” for independent retailers in the Dublin region. In the US, you can turn to web design and SEO in Greenville, SC. Lowering the barrier to entry, the new partnership makes a move to click and collect a viable and cost-efficient option for smaller and medium-sized retailers, the partners say. Nettl.com and Epos Now, which has 10,000 customers in the UK and Ireland, have been collaborating to bring this new integrated concept to market for the past 12 months. Called ‘Nettl:click&collect,’ it is a…

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75pc of direct sellers in Ireland are now female – DSAI

Business and Leadership Ltd.

Figures released from the Direct Selling Association of Ireland (DSAI) have revealed that 75pc of the industry’s 20,000 direct sellers are now female, while 30pc are stay-at-home mums. Contributing €50m a year to the Irish economy, direct selling is where goods are sold direct to consumers outside of a fixed shop. Lynda Mills, director general of the DSAI, said: “There is a new type of female entrepreneur emerging in Ireland – women who are selling products they love and building really strong businesses through direct selling. “We are seeing more and more women being attracted to direct selling because it can fit so easily around other commitments – whether it’s…

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Campus Bus Tour for Small Businesses in Dublin Coming Up

Campus bus tour for small businesses in Dublin

Event management company Platinum Events is holding a ‘Campus bus tour’ for small businesses in April to help them to engage better with universities regarding accessing research and innovation. The one-day trip on 16 of April will take in visits to Dublin City University, Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Institute of Technology. It will include a tour of each campus, shared experience and lessons from speakers, breakfast, lunch and a networking drinks reception.     Sorcha Corcoran

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Almost 18,000 new company formations in 2014 – Vision-net.ie

Christine Cullen, managing director of Vision-net.ie

Company start-ups reached a seven-year high in 2014, with almost 18,000 new company formations, the first time this has happened since 2007, according to Vision-net.ie. Overall, there was a 14pc rise in company start-ups in 2014 it was the best December for company start-ups since the millennium (1,728 new companies). The Vision-net.ie figures show that 1,479 Irish companies were declared insolvent in 2014, a 7pc decrease on the previous year’s figure and the lowest since 2009. Nearly half (48pc) of insolvencies were based in Dublin, up 7pc on the same period in 2013. The five most insolvent counties were Dublin, Cork, Galway, Wexford and Kildare, between them accounting for almost…

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Neuromod to create 50 new jobs in Dublin

Business and Leadership Ltd.

Irish medical devices start-up Neuromod is to create 50 jobs at its newly opened clinic in Dublin over the next five years further to the launch today, 12 December, of its new device to treat Tinnitus Mutebutton. A clinically proven, self-administered treatment, Mutebutton is the culmination of over four years of research and development since the company was founded in 2010 by CEO Dr Ross O’Neill. From 15 December, Irish Tinnitus sufferers will be the first members of the public to be able to access the mutebutton treatment through the Irish website (www.mutebutton.ie). Once purchased the device will be delivered to the Neuromod Clinic in Dublin where patients will be…

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Nando’s opens in Omni Park Shopping Centre, creating 28 jobs

Nando’s opens in Omni Park Shopping Centre

Nando’s is opening its newest restaurant in Ireland in the Omni Park Shopping Centre, Santry in Dublin today, creating 28 full and part-time jobs. Known as the home of the Portuguese flame-grilled Peri-Peri chicken, Nando’s currently employs over 400 people at nine stores across the Republic of Ireland. It plans to open another restaurant in the Square Tallaght in the New Year and has a further three restaurants in Northern Ireland. Alan Snyman, managing director of Nando’s Ireland, said: “The busy Omni Park in Santry, which attracts big crowds of shoppers and cinema goers all throughout the week, is the perfect location for us to spread our wings in Dublin’s…

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