Authenticity, Trust, Energy Passion & unwavering Enthusiasm come together for the 2015 Entrepreneur Experience®
30 March, 2015
The brightest, hottest, hungriest and most ambitious start-ups and entrepreneurs gathered in Ballymaloe on March 27th and 28th for the 2015 Entrepreneur Experience®. The Entrepreneurs, who came from across the globe including, Spain, France, Chile, Rwanda, Portugal and all over Ireland, were coached by some of Ireland’s most experienced and successful entrepreneurs. The Alumni group is now 200 strong.
It was the 5th Entrepreneur Experience® organised by AxisBIC. Since its inception the Entrepreneur Experience® has assisted 92 Emerging Entrepreneurs including Start-ups; Investor ready companies and scaling companies. 40 of these entrepreneurs have gone on to raise investment of over €17m. The 2015 Entrepreneur Experience® took place on the 27th and 28th of March 2015 in Ballymaloe, Co. Cork.
57 handpicked impatient Entrepreneurs descended on Cork with high expectations. The Agenda - 24 Seasoned Entrepreneurs to help 24 Emerging Entrepreneurs for 24 Hours. Captain for the 2015 Entrepreneur Experience®, Pete Smyth, CEO Broadlake, said “This is real, 24 of Ireland’s leading Entrepreneurs giving their time to help the next generation of Entrepreneurs. The event has become one of the key pillars supporting Irish Entrepreneurship in recent years. It’s high impact and not for the fainthearted.”
The Entrepreneur Experience® is a unique 24 hour event, where 24 Emerging Entrepreneurs have a unique opportunity to gain advice and coaching from 24 of Ireland’s most successful business leaders. While this event is not a competition, the most investible companies who pitched a the Venture Academy were Brian Nolan Nobó (dairy free ice cream) and Adrian Walsh, CheckVentory (A risk management platform addressing operations and governance in the capital asset finance industry).
Speaking after this year’s Entrepreneur Experience®, Michael O’Connor, CEO, AxisBIC said “A growing number of start-ups and entrepreneurs have experienced phenomenal international growth and attracted significant investment as a direct result of participating in this event. Over the past five years the Experience has grown to be a life changing and game changing event.”
Commenting on the 2015 Entrepreneur Experience® David Merriman, Regional Manager South West at Bank of Ireland said “Bank of Ireland was delighted to partner with AxisBIC for the 2015 Entrepreneur Experience®. It is an excellent event focused on supporting start-ups and entrepreneurs to help them grow and develop their businesses. As Ireland’s No.1 business bank we are focused on supporting SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs and have committed to lend €21 billion to businesses within the Irish economy up to 2017. Being “Ireland’s Enterprise Bank” is a key focus for us, I encourage both customers and non-customers of Bank of Ireland to visit us in their local branch or online at www.allaboutbusiness.ie to see how we can help them grow their business. I really enjoyed the 2015 Entrepreneur Experience® which offered those taking part a unique opportunity to learn from Ireland’s top entrepreneurs”.
AxisBIC invited 24 Seasoned Entrepreneurs, some of Ireland and Europe's most successful business leaders, to share their experiences and inspiration. Each Seasoned Entrepreneur mentored and coached an Emerging Entrepreneur over the 24 hours. Seasoned Entrepreneurs participating included Jim Barry, Barry Group; Larry Bass, Screentime ShinAwil; Peaches Kemp, itsa Ltd; Johnny Walker, Health Founders; Joanna Gardiner, Ovelle and many others.
Partners with AxisBIC for this event are Bank of Ireland, Cork City Council, Cork County Council, EY, ByrneWallace Law firm and the Sunday Business Post.
The 2015 Entrepreneur Experience® took place over 24 hours, from Friday the 27th to Saturday 28th of March 2015 at Ballymaloe, Co. Cork.
