Paul Walsh, the Irish Opportunist

I’ll come along.

I should point out that EI is substantial investor in several Web 2.0 companies that I am aware of.

[...] you may want to subscribe to my site using a feedreader or email. Thanks for visiting - Damien.Paul Walsh has made a call to get something started in Ireland: I’ve previously grumbled about the lack of support in [...]

I know they are Joe. That doesn’t mean they’re doing a good job. As I said, I really want the dinner in January to be conducive to collaboration and positive thinking

I’m come too, like joe though i do know of a good few “Web 2.0″ projects with funding including myself.

[...] Walsh started it and now Damien has taken his gloves off.  So we’ll be adding the Irish Web Industry [...]

I’ll come along also… and for the record Pix.ie is also funded by Enterprise Ireland. Attitudes towards internet/web companies are changing in EI, but perhaps this isn’t as obvious as it should be.

Please feel free to elaborate by what you mean regarding ‘funding’ from EI?

How much?
What did you have to do to get it?
What did you use it for?

As long as people register their interest to help improve the entire ecosystem (EI is a small player, or at least should be because this conversation is not about investment per say) I don’t mind having a separate conversation about EI funding.

Include me in.

Paul

Sounds interesting. Have you decided on a venue?

Michele

Paul - a great idea and I would be honoured to participate.

I’m up for this.

G.

I propose the Celtic Ross Hotel In West Cork (I can see it from my window!!!). If that doesn’t fly, count me in anyway

Cheers

Diarmuid

Not sure what I can bring to the table but it sounds interesting and I’d love to come along.

Anywhere but that jaipur kip :-)

[...] November 30th @ 11:23 pm by gary Paul Walsh has taken up the challenge organising an independent body to represent the interests of Irish web based companies. He’s already got a couple of the [...]

Sounds good, put me down for a chair…

Ladies and Gentlemen, I have been responsible for online and brick and morter commerce since 1994 for Fortune 500 companies, let met know how I can help. Best, Eoin McG.

Michele I was thinking of doing it in Jaipur as I know Joe loves it so much
I’d love to do two separate dinners, one in Dublin and one in Cork. Unfortunately I’m not likely to find the time so I hope people don’t mind traveling to Dublin.

I’ll try and come or support in whatever way I can. it would be nice to see a real world organisation involved in the Irish space for a change.

Hi Paul, I’d be interested in attending, too, from a corporation’s standpoint. We have, as you mention, quite a vested interest in helping to improve the situation. Thanks!

I would be very interested if able to visit Dublin. Maybe we should include Belfast also as cross-border operations?

I’m in Dublin from the 9th through the 12th of January and would be interested in sitting at the academic corner of the table.

Hey Paul,

Im in.

What your saying is right, but greater thought needs to go into the whole association process. and i dont think that segration from government bodies that we support with our taxes is going to help anyone in the long term
I’d suggest we have somebody from EI, Invest NI and intertrade ireland there also?
whilst i’m on this point, what about the various orgs, from digital groups to IIA, spider people etc? is their any point in talking to these people?

Paul

I’d be interested - but I would be keen that it doesn’t turn into a ‘how to extract more grant funding’ group.

I would be interested in a group that would raise the profile of the web sector - from ‘dot-com-bust’ (still mainstream perception) to something of the respect the construction industry gets (got)

As long as nobody trots out the usual ‘knowledge economy’ guff …

Paul B.

@Paul - I don’t think I made my intentions/ambitions clear enough. I’d like to see an independent association that represents the interests of the digital (finding it a little difficult to find the right word) Industry. This is entirely separate from a startup ecosystem to help raise funding.

I’m very sorry I even mentioned Enterprise Ireland in this post.

@jimmy - I agree. We need representation for each type of stakeholder within the industry. For example, I’ll ensure one of my interns is there to talk about the type of stuff he would like to see.

@Martha - it will be great to have Microsoft there. In fact, I emailed Claire O’Halloran about this, but she’s currently on leave. I’d really appreciate you passing this around your colleagues in other corporations. It would be nice to have Google, Dell, Intel and others there.

@Everyone - I just remembered that we hold everyone’s first comment in moderation. Now that you’ve commented on this blog, you’ll no longer be moderated unless you use more than 2 hyperlinks or say something like ‘I don’t like Paul Walsh’

Paul, I’d be interested in attending. I’m an independent web developer, in Ireland for a little over a year now. Previously based in the States, so I may be able to bring a little bit of perspective from there to the discussion. Thanks for getting this rolling.

As always, well up for coming along, though I’m becoming increasingly disillusioned with web / web business.

Paul,

I’m interested in attending; coming from the academic/business incubation angle.

Tom

Hi Paul,
In what way would this initiative differ from the IIA and their goal? “The Irish Internet Association (IIA) is the professional body for those conducting business via the Internet from Ireland. It has been and remains one of the driving forces behind the adoption of the medium.” [http://www.iia.ie/about-us/]

My own interest here is how we can build large-scale successful companies. Why are there no Googles or Yahoos from Ireland (although come to think of it, I know quite a number of yahoos in Ireland)?

Put me down for a spot if possible. Looks like you’re going to need a big table.

Stephen.

This is good. Looking forward to January

Stephen, it’s not just the Internet, it’s about digital. Check out http://bima.co.uk - that’s the Association I Chair in the UK. I don’t think Ireland needs something that will cover as much ground, but perhaps something between the IIA and BIMA would work.

Count me in.

Me and my photo-equipment are signing up.

r

Hi Everyone, it will be very useful if you could tell me ‘who’ you are and what company (if any), you come from. We won’t be able to get everyone around the first dinner table unfortunately.

Please include a URL so this entire conversation, including the people taking part in it, is transparent.

Thanks for showing so much interest everyone. Remember, this dinner table is for people who want to discuss how to create something new that will benefit Ireland. It’s not to ask the question about whether Ireland needs something new. That debate can take place in another restaurant

Name : Joe Drumgoole
Position : CEO
URL : http://putplace.com

Can you say facebook group? Might be a good way to manage this?

Derek Organ CEO
Time Warden Ltd.
1time Time Tracking Software

We are also based in the Invent Centre in Dublin City University an incubation building for start up companies.

We were approved for an EI Feasibility Grant for 26k Matched with private funding

I’m interested in creating a better community for new people coming into this area. Making it as easy as possible to get advice and apply for funding. Work can always be done in this area and outside EI there isn’t really an organization that can help you with this.

I also run Jeebers Ltd. which is a web applications development company. (http://www.jeebers.com)

Joe - it would be easier but I didn’t want to force people into registering a Facebook account. I only need people’s names to link to their site really. Some are not even doing that which makes it difficult to see the connection. I know who you are and I know where you live

Paul,

I’m senior project manager for several major international online websites (click my name for sample). I have an Irish company and preparing a new online project to get funding. I’m interested in anything happening around EI and I’d love to participate and meet some Irish hardcore bloggers.

Regards,
romans

Hello;
I wold be very interested in participating. As a Canadian transplanted to Cork, I have pretty much decieded to go it alone. But I find the resources sadly lacking in focus or even an understanding.

I have experience in mediation and intergovernmental affairs and know that it can feel like your hitting a brick wall, but usually it takes evangelism and education.

I’d rather not get into the Enterprise Ireland conversation at this particular gathering. This gathering is to discuss what’s needed to enable a better economy for digital companies/people in Ireland.

EI does play a small role as one stake holder, in helping some companies get funding, but my objective isn’t to address that specifically.

That said, the same people still qualify for this conversation and I hope those who want to discuss EI specifically, are still interested in the bigger picture.

I’m sorry I mentioned EI in my post - which I’ve mentioned in an update to the post itself.

Name: Evert Bopp
Company: AirAppz - http://www.airappz.com
Wimax EU - http://www.wimax-eu.com
Postition: CEO

sign me up Paul

Put me in the hat anyway. I don’t know how much of a contribution I could make.

Name: Paul Browne
Company: FirstPartners.net - http://www.firstpartners.net
Position: CTO
Contribution: Consulting company moving to enterprise product

@Paul W: I think what you have in mind is ‘Irish version of BIMA’, but tweaked as to what comes out of the January meetup.

Might be good to summarize the discussion / expectations when you announce the date.

Paul,

Sign me up. 14th-25th is not good for me. I would come from the angle of Enterprise Platform Programme, Academia, and R&D.

Thanks, Fred

@Paul B. Yes I’ll certainly put together an agenda and some ideas…

@Fred - great stuff, very relevant, especially if you have a grant to collaborate

So will this be Yet Another Dublin Association that has pretensions of relevance to the rest of us in Ireland?

IIA spent most of its early years being nothing more than a talking shop for the same gang of Dublin companies and it is only in the last few years that it has become more relevant to the rest of Ireland. The problem with Ireland is that you’ve got a high concentration of firms in Dublin and that has led to operations like the IT@Cork emerging. Most of us in the business cannot afford to waste almost two days going to Dublin for some evening event in the middle of the working week.

John

At least IIA don’t seriously overcharge for one day conferences unlike IT@Cork!

Michele

That’s true Michele But apparently they do get people to pay for their one day courses.

John - that will very much depend on the members who are based outside of Dublin. It’s not only down to a Chair or Executive team to do all the work. The idea is to be as inclusive as possible by also working with regional bodies/associations/organisations and members.

A new association won’t be for everyone. That’s fine. I’m interested in collaborating with those that see the value. This isn’t a debate about whether something will be setup or not. It’ll be a discussion about ‘what’ such an association will do and how it will do it.

I’ll be out of the country from the 16th until the 25th …

Paul,

Sorry for not replying to this sooner.

Thumbs up to this initiative. I support it and - schedules permitting - I’d love to attend such a dinner.

However, I should point out that prior commitments would preclude me from taking an executive role in the current year. I’m already on the executive committee of a national industry organisation (radio producers).

So yes, I’d love to be there, but if someone who can offer more can attend, do give them priority. And if there’s anything else I can do, let me know.

Regards,
Conn

Paul,
As I said earlier, I’d love to attend but given the response, I think you’re probably going to have to limit numbers so (as conn said) if someone who can offer more can attend give them priority.

I don’t mind sitting in the lobby with jmcc on the other end of an OnlineMeetingRooms connection.

Name: Bernard Goldbach
Company: Tipperary Institute http://www.tippinst.ie
Position: Creative Multimedia Programme Developer
Contribution: Connections to European Framework initiatives designed to enhance collaboration in among creative European developers.

Happy to come along.

Newish in Dublin, relatively senior information architect, designed lots of international systems and sites. Eager to see how things are churning along.

Got a date and place?

Paul,

I’d be very interested in attending.

Steve Flinter from Science Foundation Ireland (www.sfi.ie). I have responsibility for all of the software related projects/centres that we fund, including DERI (semantic web) and many others.

If you’re not familiar with SFI, it’s a sister agency of IDA & EI.

Steve

Niall Larkin, Founder of RelevantM.

Sounds like an initiative badly needed. Its good to get everything out in the open in a transparent way so we know what we are dealing with. I could represent someone reluctant to engage with EI because I’ve heard some (admittedly highly biased) horror stories.

Eoghan McCabe, MD of Contrast, founder of FoldSpy, founder of new Dublin-based startup (in stealth), founder of new Dublin-based non-profit (in stealth) and organiser of bi-weekly Dublin OpenCoffee events. Want my CV too?
Would love to come along, Paul. Sorry for not following-up earlier.

Hi Paul - as I mentioned, I will probably be in America for this, depending on the date, but I’d like to register my interest anyway. I am a co-founder and CTO of Glandore Systems, based in Cork.

Good luck with this Paul. If you can carve a niche for it then welcome.

In spite of my interest in the sector my involvement with the IIA precludes me from spending time on anything else. Which does not make much difference to this because there is a fine body of entrepreneurs and others expressing an interest here
keith

@Keith - what, if anything, do you think is missing in Ireland regarding the Interactive/Digital Industry? Your involvement with the IIA puts you in a unique position. The IIA can’t cover it all obviously, as it’s focus is the ‘Internet’.

@Everyone - Keep an eye on the blog for further details but pencil in now, the 29th of January. I can block off the entire upstairs of Jaipur restaurant in Dublin village so we can squeeze up to 34 in a ‘networking type setup’ where everyone can see everyone. Can someone please pass this onto some of the big agencies and brands to ensure we get as many stakeholders involved as possible?

Paul,

I think I’m going to graciously bow out of this one. I’d love to sit on a panel and discuss the future of the Irish web industry, but I think that I’m not yet in a position to provide a voice where others don’t.

I’ve spent a lot of time and effort this year meeting so many people and the first Curry 2.0 was the catalyst, the motivation for that. I plan to continue to do so this year and to give back to the community as much as I can. I feel that I do need another year to develop.

Best wishes and the very best of luck to all involved, I’ll be watching from the gallows, my spirit commended!

Paulo

Ooops - I deleted my comment. Here it is again word for word. Sorry!

@Paul - just to be clear, it’s not a panel. It’s a group of people who represent each stake holder within the Interactive Industry. It’s not startup related like the networking ecosystem debate and it’s not about helping companies to secure funding.

Take a look at http://bima.co.uk - whilst what I have in mind isn’t as heavy as BIMA, it should provide you with a little insight to what I have in mind.

Each stake holder =

- Student
- Graduate
- Freelancer
- Technology Provider
- Agency
- Brand
- Government
- Academia

So, whilst you might not wish to make this, I personally don’t think you need a year before sitting at the dinner table
Each of the above should have an equal say regarding the future of the Industry. Hope that makes sense. I’ll post a proposed agenda along with my thoughts - people can provide feedback on that prior to dinner.

Hi Paul,

Count me in, I’d be interested in heading along also, I’ve some contacts in Universities here & the US, also we do work for some Ad & Marketing/Branding agencies, I’ll send the message out to them also.

Cheers.
Qamir

@Qamir - thanks for passing this onto your contacts, much appreciated!

Paul,

Please include me if space allows.

Background: Entrepreneur, 5 years a VC with Trinity Venture Capital, currently interim CEO at AePONA.

Regards,

Brian

hey Brian

Congrats - when did you make the move? And should’nt you put the Aepona link instead of Putplace - or am I just old fashioned
keith

Hi Paul,

I would be happy to participate. My profile is at

http://www.linkedin.com/in/alexboothroyd.

Cheers,
Alex

Hi Everyone, just in case the trackback doesn’t work, I’ve published a new post with a confirmed date, time and venue. Luckily we’re very close to full compliment without exceeding it, so we don’t have to ‘invite’ people.

Please would you take the time to RSVP even if you’ve previously registered your interest. Only the first 33 to RSVP will be able to attend. Please let me know if you RSVP and then later realise you can’t come. Thanks.

To RSVP your place, please go to this blog post http://tinyurl.com/yor4vc

Hi Paul

I think what you propose is a great idea. The IIA has tried to cover this area but our primary focus is on the internet space and resources are always an issue for us. One option I propose to you is that this new entity could be linked to the IIA in some way, rather than a completely new entity. We could provide a ready audience, infrastructure, back office support and other elements.

We have been reasonably successful in running quite a number of events nationally and I think the appetite certainly exists for what you propose. As a not for profit organisation I believe we can assist you in your goals.

Let me know if this is of interest. Of course, if you decide you want to go it alone I will endeavour to assist in any way possible. At worst I would be happy to discuss some of the challenges facing a not for profit organisation in Ireland.

Cheers
Fergal

Always interested to see development in this space. Note that the IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) are due to set up again in Ireland in the next few weeks. This was originally set up by me and some others around 1999 but ended up merging with the IDMA in 2002 and then kinda got lost somewhere. Keep me posted re the meeting.

Best of luck with it
damian

Damian - Good luck with IAB Ireland. It’s an association I know quite a lot about. In fact, I was going to setup IAB Ireland after discussing it with IAB Europe but thought better of it for numerous reasons. The main reason was that I didn’t feel comfortable running want to run an association that was ‘directed’ by its members; namely Google etc. Don’t think for a second that I’m having a go, I’m not. There’s a place for IAB to help its members generate more revenue from advertising. My passion is for helping ‘industry’ move forward.

Will IAB Ireland concentrate on industry best practices? I know it’s something it’s not particularly good at in the UK. There’s little to nothing for mobile Internet advertising either.

My experience running BIMA (British Interactive Media Association) gives me great insight to all of these industry associations. In the UK, BIMA is the longest established (1985) and importantly, represents the interests of every stakeholder.

Keep an eye on the blog for updates as I’ll post everything here.