AUTUMN 2015
Issue 18 PWC 10 Q&A BILL LAIO 13 ULSTER UNIVERSITY 16
The Digital Driving Force
08 Chain Reaction
Technology
Opens Belfast Technology Centre
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Welcome to the Autumn edition of the Sync NI magazine foreword
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from Opal Perry, Interim Managing Director at Allstate NI
ne of the universal signs of autumn approaching is the start of a new school year. Students of all ages enter the classroom (whether in the traditional physical sense or through one of the growing number of virtual educational opportunities) and embark upon a new journey of discovery – reuniting with peers and teachers from the past and making new connections – some of which will last a lifetime. The newest learners are off and running to learn not just new topics like the alphabet and how to count but they are also starting the never-ending process of learning how to learn. And even the most accomplished student can experience the frustrations, and eventual joy of mastery, of tackling new subjects and more complex problems. New students today are Digital Natives, many of them arrive to the classroom already familiar with tablet computers and the Internet while their counterparts from prior generations have adapted to the emerging technologies during their lifetimes – and all them will need to continue to learn and adapt to take advantage of the incredible opportunities that are constantly emerging.
built and scaled many successful products and now the pace of change is only accelerating. Here in Northern Ireland we are leading the charge for Allstate in adoption of Agile development practices and cloud based infrastructure as well as the advancement of data analytics capabilities. Together with these capabilities we are investing in closer partnerships with researchers to apply new concepts in support of our customers. We also place a strong emphasis on supporting every employee’s health and wellbeing, as you will read about on page 7. Studies have shown the two are inextricably related – engaged employees are healthier, and healthy employees have more energy for themselves, their families, and professional accomplishments. We’re excited to be actively involved in the Northern Ireland digital ecosystem, as an employer, a partner with researchers and innovators, and a sponsor of programs that encourage and inspire us all to grow. The calendar is packed with great business and technology events and just a week after the NISP Invent Awards on October 8, the third annual Digital DNA conference will be in full swing. This year’s conference promises to bring together over 1,000 local and international leaders for the Digital Business conference on the 15th and over 2,000 students for the Digital Futures event on the 14th. I always find these events to be inspirational and take back a number of ideas to apply in my work and new connections to engage with.
In a similar manner today’s businesses, in Northern Ireland and around the globe, are born digital and established business must continually adapt and reinvent their practices to serve customers and sustain success. For those that adopt a Growth Mindset this is a thrilling journey – by embracing change we can achieve Take advantage of these and other things, both individually and as a team, which opportunities across Northern Ireland to drive we previously thought impossible. Allstate your own aspirations and growth, and perhaps Northern Ireland has been growing and evolving help others along the way. for over 16 years now and our U.S. based parent company, Allstate Insurance has been around Opal Perry, for over 84 years – over that time we have Interim Managing Director at Allstate NI
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ABOUT SYNC NI Sync NI is the leading media outlet for Northern Ireland’s Technology and Business Industries. The Sync NI website and magazine keeps readers informed on the latest technology and business news, jobs, and events from Northern Ireland, and abroad.
CONTENT & EDITORIAL Kat Maguire Phone: 02890820941 Email: kat@syncni.com ADVERTISING & MARKETING ENQUIRIES Natalie Gray Phone: 02890820944 Email: natalie@syncni.com Caoimhe Caldwell Phone: 02890820942 Email: caoimhe.mckenna@syncni.com Roisin Mooney Phone: 02890820944 Email: roisin@syncni.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Email: subscribe@syncni.com GENERAL ENQUIRIES Sync NI 28 Adelaide street Rochester Building Belfast BT28GD Phone: 028 90820944 Email: info@syncni.com Website: www.syncni.com
COPYRIGHT No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyholder and publisher. SyncNi accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of contributed articles or statements appearing in this magazine and any views or opinions expressed are not necessarily those of SyncNi , unless otherwise indicated. No responsibility for loss or distress associated to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of the material in this magazine can be accepted by the authors, contributors, editors or publishers. SyncNi does not endorse any goods or services advertised, nor any claims or representations made in any advertisement in this magazine. The recruitment agencies listed are acting as employment agencies on behalf of their clients.
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Contents 03 Foreword 06 UU new research website 07 Allstate health & wellbeing 08 CRT opens Belfast development centre 10 PWC helps Ignite Tech Businesses in NI 12 Impressed by ambition of NI tech scene 13 Q&A with Bill Liao 14 The digital driving force 16 Transforming industry through research 18 Co-work your way to success 19 A meal with 9others 20 Destination BeauCo 21 Debbie Leslie from Flossie’s Fudge 22 Knowledge Economy in NI 24 Interview with Wia Founder 25 Upcoming Events 26 Sync NI - Logging Off
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
New Online Portal to Help Businesses Access Research and Facilities
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lster University has unveiled a unique online portal that will help businesses and entrepreneurs benefit from its world-leading research and expertise.
The new Access Ulster portal brings together Ulster University’s research, licensing technologies, state-of-the-art facilities/equipment and internationally recognised experts in one user-friendly platform. Access Ulster provides a gateway to over 20,000 research publications, 26 facilities, over 50 technologies for licencing, and wide range of expertise across all business sectors. Supporting business innovation and growth Innovation is key to transforming Northern Ireland’s economy into one that is truly knowledge-based and export focused and is key to ensuring businesses stay ahead of their competitors. The new portal can help increase levels of research and development and inspire creativity within businesses and the wider community, creating commercial opportunities, employment and export growth. Ulster University’s world-leading research and focus on innovation can benefit local companies and help give them the edge in global markets. The Research Excellence Framework 2014 rated Ulster University to be in the top 25 per cent of all UK universities for overall research, and one of only six universities in the UK with 100% of its research environment rated as world-leading. Sean Nelson, Head of Technology Transfer says “Ulster University has a lot to offer businesses, no matter what stage you’re at from start-up to large organisation. The portal is designed to be easy to search and use and can help businesses find what they need - whether they’re looking for some specialist equipment; searching for a new idea or technology; expertise to help solve a business problem; or simply reviewing what research is being undertaken in their field. The new portal will facilitate greater engagement between the University and the business community, encouraging innovation and collaboration. Take technologies for example, there’s around 50 technologies on the portal at the moment and we’re
continually adding new technologies and ideas. These are technologies that can be licenced by businesses and we will work with them to help develop and commercialise these ideas. It’s the business who has the knowledge of the industry and our academics who are experts in the new technology, it’s a great combination.”
How does it work?
Visit ulster.ac.uk/access and enter your area of interest. The results will demonstrate by that search the relevant: PEOPLE: relevant experts in that area RESEARCH: research articles available to access TECHNOLOGIES: technologies to licence/review RESOURCES: relevant equipment or facilities CONTACT US: A dedicated Business Development team are also available throughout to support and provide advice on processes and funding streams. It’s all about access. It’s about providing an easier, more accessible means to which businesses and organisations can benefit from, and engage with, Ulster University’s worldleading research and innovation.
Follow Ulster University
@UlsterUni
SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
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Health & Wellbeing works at Allstate Northern Ireland
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stablished in 1998, Allstate Northern Ireland provides high quality software development services and business solutions in support of The Allstate Corporation’s global operations. Allstate NI is now one of the biggest employers in Northern Ireland and the largest IT Company employing more than 2,300 staff across three sites in Belfast, L’Derry and Strabane.
in People, putting them in the top one percent of all 40,000 IiP organisations across the UK, while also making them the only organisation in Northern Ireland to be awarded the Investors in People 6th generation Gold Award.
The company has recently taken its investment in occupational health to new heights with the introduction of the trailblazing Energy for Life programme: a pioneering new programme designed to One of the main foundations of Allstate help employees manage stress and cope NI’s success has been its unique blend of more effectively with the demands of competitive foresight and organisational their roles so they can fully engage in all aspects of their lives. culture, which is rooted in the American principles of flexibility, work life balance As part of Allstate NI’s overall health and the societal nature of work. Allstate and wellbeing strategy, the company NI recognises the correlation between also held a month-long celebration happy and healthy employees, satisfied throughout September. This first of its customers and business results and kind initiative focused on maintaining has taken a systematic and innovative the culture of wellbeing and high approach to the health and wellbeing of its people. This strategic commitment to performance throughout the organisation and was designed to help employees employee health and wellbeing, headed get fit, get happy and get healthy all on up by VP and CAO Rose Kelly, not only company time! improves the health of employees, but contributes positively to productivity, Week one focused on health quality, work motivation, job satisfaction awareness with Cancer Fund for Children, and thereby to the overall quality of life Marie Curie, Learning Breakthrough, for all employees. Prostate Cancer and Chest, Heart and Allstate NI promotes a lifestyle, not just Stroke all giving talks to employees on how to look after their health and spot a job and their innovative programme of activities and flexible working options has the warning signs. been celebrated at regional and national Week two gave employees an insight levels. Most recently the company into their physical health with alcohol and received gold level status by Investors
diabetes awareness sessions, reflexology classes, back care and orthotic clinics and lunch time activities run by the company’s sports and social committee. Various local gyms were invited in to talk to employees and Cancer Focus also carried out BMI and body composition checks to measure blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Week three was all about life health with wills, pension and mortgage advice from local solicitors and banks, as well as visits from Parenting NI, Employers for Childcare and Fleet Financial. The event was concluded with a week full of awareness talks by their very own suicide and mental health awareness campaign, ANIbody. Action Mental Health, Addiction NI and Cruse bereavement Care also came in to talk about subjects of a more sensitive nature. The company’s staff restaurant, managed by Sodexo, also participated and spread the healthy eating message with various food demonstrations and tastings, as well as supplying healthy food options for breakfast and lunch. The event was a great success and helped further support Allstate’s efforts as a great place to work! Follow Morrow Allstate Communications NI Follow
@MorrowComms @AllstateNI
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Chain Reaction Technology opens Belfast Development Centre
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he Chain Reaction Cycles (CRC) journey began in 1984 as a small family business in Northern Ireland and has grown rapidly to become the world’s largest online bike store. CRC is a truly global business, shipping over 20,000 items daily to over 115 countries worldwide. The site receives over 8 million visits per month and has in excess of 2 million registered customers. Having launched a new Enterprise grade eCommerce platform 2 years ago, the Chain Reaction Technology team has expanded quickly and now consists of Web Development, Enterprise Java and ERP .Net teams supported by newly formed QA and Business Intelligence functions.
Announcing Our Brand-New Office in Belfast
The Chain Reaction Technology team has moved to an all-new development centre in Belfast city centre. The office consists of a modern, spacious open plan layout as can be seen in the photographs of the recent EcomHackBelfast planning session with Andrew Bolster (Director) and Glenn Davidson (Events NEM) of Farset Labs. It provides the agile development teams an ideal space to promote communication, creativity, and knowledge sharing. The significant investment demonstrates the importance of technology to Chain Reaction Cycles and helps to place Belfast on the global eCommerce stage. The team are as passionate about cycling as they are about technology and this is reflected by the high-end bikes, artwork and cycling memorabilia that adorn the office. Staff regularly meet up for weekend ride outs and participate in the local amateur sportives (organised mass participation cycling events) that take in some of the best scenery Northern Ireland has to offer.
Taking the lead
Chain Reaction Technology’s greatest asset is its people. Developing and running a global eCommerce website requires a wide-ranging set of skills and the new development centre brings together their highly talented technical people under one roof. Chain Reaction Technology invest in their people. All employees are given the tools, training and opportunity to thrive in one of the UK’s largest eCommerce companies. Managing growth and maintaining a vibrant start-up culture is important to the ethos of the team. Everyone has a strong sense of its core values such as putting customers first; people over processes; experimentation; taking calculated risks and pushing innovation. When a company values its employees, everyone can make a genuine difference. In a fast-paced, competitive industry such as eCommerce, responding quickly to the changing needs of the business is vital to continue to deliver the best possible experience for customers. To that end, Chain Reaction Technology collaborates with some of the world’s largest technology companies, including PayPal and Adobe to deliver new features such as advanced payment and digital imagery solutions.
SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Looking forward, the future holds an exciting technology roadmap with a mixture of innovative new features and customer experience enhancements alongside and the ever-present focus on stability, security, performance and scalability as the exciting holiday season approaches. In particular, the popular US Black Friday shopping holiday took the UK by storm in 2014. Numerous leading retail web sites
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crashed under unprecedented load while sales records were broken over one of the busiest 24-hour sales periods in UK retail history. Industry experts expect Black Friday 2015 to be an even bigger event with many retailers preparing for it for months while savvy consumers await the best deals of the year.
Chain Reaction Technology launch EcomHackBelfast
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hain Reaction Technology have announced their inaugural eCommerce Hackathon aimed at highlighting the eCommerce technology sector in Northern Ireland. The 24-hour weekend event takes place on the 21st and 22nd of November. The winning team will walk away with a top prize of £1000 cash kindly sponsored by Northern Ireland’s leading recruitment agency VANRATH IT. The eCommerce industry is undergoing a major phase of disruption led by the mobile revolution, social media and pervasive Internet access. With the recent explosion of new web technologies there has never been a better time to find innovative ways to improve customer experience and engagement. Chain Reaction IS Manager Pat O’Hare is delighted to launch the hackathon “This event is for creative hackers with big ideas who are not afraid to take risks. The technology underpinning ecommerce is so diverse there is no limit to what can be built. I can’t wait see what the teams produce!” The event is open to teams of up to 5 people from all technology backgrounds across Northern Ireland and will culminate with each team presenting their creations to the judging panel. While the main theme is eCommerce there will
be no boundaries or restrictions on what can be produced. Food and refreshments will be provided throughout the event. Every entrant will also receive a CRC goody bag and there will be lots of cycling related spot prizes up for grabs. For those wanting to exercise both body and mind, they can take part in the Chain Reaction Technology Spin Bike Challenge! Ryan Quinn, Managing Director at VANRATH IT said “ VANRATH are delighted to be partnering with Chain Reaction Cycles in the Hackathon which we hope will provide participants with an enjoyable and challenging event. VANRATH are pleased to be able to provide the £1000 prize fund to help support the winning individuals in their career development.” The hackathon event will take place at Farset Labs, a makerspace that provides a place for creativity and technological tinkering. Built around the idea of exploration and giving back to the wider community. They have an open door policy to everyone, no matter what you want to do, they welcome people from all walks of life to use a shared space, attend exciting events, and invite everyone to get involved and foster the maker community in Northern Ireland. For more information or to register a team for the event, visit: https://www.facebook.com/ChainReactionTechnology.
Follow Chain Reaction Technology
@CRC_Technology
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
PWC helps Ignite Top Emerging Tech Businesses in NI
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t was back in April when PwC launched its Ignite accelerator initiative. Now, nearly six months later, four local tech companies are working tirelessly with their PwC mentors to steadily transform their ambitious plans into hard reality. PwC’s Ignite accelerator had a simple objective: find a handful of Northern Ireland’s most dynamic, young technology companies, invest expertise, advice and harness the PwC global networks to help the businesses grow faster, sell further and perform better – and all at no cost to the companies. That objective is now well advanced. Four companies: Ardbrin Ltd., Datactics Ltd., DisplayNote Technologies Ltd., and Flowlens Limited, have embarked on a year of PwC support,
So just who are these four technology companies? Sync NI met with the four finalists, who took some time out of their busy schedule to tell us more.
Datactics / Stuart Harvey
mentoring and advice, which will culminate in a visit to Silicon Valley - courtesy of PwC – for a first-hand taste of the US technology market. The criteria to join PwC’s Ignite accelerator were tough. To even be eligible for consideration, applicants had to have been in business for at least 2 years, have a strong product/service offering with proof of concept and a clearly identified export opportunity. Noel Culbert, PwC associate partner in Belfast and originator of PwC’s Ignite programme wanted to develop an accelerator programme to break the cycle of sluggish growth amongst technology companies and, through mentoring, sharing advice and global networks, to help them grow faster, sell further and perform better. “First, we had to find the right businesses,” he says, “but now we’ve done that, the journey begins.”
@Datactics_
Stuart, could you give us an overview of what Datactics does? Datactics is a provider of software and associated services in the areas of data quality and matching and has a strong focus on the financial services sector. Since the financial crisis in 2008 there has been a wave of new regulations meaning that trading organisations are required to have a better understanding of their own data and regularly report on risk and exposure. Datactics helps clients to comply with such regulations by implementing an agile approach. The intuitive software application allows users to pull together multiple data sets from different silos and identify matching records to improve the overall quality of client’s data and get it in good order for regulators. The software also allows users to monitor their data compliance against particular standards or regulations and report on such metrics to deliver what we call continuous data quality.
SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Sounds interesting, and where do you see the business going? We would like to build on our current successes and grow our market share in the banking and finance sector, realising the full potential of the company. In the near-term we would like to become the ‘go-to’ company for clients to improve their quality of data throughout their organisation and enable them to continue to maintain their compliance in the ever changing world of new regulation. How do you hope that the Ignite Programme will help you? We applied for the Ignite Program for the following reasons to increase visibility of Datactics, to gain access to potential users and to make use of PWC expertise to help successfully launch a new product to market.
Flowlens / Rich Dale
@flowlens
Rich, can you give us an overview of Flowlens and how it can help businesses? Flowlens helps its customers reduce the frustration, wasted effort and delay that arise from spreadsheets, out-of-date business systems and manual processes. We work largely with companies that make, sell, rent and/or manage industrial equipment. Our simple, cloud-based, software joins the dots between departments. It makes real-time information sharing and reporting a reality. How would you like to develop Flowlens? We’re keen to expand Flowlens and help many more companies reduce waste, manual effort and get more competitive. With a presence in the UK and the USA, we’re focused on building on our reputation for simple, easy to use systems that help people not hinder them. Wherever there is a mess of spreadsheets, we’ll be there to help companies make sense of their data and processes, and deliver an affordable system that supports. How do you hope that the PWC Ignite Programme will help you? We applied for PWC Ignite to get exposure to expertise and networks that could help us accelerate our growth. Our aims, and that of Ignite are closely aligned: to bring worldclass technology from Northern Ireland to the global stage. We’re really excited to be part of the programme, working with a range of experienced mentors and the other participants who’re all bringing innovative offerings to the market.
Displaynote / Paul Brown
@displaynote
So Displaynote, who are you and what do you do? DisplayNote Technologies is a software developer which
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specialises in collaboration technologies for displays, desktops and mobile devices. Our technologies allow users to present and share their content in real-time, inviting input and collaboration from others. How do you see the business progressing? We want 2015 and 2016 to be our big growth years with 2 new products launching. We have a hardware technology called Montage which is aimed at corporate meeting rooms and a consumer and enterprise application called Swoodle which is aimed at teamwork and collaboration. We want to push these products in the USA and further into mainland Europe and the Middle East. We also want to set up a USA presence. What do you hope to get out of the PWC Ignite Programme? We want to garner the expertise of PWC in pushing into new territories and streamlining our processes as we take on new products and projects. We also want to make new contacts in Silicon Valley who would be interested in our company and its growth.
Ardbrin
/ Geraldine Fusciardi & Anita Acheson
@Ardbrin
Geraldine and Anita, tell us a little bit more about Ardbrin? Ardbrin provides companies with intelligent software that allows them to achieve their goals and focus employees on performing high-value, goal-related activities. We provide an Enterprise Goals Optimisation platform (called FocusT) to help companies execute their corporate strategy and achieve their targets. Where did the inspiration come from? With our background in commerce, technology and HR, we had worked for years in companies that were good at creating vision and strategic goals but found execution problematic (especially as the companies grew). We’ve lived the problems, that’s why we have a created a solution. We have developed a better way of managing goals and reducing strategic execution risk. What do you hope to get out of the PWC Ignite Programme? We were aware of PWCs strong credentials in helping companies set their strategy and targets for their businesses. We believe that PWC’s experience, expertise and global network will help us build our expertise and accelerate our reach into companies that are “goal-ready” but lack the technology/methodology to reduce ongoing strategic execution risk and improve operational excellence around goal and target management.
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Danske’s Marketing Officer ‘Impressed by ambition of NI Tech Scene’
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rand strategist and marketing expert Martin Stenberg is immersed in the technology industry. Now Chief Marketing Officer at Danske Bank’s new organisation Mobile Life, he has extensive experience in customer segmentation and product positioning for emerging markets.
to bundle recently unbundled services,” said Martin. Intrigued by the state of the Northern Irish tech scene, Martin attended the ICONS Festival and was impressed by the innovation that was on show. He said: “I was impressed by the level of ambition that ICONS had, and the promise of creating a forum where ideas and people from different avenues of life can meet. It was an incredible event and a massive opportunity for the businesses and entrepreneurs of Northern Ireland.”
With a career already spanning over 13 years, Martin studied in economics and Mandarin from renowned universities in Sweden and China, as well as graduating with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Martin is on the cutting edge of developments within the tech industry, and has witnessed a variety of changes over the years. However, it is bank interactions with startup companies that has been the biggest development in the industry that Martin has seen to date.
Martin Stenberg, Danske / Mobile Life
The agenda for 2016 includes a schedule of continuous releases for new products and services, however exactly what that entails exactly will depend on user feedback.
Martin already has experience with Irish companies, however perhaps not in the most conventional aspect that you would imagine. Martin took a truly global route, coming into contact with Irish businesses via Shanghai. “I have worked with Irish beverage companies during my time in Shanghai and I have to say, Irish businesses have a very solid reputation,” according to Martin.
“Mobile Life is a part of Danske Bank, also present in Ireland, and we are developing new solutions to help customers get better experiences for instance when purchasing real estate,” he said. Not one to rest on his laurels, Martin and Danske Bank are already looking towards 2016 when it comes to their new Mobile Life enterprise.
“I would say that everyone’s a winner when companies dedicate money and resources to listen to customers in order to develop better products. Development of new services and products happens all around the world right now, and developers are finding inspiration from all around the world as well.
Martin, alongside dozens of other international business leaders, attended the inaugural ICONS Festival in Titanic Quarter. According to organisers, the festival was designed “to inspire, engage and enlighten the next generation of Northern Irish entrepreneurs and businesses”.
“We’re planning to launch our first product pretty soon which is a service to find and budget for a new home. It will
“Banks are continuing to associate with startups and incubators, and are involved in an ongoing discussion about whether
Following his appearance at the inaugural ICONS Festival, this 24th-27th September at Titanic Quarter, Belfast, SyncNI caught up with Stenberg to find out more about what motivates him and what the future holds for Mobile Life...
first be available initially in Denmark but who knows how it will develop looking ahead,” he added.
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
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with Bill Liao from Q&A Start Planet NI Sync NI caught up with Bill Liao to find out about Start Planet NI, and what sets it apart from other accelerator programmes. What sets Start Planet NI aside from other accelerator programmes? A lot of accelerator programmes are formerly incubator programmes that rebrand themselves- we are instantly different. We offer our selected businesses 3 months to harness their growth, benefit from our environment and the many mentors we have on board. Our experience has proven programmes need clearly limited time so there is a fast pace. Also, if you want to start a business – then you should start a business big enough to justify your passion. We need businesses were everyone is doing great. Not lifestyle businesses like bakeries – they are naturally the backbone of society – but if you want to make a dent in the universe it’s important to have a passionate idea that will make a great difference. Has Start Planet NI been good at attracting applications outside of NI? We’ve had more applicants from the local community – but Start Planet NI is heavily marketed around the world. It’s important to build a network and Belfast will be a great hub for applicants to grow, with access to a larger global network. How were the mentors selected? Firstly, the selected applicants were carefully chosen. Derek Sivers highlights that ‘followers are what turn a lone nut into a leader’; we wanted applicants to be so passionate about their business that it would get you to follow them. We have an enormous mentor network – so we had a vast pool to draw on. Start Planet NI has great investment from Invest NI, angel networks- Halo. However it will only work by having teams who want to work hard and want to make something different. The businesses selected aren’t competing, more collaborating. When everyone is in the room together they will be helping to solve each other’s problems. When one person learns a great lesson, everyone does.
Bill Liao, Start Planet NI
How involved will you be as lead mentor? I have been heavily involved from the beginning of the programme; from the initial design of the programme to the where we are now. It’s important to be involved in all aspects from the selection of teams, to the timing of mentors and the live streams we will have. There is also a great team helping to work on Start Planet NI – which is crucial. What do you see for the future of Start Planet NI? I see a founders fund full of amazing companies as each of the teams swaps some equity with the others via a founders only fund it will become amazing. How do you manage your time between SoS Venture, Coder Dojo, WeForest and now this? I am heavily involved. If you want to get something done, ask a busy person! I’m the type of person who will get 500 emails a day but I will have been through them all and have nothing left in my inbox by the end of the day. Visit online Start Planet NI
startplanetni.com
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
The Digital Driving Force T
housands of delegates, speakers and innovators will soon converge in Belfast at Digital DNA, kicking off on October 14th in Belfast City Hall. Digital DNA, now in its third year, is a series of events that helps promote the benefits of technology to businesses in Northern Ireland with the aim of helping them grow locally and internationally. This year’s programme will see speakers from global giants like Google, Atlas and Twitter join forces with local success stories including STATSports, Budget Energy and Chain Reaction Cycles to offer business owners advice on how embracing digital technology can increase customers, drive sales and cut costs. Digital DNA’s four key events begin with Digital Futures on October 14th in Belfast City Hall and includes three events at Titanic Belfast: Digital Business (October 15th), Digital Social (October 15th) and Digital Tourism (November 12th). Futures Digital Futures is aimed at unearthing the next generation of digital entrepreneurs in Northern Ireland. Following six weeks of roadshows engaging with thousands of young people, the event will feature a competition where secondary school pupils will be tasked with using technology to solve a problem currently faced by businesses or consumers. The winning teams will jet to San Francisco’s Silicon Valley to visit the likes of Stanford University and Google’s headquarters and London for a trip to Microsoft later in the year, both courtesy of Aer Lingus. Business Ideal for start-ups and market leaders alike, Digital Business brings some of the world’s great digital strategists together for inspiring Main Stage keynotes from companies like Google, STATSports, Twitter, Chain Reaction Cycles and Atlas. These digital supremos will also lead a number of breakout sessions, passing on their knowledge of technology to local businesses to help fuel growth. From small budgets for Facebook advertising to large investments in data infrastructure and e-commerce sites, Digital Business offers business owners a full suite of ideas and networking opportunities.
The themes for this year’s Digital Business event include: Digital Strategy: Transforming your business for the 21st Century Customer Engagement: Effectively harnessing Social Media Big data: Understanding your business and customer Advertising to people not cookies: Using analytics to understand consumer behaviour Mobilising everything: Utilising mobile technologies to empower you and your workforce Video: The science of sharing eCommerce: Internationalising your trade Internet of Things: The next big disruptor Harnessing the Cloud: ‘onsite’ v ‘offsite
Social Good food, beer, wine, cocktails, live music and inspirational speakers will be on offer at Digital Social with the chance to meet the headliners from the business event and other local companies keen to embrace technology to help their businesses grow. Best of all, the social event is free for anyone who has a ticket to any Digital DNA event.
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Tourism Digital DNA concludes on November 12th with Digital Tourism. Tourism in Northern Ireland has benefited hugely from embracing digital technology, and
exactly goes into planning a series of events on this scale? We met some of the team to find out. Gareth Quinn, Founder and Managing Director I’ve always had an interest in computing and technology, having completed a degree in Computing and Information Systems, via a HND at UU. Three years ago, I was working for Belfast City Council, decided to go back to my first love of IT and Digital DNA was born. I’m passionate about helping local businesses just like us to grow locally and international through the power of technology and that’s really what Digital DNA is all about. My role in the company covers everything from securing speakers from across the world to engaging with sponsors and partners who share our ambitions, to liaising with schools and tomorrow’s digital leaders as part of our Digital Futures programme. I work closely with Brian Corry, Digital DNA director, to review the success of our plans and to build for the future on a weekly basis to make sure the company and the events are moving in the direction that we want them to.
local case studies will come together at the final Digital DNA event of the year to pass on knowledge and share their experiences of how technology helped their operations grow. The local case studies will be supplemented by a blend of thought leaders who’ll showcase how technology is helping businesses across the region attract more customers and realise increased revenues and profits. Events with thousands of delegates, scores of partners and dozens of speakers from around the world takes lots of planning and preparation by the Digital DNA team. Based in Saintfield, south of Belfast, the local people that help make Digital DNA an event not to be missed have been working on this year’s event for months. So what
In the months leading up to the event, you can find me almost anywhere from meeting sponsors and partners for coffee or in our conference suite for calls with international friends of Digital DNA and exPats who believe in what we are doing and want to help - no two days are the same. This year’s event is set to be our biggest and best yet with more speakers, sponsors and partners and, importantly, more delegates leaving with the knowledge, skills and contacts needed to grow their businesses. I hope to see you there! John Bell, Head of Sales and Marketing I have 11 years’ experience in organising large scale events. I’ve been
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a previous delegate of Digital DNA before joining the team and was so impressed that I applied for the role when it came up. My job involves creating opportunities for companies to harness our platform. With such a loyal and growing following we’re keen to ensure our sponsors and exhibitors reap the benefits of being involved with Digital DNA. Calum Lennon, Digital Marketing & Communications Executive I joined the team in early 2015 and have previously worked for Allianz insurance and CrossFit Newry. I manage the company’s Digital Marketing strategy, which ranges from curating content for the website to looking after our social media accounts. An average day for me involves updating our social media platforms throughout the day, which means researching quality, shareable content. I have a close relationship with our partners, helping them to create content for their members. Stephanie Geddis, Digital Content Specialist I’m the newest member of the team, joining the company this summer after graduating from UU with a First Class Honours degree in PR. It has been my life-long ambition to work with a progressive, forward thinking company and Digital DNA ticks those boxes! My role as Digital Marketing and Content Specialist is to assist with the delivery of our events through our content plan; production of video interviews with technical experts and business leaders and writing blogs. For more information on Digital DNA or to book your ticket, visit us online.
Visit online Digital DNA
digitaldna.org.uk
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Ulster University: Transforming industry through research
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lster University spends over £40 million per year on research that is transforming industry across all sectors and benefitting society globally. Sync NI explores a number of projects that are contributing to Ulster University’s reputation for world-leading research excellence. Transforming Manufacturing Engineering experts at Ulster University have joined with the University of Cambridge to deliver a £2.8 million research project into an innovative carbon-based material that could transform the global manufacturing sector. The pioneering research, which is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will focus on carbon nanotubes - electrically and thermally conductive materials that are extremely lightweight yet strong. It will address the production of carbon nanotubes on an industrial scale, which is currently expensive and requires long manufacturing lead times. The unique properties of the material make it ideal for a range of manufacturing applications from aerospace and energy storage to solar cells and batteries. Large scale, cost-effective production of carbon nanotubes will represent a major breakthrough for the aerospace manufacturing industry in particular. It will see current exteriors of planes replaced with the stronger, more streamlined material - dramatically decreasing fuel consumption and reducing operating costs of airline companies. Redefining Healthcare Computer science experts at Ulster University, in partnership with Utah State University in the US, have developed a revolutionary new smartphone app that could hold the key to preventing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The Gray Matters smartphone app encourages individuals to set lifestyle goals, ranging from exercise and nutrition to stress management and brain stimulation - all of which are known to have an impact on the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The app provides daily facts on the link between healthy lifestyle behaviours and improved cognitive wellbeing and allows users to track their lifestyle across a range of areas, including diet, physical activity, mental wellbeing and social engagement. It provides visual progress reports to help individuals be more aware of their health and encourage healthy behavioural change. Gray Matters is currently being used for research purposes
Pictured (L) having his brain activity monitored is Andrew Cairns, Ulster University PhD student with Dr Raymond Bond from the University’s Computer Science Research Institute and Hannah Torney from HeartSine.
and the University is in the process of identifying partnerships to further enhance functionality of the app before its launch to the general public. Enhancing User Experience This summer saw the launch of Ulster University’s state-ofthe-art user experience lab that is helping businesses explore how consumers can better interact with digital technology to increase the success of its products and services. Researchers at the new Ulster University UX Lab capture how people use and interact with everything from mobile apps and games to medical devices and retail interfaces. It uses cuttingedge technology to track user’s biometrics, including eye movement, brain signals, heart rate and facial expression to better understand user behaviour. Ulster University’s multi-disciplinary team works in partnership with companies to help enhance product designs and functionality to increase user efficiency, productivity and satisfaction and improve usability of digital technologies and platforms. One company already benefiting from Ulster University’s UX Lab is leading manufacturer of defibrillators, HeartSine Technologies. The company worked with the University to further develop the portable defibrillator to incorporate audio instructions. Dr Rebecca Di Maio, Clinical Research Manager at HeartSine Technologies said: “Usability is paramount in helping HeartSine to achieve its goal of offering simple to use portable defibrillator solutions. To ensure our defibrillators have a significant impact on post-cardiac arrest survival rates, we must make certain that anyone can follow the instructions and use it effectively. “Working with Ulster University’s UX Lab, we are developing highly intuitive interfaces to enhance user experience whilst saving lives.”
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We’re great business partners
Helping companies work smarter We go the extra mile to help businesses. Our entrepreneurial attitude and range of innovationbased programmes enable us to support startups and established companies alike. We build relationships, tease out requirements, analyse opportunities, pose questions and devise
solutions. It’s paying off too. As well as forging strong relationships, we’re in the top 10% of UK universities for spinning out businesses, creating intellectual property, developing entrepreneurs and supporting SMEs*. *Source: HESA Higher Education Business & Community Interaction Survey
Shaping the future ulster.ac.uk/goingplaces
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Co-work A meal with 9others your way to success at The Foundry According to a recent report by the Northern Ireland Assembly, self-employment in Northern Ireland is higher than it has been at any point during the past 40 years. Whilst running your own business brings many obvious benefits, the distinct lack of day to day social interaction is a factor that many struggle with.
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his is where the co-working concept comes into play. Co-working, often the work style of small business owners, start-ups, freelancers and creatives, is the sharing of one space by many independent workers. Removing the isolation that can come with working from home or in a lone office, it can foster collaborative work relations and builds a community amongst workers. Belfast’s newest addition to the Co-Working space family is The Foundry. A year in the making, The Foundry is much more than just a desk and internet access, it’s an energising, supportive space. A stylishly functional environment has been designed that manages to blend privacy with collaboration, offering space for 15 hot desks and two bespoke offices for small organisations; making this a truly incredible space for start-ups, entrepreneurs and small businesses. Test-driving The Foundry is Aaron Taylor and Jim Fitzpatrick, the men behind the recent ICONS Festival. The ICONS Festival has a vibrant team of salespeople, designers, marketers and technical brainboxes, all of whom work comfortably within The Foundry’s hot-desks, workbench, offices and meeting room. The Foundry offers the right space for a huge range of business specialities, so much so that part of the team are considering staying on as anchor tenants, meaning anyone who joins The Foundry will have some of the most forwardthinking and technology savvy co-workers they could hope for. Co-workers in The Foundry have the benefits of utilising the CityEast business centre as a base - a hub of business events, specialist advisors and four floors of tenants who work in everything from accounting to graphic design - you will also be
welcomed (if not expected!) to join everyone at our fortnightly coffee mornings. Co-working is fast becoming the entrepreneur’s preferred style of working in part because of its affordability. The Foundry has the flexibility of a range of co-working options designed to facilitate part time and full time entrepreneurs, as well as options to work off-peak hours for those who continue to work elsewhere or have family commitments during peak times. To celebrate the launch of The Foundry, CityEast are hosting a range of free business seminars and workshops fortnightly until Christmas. Details of these are posting on the East Belfast Enterprise and The Foundry Belfast Facebook page, with the series debuting with great success to a full house, hosted by designer David Woods. For more information or to book a space at these, contact Kenny@eastbelfast.org. These events allow networking and attendees receive discounts on selected host’s services as well as a free trial day in The Foundry. We are excited to see the talent The Foundry brings together and how it contributes to the sense of community and collaboration in the business network that has grown at CityEast. If you are interested in how The Foundry could help your business and help you interact with others in a shared space at a great price, please get in touch with us at 028 9094 2010 or visit www.thefoundrybelfast.com. With the amount of people co-working doubling year-on-year since 2007, we know co-working works. Find out how The Foundry can work for you… Follow The Foundry
@teamfoundry
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A meal with 9others “How are things?” “Great! Product going well, positive feedback, investors interested, morale is high……you?” “Yeah - great - us too”
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hat’s usually as far as the “How are things?” question goes for entrepreneurs. It’s polite and nice, but hardly ever a true reflection of how things really are. It’s important to be positive, optimistic and full of enthusiasm it can be infectious as it energises colleagues, makes customers buy and instills confidence in investors. But running a business is hard - really hard. Long hours and working weekends are obvious but deliberately alienating friends, annoying your partner at home and being so boring because you’re only able to talk about work happens a lot too. Entrepreneurs come across challenges they’ve never faced before but they’re supposed to know what they’re doing. There is no map to follow because they’re doing something new but people look to them for leadership and guidance. So how does an entrepreneur get the right kind of help for those tough times? Instead of asking the “How are things?” question, they should ask a different one and proactively help others. The best question is, “What’s keeping you up at night?” Having another entrepreneur ask this question opens up a different and more mutually beneficial kind of conversation. After meeting hundreds of entrepreneurs throughout 2011, London-based
Katie Lewis and Matthew Stafford recognised that there are some things that entrepreneurs want to talk through, but with people who aren’t their co-founder or investors, and not their board. There’s a need to talk to someone - someone in your shoes but not in your business. Where does that happen? How is that possible when you don’t want to show a weakness or give anything away? So since 2011, Katie & Matthew have hosted meals with 9others - oneself and nine other entrepreneurs. At the meals each entrepreneur shares their challenge and time is then spent as a group thinking of solutions, connections and experiences that could help move them forward. It’s not about getting the perfect answer - and many times the advice from some conflicts with advice from others. The important thing is that it’s a kick-start to moving forward because making the wrong decision is bad, but making no decision is worse. After almost a year of running monthly meals in London they wondered what scale could look like. As a result of the meals in London there were collaborations, solutions, new hires, friendships and even investment. They wanted to keep the quality and be most useful to the growing number of ‘others’. Businesses are instantly global and having a network in new
markets was a frequent challenge posed, so could 9others work in other cities? Now, almost four years later there have been meals with 9others in 35 cities around the world, including Belfast! The connections and help that have spread around the world have been incredible. Whether it’s Tia, the first Sydney host, moving to work in London and hitting the ground running with an office and relevant connections straight away, Chris going from Belfast to London to meet other entrepreneurs and investors, or connecting Seena to the most relevant customers and investors in San Francisco - the benefit of a strong, trusted and diverse network is incredible. Our mantra is that “Your success requires the aid of others” and it’s this proactive, helpful-to-others mindset that you need. If you turn up willing to help others you get to go to a good meal where nine other people are doing the same, which might just be the breakthrough you need. To get involved in a good meal with 9others visit: www.9others.com Follow 9others
@9others
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Destination BeauCo
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eauCo founder Sarah Leonard, 25, from Co.Down outlines her journey of BeauCo- the latest price comparison site for beauty products. With over 100,000 products and blossoming retailer relationships, BeauCo is set for success.
The beginnings of BeauCo The idea for BeauCo came around when I was studying for my second set of professional accountancy exams last summer. I had this overwhelming feeling that being an accountant wasn’t what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and the idea to create something beauty-led came about fairly naturally. I love beauty products; buying them, trying them, reading about them, and realised there was a gap in the market for a site that would help you find the item you wanted to buy for the best price. I pitched the idea to my parents and, slightly to my surprise; they thought it was a great idea. From that point on, building BeauCo was all I could think about. Creating a price comparison website I sat on the idea for a few months before I finally decided to take the plunge and find web designers to make my vision come to life. I met with Sugar
Rush Creative, based in Belfast, who immediately understood what I pictured for the site. I wanted something that was extremely simple and user friendly; hopefully that’s what I’ve achieved.
Debenhams have all signed up to the site, which is really exciting! A mailing list has also been set up recently which sends participants exclusive discount codes and product news.
Fast-forward to January of this year and BeauCo was effectively live but had a long way to go. I took the decision to leave my job at EY at the end of March, initially planning to find a job more relevant to the direction I wanted to go in with BeauCo, but the site took up so much of my time I ended up dedicating myself to it fully.
The future of BeauCo It’s still very early days for the site so there is a huge amount I have in mind going forward. I would love to continue signing up retailers and while it’s always important to cultivate new relationships with big brands, I’m also passionate about finding the stores that people may not be so familiar with.
Building retailer relationships 1st June 2015 was the official launch of BeauCo and it was met with huge support from friends, family and consumers alike. I already had a significant number of retailers on board but I knew that it would be important to become affiliated with stores that are instantly recognisable to customers. Superdrug was the first ‘big’ retailer that I secured, quickly followed by John Lewis and Boots.
It’s always nice hearing feedback when someone explains that they found their favourite product, via BeauCo, on an online store that they had never heard of.
Having these iconic retailers associated with my brand was a huge boost and gave me the confidence to approach some other large department stores. In the past number of weeks House of Fraser, Marks and Spencer and
I am hoping to introduce more consumers to the site, and also have men realise that it’s not just for girls! Pretty much anything you use, whether that is skincare, hair care, fragrance or makeup, can be found. Long term it would be great to add a feature that enables the user to toggle currency and introduce the world to BeauCo! Follow BeauCo
@beauco_
SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
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Flossie’s Handmade Fudge Sync NI chats to Debbie Leslie, owner of the scrumptious Flossie’s Fudge. The business was initially started by Debbie’s daughter Sophie at the age of 16, but passed onto Debbie two years ago when she went to university. All your products are made and packaged by hand; do you think this is a big contributor to Flossie’s success? The idea behind Flossie’s is to produce a wholesome confectionery product. We know the importance of eating fresh fruit and veg rather than highly processed foods, and we believe that fresh confectionery is a natural follow on from that. We only use fresh ingredients, and use real food, rather than flavourings or essences. Our customers appreciate the fact that they are consuming a high quality artisan product, and we have many returning customers who will only buy Flossie’s Fudge! Flossie’s Fudge was the first confectionary product in N.I. to receive a top 3-star rating at the Great Taste Awards for the lightly malted fudge. What an amazing achievement! Can you tell us about the process? Sophie created the Lightly Malted flavour, and it was a best seller right from the start. When I took over the business and began to get some business mentoring, it was suggested that I enter the Great Taste Awards. I couldn’t believe it when I got the call to say that we’d been awarded the top 3 star rating, and that we were, and still
are, the only confectionery product in NI to have been awarded 3 stars. The Great Taste Awards are completely blind tasted. The judges do not get to see the packaging, or know the name of the product. They decide the winners on taste alone. They taste approximately 10,000 foods every year, with about 3,000 winning 1, 2 or 3 stars, so it really is a fantastic achievement to win an award. What is the best thing about being based in Northern Ireland? We have the best dairy products in the world. One of the benefits of so much rain is the wonderful grass we produce and grass fed cows give the sweetest milk. I had a lovely phone call from a local farmer recently who had tasted the fudge for the first time. He said he was so pleased to know that the milk he produced went towards making such a wonderful product. Where would you like to see Flossie’s Fudge in the future? When I first started out, my ambition was to grow a business sending
fudge all over the world, but now my ambitions have changed. Flossie’s is an artisan product; I don’t want to lose the personal touch, or the enjoyment I get out of the long slow cooking time. Mass production would take away the uniqueness of the product, and I don’t want to add preservatives into the mixture to lengthen the shelf life. Any flavours you would recommend for a fist time buyer? Vanilla and Lightly Malted are the 2 best sellers, but my own personal favourite is Dark Chocolate and Orange which is made with Belgian chocolate and fresh orange zest. Finally, where can people get their hands on Flossie’s Fudge? I’m at different markets and food events every weekend, so the best way to see where I am is to follow me on Facebook. You can also order on-line at www.flossiesfudge.com and we have free postage throughout the UK. Visit online Flossie’s Fudge
flossiesfudge.com
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Knowledge Economy Second Fastest Growing in NI Steve Orr, Director NISP CONNECT, gives us an overview of the recently published Knowledge Economy Index.
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he Northern Ireland Science Park is a peer-driven network aiming to establish, in Northern Ireland, one of the most ambitious knowledge economies in the world. Our estate in Belfast and Derry/Londonderry comprises some 300,000 sq.ft of agile connected space with 160 companies and 2600 staff based across both campuses.
out of 18 key indicators either above or on target. The key findings include: > One in ten jobs is knowledge dependent with the sector making up 10% of total GVA > The NI Knowledge Economy is export led, with £17 of every £20 being earned from outside the six counties
The Science Park provides a focus and support for knowledge-based entrepreneurs, investors, business professionals and global corporations through our NISP CONNECT suite of programmes and successful HALO Business Angel Network. Our vision is for the transformation of NI’s economy into one of the most entrepreneurial Knowledge Economies across Europe by 2030. In order to measure our progress towards the realisation of this vision, we created the Knowledge Economy Index, identifying, in collaboration with our key stakeholders, the key indicators and targets. In September, the fourth annual Knowledge Economy Index (KEI) report was published. As the only one of its kind in the UK, the 2015 KEI, commissioned by NISP CONNECT and sponsored by Bank of Ireland UK, provides a barometer on the health of the Knowledge Economy in NI and our progress towards achieving our vision.
Michael Dooijes discusses the This year a range of new indicators were included – ‘Foutain of Youth’ andwages, how toand Knowledge Economy GVA, productivity, exports geographic spread of firms within the sector. This provided save years. a new perspective on the contribution and impact of the
Knowledge Economy to NI. For the first time we have the statistical evidence to support the view that focusing on a knowledge-based economy is critical to the future rebalancing of the wider economy. NI Knowledge Economy – 2015 Headlines The report confirmed the NI Knowledge Economy as the second fastest growing in the UK and shows that the Knowledge Economy grew quickly through the economically challenging times of 2008/9 and continues today, despite other economic worries. The KEI demonstrates that the Knowledge Economy is almost one third larger than in 2009 and is out-performing stretching targets in job creation, high value salaries, new business start-ups and exports with 11
> Knowledge workers have salaries 50% higher than average with the highest productivity of all our economic sectors > There were 410 Knowledge Economy start-ups created in the past year Re-Balancing the NI Economy All of this evidence underlines the importance of the Knowledge Economy to economic development as it is export intensive with higher levels of productivity. A larger Knowledge Economy will help to re-balance the NI economy towards higher productivity sectors that generate wealth from outside of NI and sustain highly paid jobs. In addition, the companies in this sector support local supply chains and for every job in the Knowledge Economy another job is created in the wider economy, thus increasing levels of economic activity resulting in a broader tax base and generating much needed revenue to fund public services. In recent times, emerging nations have been able to compete on cost but it is more difficult to compete on the basis of knowledge and this gives NI a comparative advantage.
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Challenges Although NI is the second fastest Knowledge Economy across the UK for the second year running, there are signs that our fast growth is showing signs of slowing, with some of the indicators not reaching their targets.
culture at scale’. This highlighted the need for a new call to purpose for Northern Ireland’s experienced business people to get involved in a new era of innovation volunteering, where time is given free to share hard-won experience with the next generation.
A successful and growing Knowledge Economy = IDEAS + CAPITAL + ECOSYSTEM
But we also need to inspire our next generation of young people to aspire to be entrepreneurs and have careers in the Knowledge Economy. This is where our Generation Innovation Network of Ambition is providing a vital bridge between education and the real world of the Knowledge Economy. This year, in collaboration with two successful entrepreneurs Tom O’Gorman and Jim Finnegan, we created the Generation Innovation Internship Prize. Six motivated entrepreneurial teenagers were awarded summer internships to work on their business ideas with an Entrepreneur in Residence from the Science Park. This culminated in a pitch of their developed idea with Jack Wallace winning a further £10,000 investment for his business Travellise. Alongside this programme, for the second year running, in partnership with CultureTech, we supported a further six entrepreneurial students to develop and produce a careers conference for young people which took place during the CultureTech conference. CREATE:2015 enabled young people to network, discuss their ideas, hear from and be inspired by those who have been successful in the sector both from NI and further afield.
To generate ideas we need smart people solving complex problems working at the forefront of discovery supported by technical people helping to develop new products and services, creating new commercial opportunities. This means securing at least 1,000 funded PhD places every year. The KEI showed that the number of PhD’s awarded has declined in the last 5 years and is half the number that we need. A lag in PhD talent will not only impact on the Knowledge Economy sector, but will reduce the opportunities for companies within local supply chains. Ecosystem of giving back At the NI Science Park we have a growing ecosystem supporting our ambitious entrepreneurs, start-ups and early stage companies. We are connecting NI’s most experienced to expedite NI’s most promising. This has been really successful but to achieve our ambitious vision we need to significantly increase the level of volunteering and collaboration. Earlier this year we launched our Innovation into Action project that asked the question ‘how do we change Northern Ireland’s business
Conclusion Acting First Minister and Minister for Finance and Personnel spoke at the launch of the KEI Report, saying: “While there is much to be encouraged about, it is also clear from the Report that the potential is there for the local Knowledge Economy to contribute much more and for Northern Ireland to climb the regional league table. I have every confidence that with continued effort and innovative thinking as well as continued support from government, we will see our knowledge economy grow.” At the Science Park we are optimistic about the competiveness of Northern Ireland and the positive impact of our growing Knowledge Economy, but we cannot afford to be complacent. If we do not increase investment in STEAM education, support more PhD’s and challenge businesses to step up and invest more in vital research and development, the gains of the past will slip away. The Knowledge Economy Index Report can be accessed at the below url. Visit online NISP
nispconnect.org
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
FEATURED ON
.COM
Exclusive Interview with Wia Founder S
ync NI had the pleasure of catching up with Conall Laverty, founder of Wia.io. Wia provides the cloud infrastructure which helps companies to scale quickly. Wia helps to remove complexity and reduces fixed costs. How did you come up with the idea for Wia? I used to develop things from trackers to baby monitors, and then realised all these had one thing in common; the infrastructure! I used to build the same infrastructure over and over, and then realised this could be a product in itself. Whether you are a maker or trying to develop the next great tech Kickstarter campaign you would be able to work of this infrastructure. It’s important for the system to be extremely fast and be in real time. The Internet of Things needs that level of activity to be useful – you don’t want to be informed your house is on fire 10 minutes too late. Wia enables this. Can you give us more detail on your new recent partners? Yes we recently secured Intel, the biggest chip maker in the world and Ubuntu, one of the most popular operating system vendors in the world. We are very excited to have them on board. Ubuntu has the OS, and Intel has the hardware we need. The little things are fallen into place. Big companies we’ve been in touch with seem to love Wia – so hopefully it’s a win win situation for our partners and us.
What will come from such partnerships? It’s great brand awareness for both parties and good for introductions to other IoT companies. Intel’s new Leixlip Campus in RoI is a massive office; it’s like a small village. Their London Smart City Lab has also been helpful for linking to potential customers.
Genius and ICONS Festival? September to November is crazy, but really exciting. Wia has only been about for 5 months so it’s amazing to be involved with the likes of Spark of Genius; especially because so many companies apply and now we’re the only company from up North in the last 15. So it’s great.
Did you pursue investment in the beginning? We took a different approach in the beginning to avoid investment. Some investors told us to go away, build the product and come back. Once we built the product and had it ready to launch we realised it was more valuable than just having an idea. Software goes well without investment so we didn’t need it at this stage.
We’re really busy between being involved with Mobile Monday, ICONS Festival on the 24th September, Culture Tech, and the Web Summit. The Web Summit will be big fuel for us; we will be there for the 3 days and exhibiting as part of the ALPHA program.
Close collaborations have helped Wia along the way. That type of community and bootstrapping goes a long way. Not many start-ups have this support and I wish they did. It’s good to encourage sole traders I’m from Dungannon where companies such as Moy Park and Westland Horticulture started with a core product and now they’re the biggest businesses in Northern Ireland. How do you feel about being shortlisted for Web Summit’s Spark of
How did you initial apply these programmes? We got recommended to apply for ICONS Festival, and just took the plunge with Spark of Genius. We normally avoid accelerator programmes – for example we were offered a place on a London accelerator programme but it wasn’t right for us at the time. ICONS and Spark of Genius where more appealing to us! By the sounds of it you’re a busy guy with Wia, Woogie etc. “If I get another ‘W’ in there that’ll be the whole World Wide Web.” Follow Visit online Dog Wia Ears
wia.io @CheersDogEars
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Event Spotlight
Upcoming Events
Northern Ireland Enterprise Awards 2015
Web Summit
// 26th Nov 7.00pm, Hilton Hotel, Belfast
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ookings are now open for the 2015 Northern Ireland Enterprise Awards and Dinner, to be held on Thursday 26th November 2015 at the Hilton Hotel Belfast. The Northern Ireland Enterprise Awards will showcase the Northern Ireland small business community and the work of the local enterprise agency network. The event will commence with a drinks reception at 7.00pm followed
Belfast Media Festival WHEN 5th & 6th Nov 2015 WHERE The MAC, Belfast TWITTER @BelfastMedFest
Women in Business
Awards 2015
by a three course dinner and the awards ceremony.
Visit online Enterprise NI
enterpriseni.com
// 5th Nov 9.00am - 4.30pm, Stormont Hotel, Belfast
eoDATA’s series of FREE*, international, one-day events offers an intuitive seminar programme, trade exhibition and demonstrations featuring the latest geospatial products and services in the industry. Accomplished practitioners as well as those new to the world of geographic information will find this event an invaluable experience to
WHEN 19th Nov 2015 WHERE Culloden Estate & Spa, Belfast TWITTER @wibni
GeoDATA 2015 Belfast
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WHEN 3rd-5th Nov 2015 WHERE RDS Main Hall, Ballsbridge, Dublin TWITTER @WebSummitHQ
Promote your event to NI’s tech & business community By featuring on Sync NI’s website & magazine your event will reach 1000’s of readers & active users. Email info@syncni.com today to find more...
learn, share and innovate. High level speakers, current topics and a focus on education has earned GeoDATA’s place as a must-attend event in the industry calendar.
Visit online GeoDATA
geoaware.info
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SYNCNI MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2015
Logging Off... There are a variety of accelerator programmes available to the start-up industry here in Northern Ireland and it’s great to know that businesses here have the opportunity to tap into investment and support to help them blossom. Sync NI’s Autumn edition alone highlights the range of options for start-ups, from the prestigious PwC ‘Ignite’ programme, to the likes of the ICONS Festival pitch off. We are delighted to work alongside the first year of PwC’s ‘Ignite’ Programme, so be sure to check in with Sync NI for the latest updates on the participating local technology companies; Flowlens, Datactics, Ardbrin, Displaynote. With the help of their PwC mentor, the aim will be to create and implement an action plan to accelerate each company’s growth. It was great to catch up with Bill Liao, founder of new accelerator programme; StartPlanet NI. Liao assures us that StartPlanet NI takes a different approach to traditional accelerator programmes, and that the three month time frame will inspire fast pace productivity and encourage participants to bounce ideas around the room.
our BeauCo feature. It was inspiring to catch up with Sarah and hear her story of packing in the day job and accountant training to pursue her passion and idea. Considering the existing comparison sites in travel and insurance, it’s seems like a simple but ingenious idea for a beauty comparison site to come to light. We look forward to witnessing the growth of BeauCo as well as hoping to grab some deals, especially come Christmas time.
Flossies fudge was a tasteful feature to the autumn magazine. In addition to being an award winning product, they are a great example of how a business can execute the use of their online presence on Facebook to let consumers know of Startups can also benefit from their whereabouts at different markets technology/ digital events. Take for and events. We’re going to take Debbie’s example the likes of ICONS Festival or the recommendations and get our hands on Dublin Web Summit in November; both the vanilla fudge… yum yum. offer pitch opportunities. We recently caught up with Wia.io founder Conall Thank you for reading and Laverty, who found himself shortlisted check out for both pitches. Wia.io only launched at the beginning of 2015, so naturally this is www.syncni.com for a daily roundup of the latest an exciting adventure for the company. Sync NI has always been an advocate of showcasing the start-up industry within Northern Ireland. Take for example
happenings in the Northern Irish Tech & Business community.
Follow Sync NI
@syncni Join the conversation! Tweet @syncni with your tech & business news and you could feature on the Sync NI website! #syncni
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