IADT Student Entrepreneurs 2012

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STUDENT

ENTREPRENEURS

Charm App

Audio Garage

2012

IADT

Compiled, edited and published by Paul Downes

For the IADT Enterprise Society

E-Mail [email protected]

Curtain Lens ProductionsCurtain Lens ProductionsCurtain Lens Productions



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“The mission of the Enterprise Society is to highlight and foster the entrepreneurial talent that exists at

iadt, to forge links with external bodies that will provide networking and support opportunies for indi-

viduals in their future endeavours and

create an open learning environment for members to develop their strengths”

Hello and welcome to the rst

annual “IADT Student Entre-

preneurs” publication. My

name is Paul Downes and I am

a second year student here at

iadt, studying business and entrepreneurship

and co-founder of the Enterprise Society.

Last year I was asked to help organise the

“Dragons at IADT” competition for student

entrepreneurs, and it was while working of

this that I discovered the wealth of talent and

innovation present on our campus. It was in-

spiring! Here were students working away on

their business ideas, developing their products

and creating their own employment.

In these pages you will nd a selection of

young entrepreneurs, running their own com-

panies ranging from fashion design to

“augmented reality apps”, from “walking

tours” to “cloud computing”, and all the

while , choosing to study here at IADT.

I would like to give special thanks to Conor

Heagney, Therese Moylan and Michael Mur-

phy for all of their help and support in putting

this publication together, to Ruth O’ Hagan

for her help with the design and , of course ,to

all of the entrepreneurs who took the time out

of their busy schedules to send me a submis-

sion.

If you would like to have your business featured in next years publication, or if you know somebody who

would, if you want to nd out more about the entrepreneurs featured here or about the Enterprise Society,

or, if you simply want to comment, please don’t hesitate to contact me. My email address is:

[email protected].



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W elcome to this exclusive ‘peek’ at the stu-

dent entrepreneurial talent in IADT. The

passion, ingenuity and resilience of our stu-

dent entrepreneurs never cease to amaze!

The featured entrepreneurs span a fascinat-

ing range of business areas from Japanese

fashion to plumbing and from grati tours

to cloud based collaborative tools. There

are also many more non-featured student

entrepreneurs working away in IADT.

Please contact me if you would like more

information about these students. It is a

privilege, as a lecturer, to get the oppor-

tunity to work with such talented people.

On behalf of the entrepreneurial teaching

team, may I wish all our student entrepre-

neurs much success with all their enterpris-

es.

Congratulations to Paul Downes and all in

the Student Enterprise Society for produc-ing such an impressive publication. Conor Heagney

Entrepreneurship Programme

Co-ordinator

Email: [email protected] Phone: 353 1 2394 753.

mailto:[email protected]





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Urban

Productions is a Dublin based events partnership

set up by myself, Aoife Dick and friend turned

business partner, Molly Gordon. We are both in

third year of Business Studies & Arts Management

in IADT and are currently taking on this business

venture as part of work placement with the hope of

continuing throughout the summer season and the

following years.

Our rst project of 2012 will be Dublin's rst grati

tour and workshop. In a city renowned for its di-

versity in culture, history, music and art, we will be

bringing you a cultural experience not to be forgot-

ten. Participants will play follow the leader with

some of Dublin's most infamous grati artists in

this city’s undiscovered hub for street art, Temple

Bar. They will walk along the hectic streets and

calmer alleyways looking at murals, shop-fronts

and tags on the way to the workshop venue for alive demonstration of the skill that goes into this

art form. Participants will then get the opportunity

to get creative and try street art out for themselves.

It will take place every weekend, commencing in

March 2012

The idea for this project came from a class project

in second year when our brief was to put on a visu-

al arts event. Molly came up with the idea of a

grati walking tour and over the next few months

ourselves and nine of our classmates shaped the

tour into what it became through a lot of hard

work and organisation. We got a lot of positive

feedback and interest from this rst tour with e-

mails coming in everyday asking 'when's the nexttour?'. We had articles written about the event in

various newspapers including the Sunday Times,

features on various radio stations including

Newstalk and Phantom as well as interest from

RTE to lm a tour as part of a their programme

'Ultimate Street Challenge'. With this, we had the

condence to expand this one-o event into a start

-up business and we haven't looked back since.

Website: http://www.urbanproductions.ie/,

Facebook: /UrbanDublin

Twitter: @UrbanDublin

E-mail: [email protected]/ [email protected]

Irish Times Article

https://owa.iadt.ie/owa/redir.aspx?C=6ab251f8931945ab8a2f7df856165c07&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.urbanproductions.ie%2f


https://owa.iadt.ie/owa/redir.aspx?C=6ab251f8931945ab8a2f7df856165c07&URL=http%3a%2f%2faoife%40urbanproductions.ie%2f


https://owa.iadt.ie/owa/redir.aspx?C=6ab251f8931945ab8a2f7df856165c07&URL=mailto%3amolly%40urbanproductions.ie







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M y name is Julie I'm 21 years old, originally from Po-

land, and living in Ireland since I was 15. For the

past 5 years I have been interested in all things Japa-

nese, such as their street fashion, culture and lan-

guage. During this time it became clear to me that

elements of this culture could be considered to be

interesting to Irish and European teenagers and in

fact there was an underground within this group who

do in fact manufacture their own look to this culture .

This is what has led me to founding company “Julie

loves Japan” , which takes fashion items available on

the Irish and European Market and adapts this to t

into this culture.

One of the reasons I chose my course at iadt was to

gain the expertise to run my own company and pro-

vide myself with the ability to make a living from

something I'm passionate about.

My plans for the future are to develop my current

business model into a well known brand and take

this brand into new areas such as fashion design,

high street retailing and importing and reselling Japa-

nese and Asian fashion,

Website: http:/www.julielovesjapan.com/

http://julielovesjapan.com/





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Having recently turned 50 and following the

downturn in the Irish economy, I decided to return

to full-time education to study Business and Entre-

preneurship at IADT.

With a background in administration, interior de-

sign, humanitarian aid and more recently, style and

personal development with my small business

www.lizhickeystyle.ie, I have lots of experience to

bring to any new endeavour. It is my intention is

to launch a new non-prot organisation during

year 3 of my college course and I see this as being

my future career. For more than ve years I have been developing the

style ethos that is Liz Hickey Style. The styling is

kind, professional, inclusive and inspirational. It is

also timeless, yet of the moment too. Each service

can be lifechanging. You can use just one of the

style services, or dip in and out over time, learning

about you and your style and growing in style con-

dence. Liz Hickey Style empowers women and

some men to full their style potential and to go on

to live joyful lives.

Liz Hickey

Website:

www.lizhickeystyle.ie

http://www.lizhickeystyle.ie/








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I am currently studying Business & Entrepre-

neurship in 2nd year. Since an early age I have

been interested in all things business and entre-

preneurship, this made IADT the ideal college toattend. As well as having a keen interest in busi-

ness I am also in the process of starting my own

business. IADT have been exceptionally support-

ive of this and making use of their wide array of

support service and networks has been extreme-

ly benecial.

My Business

The business I am currently working on is

Docu.ie. Docu.ie is a cloud based suite of collab-

orative tools which allows small and medium

sized businesses to increase productivity while

reducing costs. The business has evolved from

an idea I pitched to the dragons from RTE’s

Dragon’s Den while they made a special appear-

ance at IADT.

David Earley David Earley David Earley



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I started my rst business when I was 14. When I was 18 I rst became a director of a limited compa-

ny, and today I run my own consultancy business,

Smith and Wise ( www.smithandwise.com) where I

work with over 50 companies developing online

marketing and ICT strategies as well as developing

and launching websites. In my business, I deal with

over a dozen suppliers, and work with companies

including Sole Traders, SME’s and even a company

which I recently assisted in expanding into the UK

using new technology.

I have never seen education as being my primary

learning method for new skills, always favouring

hands on experience, but thankfully, my teachers in

secondary school always felt this was important,

and encouraged me to try new things. From debat-

ing to Model United Nations to being a winner of

the Young Social Innovator for a media project with

friends, I always excelled through self motivation

and extra-curricular activities, rather than always

participating in class.

Besides from all the fun, “afterhours” activities of

college like going out, being in societies, making

new friends who will always be up to something,

IADT has provided me with a brilliant platform for

learning new skills and meeting like minded indi-

viduals. What I really like about IADT is that it

combines learning with experience, with interesting

and challenging projects, work experience and lec-

turers generally having an appreciation for your in-

terests and try to tailor assignments to suit tasks

which can help your business.

When I graduate from IADT I hope to either keep

developing my business or merge with a large con-

sultancy rm – either way, IADT has helped me to

develop enterprise skills, which I know will help me

with whatever business

can throw at me. I’m

open to any great

oers!

Byron Smith

http://www.smithandwise.com/





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I am a nal year Business and Arts Manage-

ment student in IADT, I have a passion for visu-

al arts and in my spare time, I study art history,

attend exhibitions, arts events and seminars to

broaden my knowledge and feed my appetite for

the arts. I have wanted to work in the visual arts

eld since the age of 10. I believe that in this day

and age, the arts are more important than ever.

Visual art is a form of escapism, can help re-

animate people’s imaginations and helps people

to view life in a dierent way.

Re-Curate POP-UP Gallery

In 2012, I was the Project Manager for Re-Curate

POP-UP Gallery in Bray. I organised and ran this

gallery myself during two months. This event

was part of my nal year case study entitled

“The phenomenon of POP-UP Galleries in Ire-

land” This case study is an analyses of various

POP-UP Galleries in Ireland and how these

function. POP-UP Galleries are a growing phe-

nomenon and they provide an alternative plat-

form of displaying and promoting the arts.

It is an innovative and exciting way of rejuvenat-

ing dead commercial space.

Previous Experience

I have volunteered with events such as The Fes-

tival of World Culture Dun Laoghaire, The Ab-

solute Fringe Festival and iad-T in the park. I

have worked with organisations such as axis arts

centre Ballymun, The Design Corner Dun

Laoghaire and Carysfort Gallery. I am currently

taking part in the Mermaid Arts Centre Mentor-

ship Scheme that will begin in March 2012 and

end November 2013. I will be trained in each ar-

ea of the Mermaid arts centre

and will work on various projects during this time. There

were four places available for

this opportunity and I was

picked because of my interest

and hard work in the arts

over the last four years.

Bray People Article



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I was born in Dublin in 1989 and grew up in a

place called Shankill. I attended St.Kilians School

in Clonskeagh since the age of 5 at kindergarten

level and continued all the way through to the

leaving cert. I learnt many things attending that

school, most of which were not on the curricu-

lum. It was a very international school so I grew

up around many dierently cultured people.

When I was in transition year I began to work for

a band as a sound engineer. Since then I have

toured all over the world visiting places I never

thought I'd be.

In 2010 after a gig I had done sound for @ The

Academy, I was asked if I would be interested in

working with Litton Lane Audio - Ireland's,

Largest audio company. I took the oer. Recently

I have worked with bands such as Bryan Adams,

Queens Of The Stone Age, Brandon Flowers, Cal-

vin Harris, 2 Door Cinema Club, The ChemicalBrothers, Arcade Fire to name but a few. I

worked on the main Stage at Electric Picnic this

year and also at Oxygen.

As I was working @ Litton Lane I noticed that

there was quite a substantial amount of audio

gear that never seemed to leave the warehouse. I

thought to myself I'd love to be able to sell that

gear. The gear is worth a lot of money so I

thought even if I could get a small % commission

on what I sold; I would do very well as some of

the gear in excess of 50,000.

So I set up a meeting with the owner, told him

my plan/idea, agreed terms and set up a company

called

"Audio Garage". I am still selling gear forhim today along with some of the other leading

audio companies in Ireland.

Contact details for Audio Garage: [email protected]

00 353 877572259

Zach Duton



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I'm currently a rst year Enterprise student "soft-

launching" my product, http://charmapp.com in

early March.

So Charm is magic, basically. Its magic for anyone

in print advertising because it allows them to

make their campaigns really interactive really

quickly. Currently its this ridiculously expensive

and long process of design, development and de-

ployment.

The customer simply holds their phone over the

poster/sign/billboard/magazine/etc. and interac-

tive content is overlaid on the real world. Its hard

to explain in writing so here’s a picture;

.

Carina is the environment in which one develops

a campaign.

We're launching in March alongside our rst cus-

tomer, McDonalds who are using our engine to

power a nationwide US campaign, a huge deal for

a company of three lads in their early 20's who

haven't been funded yet!

That's just a quick run-down, if you've any inter-

est in Charm, please contact me.

Enda Crowley

Enda Crowley @endac

Ph. +353 (86) 822-9436

http://endacrowley.ie

https://owa.iadt.ie/owa/redir.aspx?C=a1f198e13c6848d4b40404a36b91398f&URL=http%3a%2f%2fendacrowley.ie





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M y name is Jessica Irwin and I am in my nal year

of studying business studies and Arts Management

and I am setting up a lm and theatre company

called Curtain Lens Productions. I have written a

play called in a Land of Oz which is about a 16 year

old girl called Dorothy who has Autism and I want

to put on this production next year after I come

back from the States in October.

I have previous experience of working as a Produc-

tion Assistant for Mirari Productions for ‘When

Irish Hearts Are Praying’ for ABSOLUT fringe fes-

tival 2011, I also worked as production Assistant for

B* Spoke theatre company on ‘Benefactors’ in 2009

and I have studied Drama theory and acting at

Ann Kavanaghs ‘Young People’s Theatre’ for 11

years and I was chairperson of the IADT Drama

society from Sept 2008 until May 2010.

The type of lm and Theatre productions that I

want to create are experimental Theatre and lm

and sometimes combing the two art forms togeth-

er as well.

I hope to create productions that invite the audi-

ence to interact with a live performance and/or

receive some intangible value that gives them a

dierent aspect about society or the way people

live in the World.

When I get back from the US, the plan is to start

applying for grants to get this show up and run-

ning. The venues I had in mind would be either

the Samuel Beckett Theatre or the Project Arts

Centre for the stage production and I also want to

do a lm production of the story I have written

and then send it to lm festivals in Ireland. Please

nd my details below.

Contact: Jessica Irwin

Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

Mobile: 087786018

Curtain Lens ProductionsCurtain Lens ProductionsCurtain Lens Productions

Jessica Irwin









I rst discovered my interest in entrepreneurship

when I was 16 years old while I was on my transi-

tion year at school. Given all the free time that

transition year aorded me, I found myself sitting

around doing absolutely nothing with my time

which started to wear thin very quickly. Luckily my

father has always had an interest in steering me in

the right direction and so he encouraged me to

read the bestselling book, Rich Dad Poor Dad.

Reading this book blew my mind as it opened up a

Fort Knox sized vault of hidden opportunities and

as I was at such an impressionable age I instantly

became obsessed with reading everything related to

business, from Drucker to Godin I have nearly read

them all.

In 2009 I started what I would call my rst success-

ful business. The company was called The Dublin

Plumber and it consisted in its entirety of one very

basic but very eective website that was ranked at

the top of Google searches in Ireland for nearly all

terms related to plumbing. Customers who had had

the misfortune of a leaky tap or the like would nd

my site 1st at the top of a Google search and would

ring through to me on my mobile which I made sure

to answer at all times. Once I had the customer's

details I would send a text message on to one of sev-

eral plumbers that I had working for me around the

city and once they had completed the job I would take payment from the customer over the phone or

in cash. I ran this

business for about

six months and am

currently working

on several projects.

I am a huge fan of sports like surng, skiing, street

biking and the odd game of football. I have also

recently joined the Dublin Gospel Choir who are

expected to perform at this year’s Electric Picnic

festival which I am really looking forward to. My

last interest is in philosophy which has led me tothe practise of meditation, I nd it is an unparal-

leled way to improve cognitive function and reduce

stress. There are plenty of scientic studies al-

so which back up my beliefs so I would highly rec-

ommend it for anyone who is interested to check it

out.

TheDublinPlumber.com

Garry Fitzpatrick



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Ever imagined college as a

friendly, dynamic and vibrant environment?

Thinking about running your own business?

What if you could run a real business during your degree?

Well guess what.....

IADT has it all and much more!

Oering an excellent array of courses whichconsist of

Small class sizes

Regular feedback

Innovative assessments

Up to 80% Continuous Assessments

So why not consider the followingcourses?

Bachelor of Business (hons) in Entrepreneurship & Management

(DL 245 – CAO Level 8)

Bachelor of Business in Enterprise

(DL 231 – CAO Level 7)

For more information check out:

“http://www.iadt.ie/en/ProspectiveStudents/SchoolsCourses/SchoolofBusinessHumanities/”

or Contact Conor Heagney @ 01-239 4753 or Catherine Rossiter @ 01-239 4987

http://www.iadt.ie/en/ProspectiveStudents/SchoolsCourses/SchoolofBusinessHumanities/





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Iadt rst year Students stalls project

Iadt Entrepreneurship Students trip to China

IADT Football team . Robert Eustace Cup Champions 2012

Lectures in the Sun-

March 2012



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The School’s goal is to be a recognised centre of

excellence for Business and Humanies educaon.

We are achieving this through unique interdiscipli-

nary programmes that focus on the knowledge,

media and entertainment sectors. The School oers programmes at Level 5, 7, 8 and 9

(undergraduate and postgraduate). Our business

programmes cover all aspects of business, specialis-

ing in enterprise and entrepreneurship. We also

oer a unique degree in Arts Management. Empha-

sis is placed on the acquision of praccal business

skills and competencies, including crical thinking

for entrepreneurs. Our BA (Hons) in English, Media

and Cultural studies is an excing degree with mod-

ules in cultural theory, globalisaon, media studies

and English literature. Since the School was established in 1998, excel-

lence is at the heart of everything we do. We invite

guest lecturers from business, the arts, culture and

media sectors; we have established close links with

local, naonal and internaonal business and the

cultural industries, as well as the public sector; and

sta have an extensive employment and research

prole, which complements teaching pracce andthe delivery of our programmes.

Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design & Technology Kill Avenue Dun Laoghaire Co. Dublin Ireland Telephone: + 353 1 239 4000

Facsimile: + 353 1 239 4700 Email: [email protected]

School of Business and HumanitiesSchool of Business and Humanities

IADT

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IADT Student Entrepreneurs 2012