Written By Jim Joyce
13 years ago I moved from the US to Ireland and not too soon after arriving in Dublin, I left my safe job in the pharmaceutical industry to begin my career as an Irish entrepreneur.
With a few successes and a few stumbles under my belt, here are my top ten reasons why launching your global start-up in Ireland makes sense.
Top Ten Reasons to Launch your Global Start-up in Ireland
- Ireland is a small market that is open culturally. You can access key decision makers and influencers early in your company development.
- Enterprise Ireland will look to match your first €250,000 in funding if you become a qualified HPSU (High Potential Start Up).
- Any Irish Investor will be able to write off up to 40% of their investment in your start up against their income tax.
- Irish are dreamers and aspirational at their core and have a really good sense of humour. They won’t let you take yourself too seriously, which is a great stress relief.
- The market is small, so you will be forced to go international.
- The Irish have lots of American cousins and the Irish brand is familiar and welcome in the US. The connections to help export your product to the US are solid.
- Irish won’t tend to say “no”, they may run when they see you and shake their head as you leave, but you won’t get many direct “no’s”. New ideas need oxygen and a bit of delusion in their early days.
- Competition is a little lighter in a few niches so you have more time and space to get the product right.
- Ryanair has cheap flights to Europe and Aer Lingus has direct flights to USA.
- When you get traction the Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) may personally get involved in getting the word out about your company, and will certainly be in your corner.
Disclaimer: These opinions are my own and I reserve the right to change them and/or keep them. They are purposefully and provocatively positive in their nature.