07 November 2016

From November 4th to 6th, 45 young entrepreneurs, shortlisted from almost 200 applicants, came together for an intensive business boot camp, in association with the LEOs, held at The Maryborough Hotel & Spa.

 

The boot camp was designed to help participants to develop the skills required to take their entrepreneurial ideas and businesses to the next level. From the concept stage to reality, and building a viable business plan to commercialising their business, the boot camp covered areas including business strategy, financial planning and sources of finance, targets and performance measurement as well as investor proposals.

 

This is the third year of the IBYE competition, and it saw the highest number of applications to date nationwide with 1,842 applications. This year the age limit was raised, and IBYE was open to anyone aged between 18 and 35 with an innovative and original idea or concept for a product or service that is either at start up or early development stage.

 

The Local Enterprise Offices Cork – LEO Cork City, LEO South Cork and LEO Cork North and West are each looking for the best entrepreneurs who “Stand Out” in the one of three categories. The ‘Best New Idea’ category has a top prize of €7,000 and a runner up prize of €3,000; while ‘Best Start Up Business’ (up to 36 months) and ‘Best Established Business’ categories each have €15,000 in prize money for winners and €5,000 each for the runners up, from each of the three LEOs.

 

Each of the young entrepreneurs who attended the boot camp will present their business plan and pitch to a judging panel in their region in the coming weeks to vie for a share of the investment fund available from their respective LEO, according to criteria including businesses’ investment needs and business prospects.

 

The county-based stage of the competition will culminate with the naming of the nine ‘Best Young Entrepreneurs’ in Cork (three per LEO) at the county final which will be held in Vertigo at Cork County Hall on December 1st. The 2016 winners in each of the three categories will then go forward to represent their respective LEO in a regional final in February 2017, and if successful there, will fly the Cork flag at the national final to find ‘Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur’ before the end of the year.

 

The €50,000 investment fund from each LEO is just one of the ways in which they help to nurture and support young people to realise their dream of owning and developing their own business. In last year’s national final Cork produced the overall winner of IBYE in James Foody, founder of Ayda, who won a further €50,000 investment in his business.

 

Speaking at the boot camp, Adrienne Rodgers, Head of Enterprise, Local Enterprise Office Cork City said “We are delighted with the response we received for the 2016 search for Cork’s best young entrepreneurs – our largest entry to date. The competition has grown in popularity since its inception in 2014, a reflection of the entrepreneurial talent that is out there among those aged 18 to 35 all around our region who we need to nurture and support. The aim of IBYE is to encourage and support a culture of entrepreneurship among young people in Cork and indeed nationwide, to promote entrepreneurship as a career choice, and to encourage the establishment and development of new innovative businesses.”

 

Adrienne continued “We commend the brave young men and women have decided to take that next step to make their business a success. The business boot camp offers the shortlisted applicants the opportunity to hone in on their business idea, and focus on what is necessary to make them successful. Following the boot camp, one-to-one mentoring and business coaching will also be available through us. At the Local Enterprise Offices in Cork, we are proud to be associated with an initiative that will really help them stand out from the crowd.”

 

The growing popularity of IBYE resulted in the launch of Cork's Young Entrepreneurs Network earlier this year by the Local Enterprise Offices in Cork. The network gives young entrepreneurs the opportunity to share resources, and collaborate and connect with one another through regular events. The next event is set to take place at The White Horse, Ballincollig on Monday, November 14th November from 6.30 to 8.30pm, and young entrepreneurs from Cork are invited to register at www.localenterprise.ie/CorkCity.  

 

Visit www.ibye.ie for more information on ‘Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur’. To follow the progress of Cork’s young entrepreneurs, check out @IBYECork on Twitter and IBYE Cork on Facebook.