Early-stage entrepreneurs lacking support

Entrepreneurs in the earliest stages of business across Ireland are in need of better mentoring services, improved access to funding and increased support from large corporates in order to scale-up their operations successfully.

That’s according to a new survey conducted by Amarach Research on behalf of Startup Ireland, the nation’s mentoring and lobby group for fledgling entrepreneurs.

The number of start-up businesses in operation for one to three years has grown to 42 per cent in recent times, indicating that more are surviving and will be seeking to move into the next stage of growth by the turn of the year.

However, this latest survey highlights a raft of obstacles currently blocking their scaling ability. More than four-in-five (81 per cent) of early-stage SMEs surveyed said business support is difficult to access, while a further 79 per cent admitted access to funding and a suitable talent pool was difficult to find.

These are issues endemic across the UK too, with recent research finding that just one per cent of UK start-ups scale to achieve revenues of more than £1m six years after formation.

Eoin Costello, chief executive, Startup Ireland, said: “Our survey highlights the fact that co-ordinated action, across the private and public sector, is needed to enable Ireland’s start-up sector to deliver to its full potential.”

Colm Lyon, a leading Irish entrepreneur, believes more needs to be done to secure a framework that works for a growing start-up generation.

“More people are engaging in setting up businesses of their own and it is imperative that we have the best start-up ecosystem in place to support these entrepreneurs,” said Lyon.

“However, most respondents to the survey believe we are not performing to our full potential. To build jobs, enterprise and well-being we need more businesses.

“The early stage of a business is its most crucial and we must focus our attention on ensuring that no stone is left unturned with respect to the support we can provide to early stage businesses.

“In doing so, we accelerate the development of the business so it can adapt faster, learn more and increase its chances of success.”

Mr Costello also added that with the right levels of support, both emotionally and financially, there is tremendous opportunity for start-up success across Ireland.

“If Ireland can get the fundamentals right at the beginning of the journey for start-ups, then there is the potential for larger numbers of start-ups to be able to start, scale and succeed from Ireland,” said Costello.

“Based on this representative sample [over 400 entrepreneurs], there appears to be insufficient awareness amongst entrepreneurs of what supports are available, not enough accessible supports for scaling and entrepreneurs perceive that the start-up sector in Ireland is not cohesive and aligned.”

Date published 15 Dec 2015 | Last updated 15 Dec 2015