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NEW ENTREPRENEURS
Offtheblocks
Thefollowingarejustsomeoftherecentstart-upsbyUCDBusinessSchoolalumni
Japan IrelandTravel
www.japanirelandtravel.ie
JapanIrelandTravelspecialisesintraveltoandfrombothJapanandIreland,coveringindepend-
ent, escorted small group, tailor-made and corporate tours. The company was set up in 2003 by
DarinaSlattery(MBS03),whohadspentanumberofyearsstudyingJapaneseandsawanichein
themarketwhenshefirstvisitedJapanin1998.
AccordingtoSlattery,shespentyearstryingtofindajobthatrelatedtothetwocountries.“Iwas
determined not to waste the years spent studying the language and figuring out the extremely
interesting, yet sometimes frustrating, culture,” she explains. “So after a lot of research, some of it
completedduringmyMBSstudies,Idecidedtocreatemyownfuture!”
Despite the downturn in the travel industry, Slattery says the company is growing steadily. She
employsfourpeopleinherDublinoffice,threeofwhomareJapanese,andpartnerswithanumber
ofcontractworkersinbothJapanandIrelandtocreateready-madeholidays.
www.ariawealth.ie
AriaWealth & Investment
AriaWealth&Investmentwassetupin2007toprovidecomprehensivewealthmanagementservices
for mid- and high-net-worth clients, including strategic wealth management planning, portfolio
reviews, investments, pensions, protection (such as income protection and corporate co-directors
insurance),financing,taxationandsuccessionplanning.
ThecompanywasfoundedbyJohnLeahy(BComm91,MAcc92)andKieranConlon(BComm93,
MAcc94),bothpreviouslyseniorexecutiveswithDCCplc,whosaytheysawagapinthemarket.
Because Aria sources investment opportunities and financial products globally, Leahy and Conlon
saytheycanprovideopportunitiesforclientstodiversifytheirportfolios.Thecompany’sbusinessphil-
osophy is that clients come first, an ethos that is carefully instilled in new staff members. For the
future,theyplantogrowthebusinesssubstantiallywhilenotstrayingfromAria’sbusinessphilosophy
andclient-centeredfocus.
Cmypitch
www.cmypitch.ie
Cmypitch provides a range of services designed to save small business owners time and money,
including quotes from suppliers; a funding platform to match entrepreneurs and investors; price
comparisons; cashback services on business purchasing; special offers; and video-based advice and
inspiration from entrepreneurs. The company works with partners such as Bank of Scotland
(Ireland),Microsoft,Deloitte,theBritishLibrary,aswellasentrepreneursocietiesattopuniversities.
The company was set up by Emmet Kilduff (BBLS 99), who had spent nine years working as an
investmentbankerinLondon,andidentifiedaneedforonlineinformationwhenhewasfirstthink-
ingaboutgoingoutonhisown.WhileCmypitch.com,whichwentliveinJune2008,providesonline
servicesforUKentrepreneursandSMEs,thecompanyalsolaunchedafundingsitetomatchentre-
preneurswithinvestorsinIrelandinJune2009.
Thecompanyisnowlookingforlicenseesoverseastouseitsfundingplatformtechnology.
www.daanauctions.com
Daan Auctions
Setupearlierthisyear,DaanAuctions(Ireland)providesanonlineauctionfacilitytoefficientlymanage
and generate maximum gains from the sale of assets arising from overstock and liquidations.
Netherlands-basedDaanAuctionsisthemarketleaderintheBeneluxcountries,withover70,000active
members on its global client database, and has been in business since 2003. The Irish operation was
establishedbyDavidCrinion(MBA08),whohasanexclusiveagreementwithDaan.
TodateinEurope,DaanAuctionshassuccessfullysoldover285,000lots,with3,500lotstypicallyfor
auctioninanygivenday.InIreland,thecompanyworkswithsellerstodeveloptailoredpackagestosup-
portthefullfinancialsettlementofallthecompanyassets.Eachauctionislistedinthecompany’sweekly
newsletter, which is circulated to more than 40,000 active members, while online marketing campaigns
drawtraffictothewebsiteforeachauction,ensuringrelevantbuyersaretargeted.
UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS 29
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