FLÚIRSE, Monavalley Business Park,
OUTSTANDING SMALL BUSINESS
Tralee, Co Kerry. Tel: 066 7129828.
www.fluirse.com
The power
of e-learning
Flúirsehasexhibitedyear-on-year
growthinthee-learningsphere,andis
continuallycomingupwithinventive
waysofhelpingpeopleimprovetheir
languageproficiencies
‘In a recession, the
fundamentals of going back
to basics, investing in your
staff and making sure your
management accounts are up
to date are very important’
Kristian O’Donovan
A
N idea that formed in the mind of a University aimed at three to seven year olds, which teaches them O’Donovan says it’s very importantthat Flúirse contin-
of Limerick (UL) student in 2005 has become through Irish in a fun and interesting way. uestolooktonewmarkets.“Whatwe’venoticedisthatin
a highly successful e-learning company, mak- In 2007, Flúirse won a national tender from Foras na the current economic environment we’re holding our
ing inroads into the education sector in Gaeilgetodevelopasuiteofinteractiveproductsforalllev- owninIreland,butifwewanttocontinuetoholdourown
Ireland and abroad. elsofprimary-schoolclasses.Ithassolditsinteractivetitles and to expand, we have to export. For a company to grow
KristianO’Donovancameupwiththeconcepttoproduce to hundreds of schools around Ireland. and keep growing in these times, it must diversify.”
curriculum-aligned,interactivesoftwareproductsforthe DespitetheconnectionwithForasnaGaeilge, anditsfirst O’Donovan is quite optimistic about Flúirse’s exporting
educationmarketwhenhewasinthefinalyearofhislan- productbeinganIrish-languageone,O’Donovanisquick potential, and with good reason. The partners were
guages and computing degree at UL. toclearupthecommonmisconception thatFlúirsefocus- invited to talk to the Minister for Education in Saudi Ara-
From there, the idea began to grow quickly and — es solely on Irish-language software. The aim of the busi- bia recently about distributing their products there.
before long — O’Donovan found himself tendering for a ness is to provide interactive media and software Flúirse continues its growth in Ireland also, and is
contract with an educational book publisher. specifically aligned to all subjects in primary schools. backed by Enterprise Ireland, while Kerry County Enter-
He approached his friend, Tomás Finneran, who was The firm has expanded its scope beyond the domestic prise Board has also been a great support.
completingamaster’sdegreeininteractivemedia,forhelp market,andnowoperatesintheUK,withplanstoventure O’Donovan says innovation is also vital at present and
onthattenderand,despitethepairfailingtosecureit,they evenfurtherafield.Likewise,ithasmovedoutsidetheedu- into the future. “We’re constantly going to conferences,
both decided to progress their ideas further. cational sector, and now designs and develops affordable readingupaboutdifferenttopics,andattendingdifferent
Flúirsewasofficiallyestablishedin2006,andthefriends online and instructor-led training for both the education management seminars. It’s important to be cutting edge
haven’t had the inclination or the opportunity to look and corporate sectors. Indeed, these pioneers in ICT edu- in what you do.”
backsince.“Ithassteamrolled,andyearonyearwe’vehad cation have already been contracted by blue-chip clients Notwithstanding, he says companies can also get back
significant growth,” says O’Donovan. In fact, the compa- such as Fexco and Western Union. tobasicsinordertosurviveandthriveduringadownturn.
nyhasdoubleditsturnovereveryyearsinceitsconception, OnestreamofthebusinessoperatesDepartmentofEdu- “In a recession, the fundamentals of going back to
reaching ¤500,000 in 2008 and it’s anticipated to hit cation-approvedonlinesummercoursesforteachersaspart basics,investinginyourstaffandmakingsureyourman-
¤1.2m this year. oftheircontinualprofessionaldevelopmentrequirements. agement accounts are up to date are very important.
Flúirsenowemploysfivefull-timestaffandmoreskilled Impressively, Flúirse is now the largest provider of such We’re big advocates of human capital,” he notes.
workersonacontractorper-projectbasis.TheKerry-based summer courses in Ireland. Although Flúirse has just celebrated its third birthday,
firm is the only one of its kind to develop curriculum- Theotherstreamofthecompanyoperatesabusinessand italreadyplacesastrongvalueoncorporatesocialrespon-
aligned, interactive software products for the Irish ICTtrainingdivision,asFlúirseownstheexclusivefranchise, sibility.Lastyear,thefirmdonated¤200,000worthofsoft-
language. Among its products is ABC Anois, a CD-Rom Pitman Training, for Tralee and Cork. ware to disadvantaged schools.
22 SFA NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS WWW.SFA.IE/AWARDS
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40