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This unique and intensive programme has
been developed by Enterprise Ireland and
the Internet Growth Alliance* and is aimed
exclusively at high potential internet
companies. Equip yourself with the tools you
need to formulate aggressive international
growth plans and scale your business.
*The Internet Growth Alliance
The Internet Growth Alliance (www.alliance.ie) was established by a consortium
of Irish entrepreneurs in conjunction with the Irish Internet Association,
Enterprise Ireland, the Irish Software Association, the Institute of International
and European Affairs, Web2 Ireland and the Digital Hub. The mission of the
Alliance is to accelerate the development of Irish e-business companies & the
Internet Growth Acceleration Programme is at the core of its strategy.
Feedback from previous iGAP participants
iGAP is one word... ‘mandatory’. If you
want to accelerate your web business and
compete globally then you NEED to be
on iGAP. If you want to learn from silicon
valley insiders and world class thought
leaders then you NEED to be on iGAP. If
you want to collaborate and learn from a
brilliant peer group then you need to be
on iGAP.
iGap was the best training course I have
ever done. The key was in the speakers
who had the best startup knowledge
in the world, particularly Silicon Valley.
Most were young and relatable but
crucially had done it. There is nothing else
available in Ireland that will give access to
such knowledge.
The iGAP program is an excellent
opportunity to both network with a peer
group of companies all experiencing
many of the same challenges as you,
and to hear from some of the world’s
leading speakers on building companies
and products. The speaker line-up was
second to none, with lots of opportunities
for interaction and feedback and to
build connections. The program itself
is very well structured, with lectures,
group sessions and mentors and a great
curriculum. It presented me with the
perfect opportunity to reflect on my own
start-up and to put the spotlight on our
processes for customer discovery, product
design and business strategy. I can’t
recommend the iGAP program highly
enough to anybody building an internet
or games industry company and lucky
enough to be offered a place.
Ronan Perceval
www.phorest.com
Steven Collins
www.swrve.com
Connor Murphy
www.datahug.com
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The key elements of iGAP
are as follows:
Practical Training Modules
-Learn from world class serial
entrepreneurs on key practical
topics including business strategy,
monetisation and revenue models,
marketing & customer acquisition
and preparing for funding.
-Complete in company assignments
designed to embed the learning
into your company and
ensure business impact.
-Hear relevant war stories from
experienced internet/SaaS and games
entrepreneurs which are directly
related to the module content.
-Use all of the practical module
content to develop a pitch which will
be put to the test by experienced
venture capital and angel investors.
Support from Implementation Coach
Access to Business Advisors from the IGA
Industry Networking
-Be partnered with an experienced
implementation coach who will
work with you in small groups
(cohorts) and on an individual basis
to ensure the programme learnings
are implemented in your company.
-Seasoned industry experts from the
Internet Growth Alliance will be
accessible to you on an ongoing
basis throughout the programme to
enhance your learning experience and
advise on your future development.
-Enterprise Ireland and the Internet
Growth Alliance will provide
networking opportunities built
around the programme to ensure
you build a sustained network
of industry peers among your
classroom colleagues, members of
the IGA and other industry leaders.
There will also be an opportunity
to hear from guest speakers who
have been there and done it.
-Hear about the lessons they
learned while establishing their
own successful online companies
and use their guidance to steer the
development of your own company.
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Schedule for iGAP
DateDurationModuleKey Questions Answered
12th October, 2011
½ day afternoon
iGap Programme Launch
– What can I achieve and what can I expect from iGAP?
November, 2011
2 day residentialBusiness Strategy/
Monetisation & Revenue
– What is my product/service?
– Who is my target customer?
– What is my value proposition?
– What are my monetisation options?
– How will I generate revenue from my product/service?
November, 2011
1 dayInternet Marketing &
Customer Acquisition
– How do I make customers aware of my service?
– How do I drive traffic to my website?
– How do I measure results?
December, 2011*
1 day per streamCustomer Centric
– How do I design my product/service around the
Service Design customer?
– How do I create the best possible user experience?
January, 2012
1 dayLean Start-up & Execution
– What’s my minimum viable product?
– How do I build a lean startup?
– How do I use customer feedback to pivot more quickly?
– How do I know I’m making progress?
February, 2012
1 dayBusiness Development
– How do I identify the right partners?
– How do I engage with those partners?
– How do I use APIs for business development?
March, 2012*
1 day per streamAccess Funding
– What are my options for funding my business?
– How do I present my business to funders?
– Will my proposition fly with investors?
April, 2012
½ day
iGAP Finale
– Presentation of investor pitches
*Please note: to ensure
that the programme
content is targeted
to meet the needs of,
Internet, SaaS & Games
companies, participants
may be grouped into two
separate streams for some
of the modules. These
modules are marked with
an (*) and will be allocated
two separate days to allow
this streaming. All other
modules will take place
on a single day with both
streams combined in the
one day.
The Programme launch
will take place on 12th
October. Final dates
for modules will be
confirmed before the
Programme Launch.
05
Who qualifies for iGAP and
application process
Many factors are taken into consideration
when selecting companies for the
programme. The focus of the programme
will be on internet, SaaS and games
businesses with an international growth
opportunity and the potential to meet
critical growth milestones. If not already
an Enterprise Ireland client company, the
applicant must demonstrate they meet
the criteria to become an Enterprise
Ireland client in the near future.
In addition, to being internet, SaaS,
games based, companies should also
meet the following criteria:
1Clearly demonstrate the
potential to scale your business
internationally over the internet.
2Have an established team in place.
3Have demonstrated a clear
customer need & demand for
the products / service.
Application process
Further Information
All applications will be assessed
against the selection criteria. The
selection process will be competitive
and companies may be required to
present to a selection panel before
places are awarded and a limited
number of places are available.
To gain further information about the
Internet Growth Acceleration Programme
please go to www.enterprise-ireland.com
/igap or contact;
Please apply online at
www.enterprise-ireland.com/igap
The closing date for applications is
Friday 9th September, 2011
Cost
The full cost of the Internet Growth
Acceleration Programme is v10,000 per
company (2 participants). Enterprise
Ireland will fund 70% of this cost leaving
a company fee of v3,000. This covers
all aspects of programme participation
including all residential costs and the
support from your implementation coach.
Participants will be required to pay the
v3,000 fee directly to Enterprise Ireland in
advance of the programme commencing.
Michelle Lawlor, Enterprise Ireland,
01 7272317
[email protected]
Ray Walsh, Enterprise Ireland,
01 727 2118,
[email protected]
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Selected Module Facilitators
Justin Knecht – Customer centric
service/product design
Oren Michels –
Internet Business Development
Nicholas Lovell –
Monetisation & Revenue
Brian Caulfield –
Preparing for Funding
Eric Ries Business Strategy
Justin Knecht developed and managed
the Innovation by Design programme
for the Centre for Design Innovation
at IT Sligo; the first user-centred
design programme of its kind in
Ireland to equip organisations
with the practical tools to innovate
more successfully. Previous to
this, Justin was Senior Manager
of Creative Services for Crayola
in the US, responsible for global
branding, packaging development,
POS and Internet services.
Oren is CEO and co-founder of
Mashery in California (www.mashery.
com) and has a record of success
in a variety of executive positions
spanning multiple industries.
Oren co-founded and managed
WiFinder, an international provider
of directory services for public access
wi-fi hotspots. He has served as
president for two companies: Colt
HR, a leading provider of mid-market
benefits administration software
and services; and Winebid.com, a
leading online wine auction service.
He also served as president and CEO
of The Groundlings, a Hollywoodbased entertainment production
company, and has held COO positions
at manufacturing companies. Prior to
joining Mashery, Oren worked as vice
president of business development
at Feedster, where he managed
the company’s activities in China
and negotiated partnerships with
AOL, Real Networks, and Mitsui.
Nicholas Lovell is the former CEO of
GameShadow. GameShadow started
life as a piece of technology that
automatically keeps a gamer’s software
updated with the latest fixes, patches
and free updates. During Nicholas’s
tenure, GameShadow switched from
a subscription-based to a free service,
implemented an advertising revenue
model that saw revenue growing
ten-fold, reached a million registered
users and launched a social network
for gamers.
Brian Caulfield co-founded Exceptis
Technologies in 1992. Exceptis
developed dispute management
software for the electronic/card
payments sectors and was sold to
Trintech Group (NASDAQ: TTPA).
In February 2001 Brian co-founded
Similarity Systems, a business focused
data quality management software
company which, was acquired
by Informatica (NASDAQ: INFA).
Brian was also a founder director
and shareholder of Prediction
Dynamics, which failed in 2004.
Eric Ries, The Lean Startup
Eric Ries is the creator of the Lean
Startup methodology and the author
of the popular entrepreneurship blog
www.startuplessonslearned.com. He
previously co-founded and served as
CTO of IMVU. In 2007, Business Week
names Ries one of the Best Young
Entrepreneurs of Tech and in 2009
he was honoured with a TechFellow
award in the category of Engineering
Leadership. He serves on the advisory
board of a number of technology startups and has worked as a consultant to
a number of start-ups, companies and
venture capital firms.
He co-founded the web development
firm AOV in Philadelphia; developing
over 20 award-winning websites
for a range of regional, national
and international clients. Justin is a
noted expert on user-centred design,
brand experience and service design
and has developed and delivered
many workshops in this area.
Nicholas has also served as CFO of
ShopSmart, one of the UK’s first
comparison shopping websites. He
served at board director level and
was responsible for raising over
£13.5million in capital.
Today Nicholas works providing
consultancy in two areas – Strategy
and Finance. His clients have included
Firefly Studios, huddle.net, Pixel-Lab
and w00t media. He is a non-executive
director of nDreams (www.ndreams.
co.uk). He also runs www.gamesbrief.
com, a blog about the business of
games, through which he runs a
number of masterclasses.
In June 2002, Brian joined Trinity
Venture Capital (TVC). At TVC Brian
sat on the boards of, amongst others,
AePONA, ChangingWorlds, CR2,
& SteelTrace and was responsible
for several exits. Brian is a board
member/personal investor in a
number of early stage technology
companies, including PutPlace, Trezur,
Sentry Wireless, Cibenix, Cicero
Networks and Clavis Technology.
He is the co-author of several books,
including The Black Art of Java Game
Programming (Waite Group Press,
1996). While an undergraduate
at Yale University he co-founded
Catalyst Recruiting. Although Catalyst
folded with the dot.com crash, Ries
continued his entrepreneurial career
as a Senior Software Engineer at
There.com, leading efforts in agile
software development and usergenerated content. His new book The
Lean Startup is due for publication in
September 2011.
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Programme Team Select Strategies
Paul O’Dea –
iGAP Programme Lead
Emer O’Donnell –
iGAP Programme Manager
Barry O’Neill Lead Implementation Coach
Paul O’Dea (Select Strategies) has been through the cycle of
start-up to growth many times, as a founder, investor and Board
member. Select Strategies has spun out two companies, SAAS
Sales Productivity company, The TAS Group and US based internet
company CustomerRespect, a company which measures the respect
major corporations show their customers. Prior to starting Select
Strategies he was cofounder of internet banking software company
Credo Group, which was acquired by software company FTSE
quoted company Misys, where he became Product Director for
Internet Banking Solutions. He is author of two books, The Business
Battlecard (OakTree Press 2009) and Select Selling (OakTree Press
(2005) and is author of the Blog Growth Insights. Paul serves on
the Boards of several early stage companies and chaired VC backed
SteelTrace, acquired by Compuware, and Netsure Telecom acquired
by Oracle.
Emer O’Donnell (Select Strategies) has successfully programme
managed a number of education programmes including Enterprise
Ireland’s Sales STAR. In her role as senior project manager with
Select Strategies Emer has worked with a wide range of internet
and SAAS based companies and has a strong consumer internet
background. Prior to Select Strategies she spent 10 years in
senior Professional Services and Product Management roles in the
indigenous technology sector.
Barry O’Neill is a former games entrepreneur who now works with
games and digital entertainment companies globally, advising on
business development, strategy and finance matters. Barry also
sources financing for early stage games companies and projects
through his company Other Ventures.
Prior to establishing Other Ventures, Barry was President of
Namco Bandai Networks Europe, the wireless gaming subsidiary
of Japan’s Bandai Namco Group, the creator of enduring video
game franchises such PAC-MAN and Tekken. Prior to joining Namco
Bandai, Barry was the co-founder and CEO of Dublin and Tokyo
based digital games publisher Upstart Games, the mobile games
publisher that counted Konami, Sony Computer Entertainment and
Disney amongst its partners. Barry sold Upstart in 2006 to Chinese
media group Sun Media for approximately $15m USD. Barry is also
the Chairman of the recently formed Interactive Games Association
of Ireland.
©Enterprise Ireland September ‘11 - (274)