The Tech Start-up Scene

Getting To Know The Tech Start-Up Reality

Last year, according to Vision-net, was the best time for Irish start-ups, given that more than approximately 60 organisations were created each day in Ireland. With the growth of these type of companies, it’s possible to see that the entrepreneurial mindset is changing and there are more people with the desire to invest in their ideas and create their own business.

Dublin has been appearing as the home for many of these start-ups. In 2017, 46% of the companies created in Ireland had this city as their official address. The second Irish city with more start-ups formed was Cork, since this county has also been receiving a lot of investment from US tech companies and so attracting more talent and resources to the region.

According to TechIreland, 183 tech start-ups founded in the last five years received a combined funding of 580.2€ million last year. Sectors like fintech, industrial tech, telecoms, green energy and enterprise solutions have received many investments due to the number of companies being created in all of these fields. The Irish public database showed also that emerging technologies are gaining more space in the start-up scene, because more than 250€ million was raised in 2017 for companies investing in sectors such as intelligence, augmented reality/virtual reality, blockchain, the internet of things, and software-as-a-service.

The high number of start-ups being created symbolises that the diversity of the new businesses enable the Irish economy to grow and reach a healthy economic status. However, possibly due to Brexit and employment changes, the great growth of start-ups might slow down and those who are already in the market will need to adapt; so that their businesses keeps booming.

Tech Start-ups Challenges And How To Overcome Them

Although tech start-ups are facing an excellent growing phase, there are some challenges that require these companies to adopt new strategies to succeed and make sure they achieve their ultimate goals. Entrepreneurs should be ready to address these issues and find techniques to overcome the challenges they might find along the way.

• It’s crucial to find product approval. Some entrepreneurs rush into building a platform for their idea to be developed. Significantly, before doing it, it’s necessary to get the product approval in order to test its financial and technical viability. So, before putting your hands into work, think about ‘’how that product or service is going to fix a specific problem’’ and ‘’how will consumers trust it so that they can actually monetise that idea and be successful with it.’’
• The lack of structure should be considered. These companies have just been created, so it’s normal that structure won’t be something you’ll find once you create or join any start-up. The key is to be aware that internal changes might happen from time to time and it’s better to be prepared regarding employee turnover. Until a clear structure is built, it’s better to bulletproof yourself and the company to avoid disappointments or conflicts. Furthermore, creating a team of experienced and passionate professionals can be considered an advantage, since focusing on the development of a particular technology will be even easier.
• Decide whether it is better to have an in-house development team or to use outsourcing. This will be an easier decision for start-ups, which are built by technical professionals, as for them this won’t be an issue and they can develop software programs by themselves. However, you don’t need to have a coding background to start your own tech organisation. Weigh the pros and cons, as well as the costs involved in either hiring an in-house developer or outsourcing the development of your product or service. You know exactly what you want and how you want to run your business, so just make sure your development team is aligned with that.
• Online security can be an issue. Being a tech start-up means that you’re going to be exposed to a world of online threats to your business. Nowadays, more than ever, you should be aware that cyber-hacking is a big issue and that you need to have the right tools and software to solve such problems in a fast and efficient way.
• Get used to change. As mentioned before, with the lack of structure and the need to adapt to different scenarios, change will be more frequent. Also, it will come fast. Being ready for change and not taking anything for granted will help you to tackle it better. Moreover, managing expectations is essential. Not everyone has the same skills and expectations about their career and goals, so it’s important to find a balance between everyone and offer trust and transparency, which will allow teams to feel secure about their work and what they can accomplish.
• Communication is the key. If you want to do well in an environment that can change in a blink of an eye, make sure to use communication as the right strategy to keep everything and everyone working together. Establishing an open communication path will allow you and all employees to know exactly where to knock whenever there’s any problem, solution or suggestion for improvement.

Being an entrepreneur and building a startup, especially a tech one, is all about facing challenges and quickly overcoming them. The truth is that the faster you solve them, the better your organisation will react to any changes in the industry you’re working in.

What Is The Future Of Tech Start-ups?

But what exactly will be the future of tech start-ups? According to TechCrunch, these companies may create the new market leaders of the future and there’s still a lot of space for new ideas to grow.

With the constant change in the world and new technologies approaching, startups of the future may focus on some industries that are currently operating. According to Deloitte, there are 5 markets that have space for growth: Cloud computing, flexible consumption, cognitive computing, User-friendly tools, APIs, and apps and data.

The first one, cloud computing, has already been allowing companies to change or even innovate their operations and business models. By using software, we’ll be able to witness a development in artificial intelligence and IoT solutions. As per flexible consumption, the ‘’pay as you go’’ models have also been increasing, since consumers are looking for easy and fast solutions when they’re purchasing. This will also improve the relationship that consumers have with the final product or service, as the ‘’as a service’’’ consumption started to become more valuable for most of the users.

Furthermore, cognitive computing is another industry that might grow, but so far it’s not being used by many companies. However, organisations that recognise its importance, have been using it to enhance products and services, as well as to improve and make better decisions regarding their operations. One example can be the companies that have started using cognitive computing through machine learning in order to find patterns and anomalies in large groups of data.

Another industry that is already growing relates to user-friendly tools, APIs, and apps. Start-ups that create user-friendly technology have enormous scope to evolve. Now, more than ever, users are demanding technologies that are simple to use and easy to do what they want.

Last, but not least, with so much information coming from several places, companies have started to require software and systems that allow them to gather all the data they can, automatically. They require tools that will be able to connect disparate data and to extract the business insights they need in order to improve their offerings.

In the end, start-ups that focus on the technologies above will be able to address the issues that consumers and companies are currently facing. The competitive advantage available to these start-ups is bigger than imagined so when working in any of these, start working hard on your strategy so that your start-up can be “the next big thing”.

Tech Start-ups To Keep An Eye On

Every day new start-ups are created and new ideas start to be developed. Over the past few years or months, there are some organisations who have been evolving and are now being recognised for their great work or opportunities to grow in the market. We’ll give you an overview of some of the tech start-ups that have appeared and that could be the next unicorn.

Stelltec

Stelltec was founded in 2016 as a company that ‘’develops cutting-edge financial technologies to propel aircraft finance and investments forward’’. The technologies being developed by this company, intend to optimise transactions and improve operating efficiency, as well as, allow investors to explore and understand the unique characteristics of aviation investments.
According to Stelltec, they ‘’develop technologies for modelling and analysing aircraft and associated investment vehicles. Delivered as web-applications, these tools project cash flows, calculate valuations and risk sensitivities, assess the effects of ‘what-if’ scenarios, and quantify the probability distributions of events.’’

Website: http://www.stellwagengroup.com/

Devo

Devo is the leading Data Operations Platform for the digital enterprise. According to the company, ‘’Devo delivers real-time business value from analytics on streaming and historical data to help Fortune 1000 enterprises drive sustained performance and growth.’’
Founded in 2011, the Devo Data Operations Platform collects, enhances and analyses machine, business and operational data from across the enterprise. The organisation provides “real-time analytics and insight for IT operations, security analytics, business analytics, customer insight and log management for the world’s leading organisations.’’

Website: https://www.devo.com/

Leveris

Founded in 2014, Leveris is a technology company who has built ‘’a full-service, modular, banking-as-a-platform (BaaP) solution for traditional banks, new market entrants, and any consumer brand who wants to enter the banking and lending space.’’
Their platform has two products integrated into one platform: a full service, end-to-end digital retail bank and a full-spectrum lending solution.
According to Leveris this ‘’is a fully integrated, back-end, middleware and front-end services and applications platform that is built on open-source components, using open standard formats, APIs and protocols so that new technology innovations are easily integrated, keeping any bank up to date with technology change.’’

Website: https://leveris.com/

These are some of the start-ups that are already making a difference in their industry. However, as mentioned in the beginning, we’re facing an era where there’s a new organisation being created and new ideas being developed, every day.

The key consideration regarding all of this is that these companies will improve the way we live, and gift us with the tools and services that will make our lives easier. We’re excited to see what the future holds for them as a start-up, but also for us as consumers and clients.

Call us today on 01-6793182, email us on info@stelfox.com or check out the range of roles on our website and LinkedIn feed.

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