Internet Growth Acceleration Programme 2012-2013 igap Internet Growth Acceleration Programme an Enterprise Ireland programme
2 This unique and intensive programme has been developed by Enterprise Ireland and the Internet Growth Alliance and is delivered by Select Strategies. igap 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 internet companies and the Internet Growth Acceleration Programme is at the core of its strategy. Feedback from previous igap participants Connor Murphy www.datahug.com Steven Collins www.swrve.com Rory O Connor www.scurri.com Paul Geraghty www.picturk.com 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. Ronan Perceval www.phorest.com 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 programme 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. Today I looked back on some of my notes about the original ideas I had for Scurri.com and I realise how much I have learned and how the business idea has developed since then. What I have also come to realise is how much I have learned about starting an internet business, and that scurri.com would more than likely have failed by this stage, only for a very important decision I made in the early days. That decision was to apply for the igap programme. Picturk simply didn t want to go on igap. We d been through one incubator, and shadowed another. We simply knew everything about our business - how could another programme, one you had to pay for - teach us anything? It did: it taught us a lot and was worth every penny. For a start its hard to get onto igap so your peers on the programme are hot stuff. Secondly, the contributors are excellent. Thirdly, the igap team, really care about what they do. These three ingredients make the programme transformative - you will think differently after you finish igap. It s changed the way we do business at Picturk.
3 Key elements of igap Practical Training Modules Learn from world class serial entrepreneurs about key practical topics including business strategy, product-market-fit, designing the customer experience, funding strategies. Hear relevant war stories from experienced internet/saas and games entrepreneurs which are directly related to the module content. Support from Implementation Coach 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. ACCESS TO INDUSTRY EXPERTS During the programme you will have access to seasoned industry experts who will share the lessons they learned while establishing their own successful online companies. GROWTH PLAN Central to igap is the igap Growth Plan. Over the course of the programme you will work through a series of implementation tasks and toolkits assisted by your coach. Each task completed will move you further along the journey to completing your Growth Plan. The igap Growth Plan will map the goals of your company for the 6 month period following the programme. It is designed to drive sustainable growth and encapsulate the progress of the business. Industry Networking As part of the programme you will have the opportunity to build a network of industry peers among your fellow participants, past participants, 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.
SCHEDULE FOR igap DATE DURATIon module key QUESTIONS ANSWERED 27th September Evening Programme Launch What can I achieve and what can I expect from igap October, 2012 2 day residential Business Strategy/ What is my product/service? Growth Plan Who is my target customer? What is my value proposition? Monetisation & Revenue What are my monetisation options? How will I generate revenue from my product/service? November, 2012 1 day Product-market-fit How do I make customers aware of my & Customer Acquisition service? How do I drive traffic to my website? How do I measure results? December, 2012 1 day Designing the Customer How do I design my product/service Experience around the customer? How do I create the best possible user experience? January, 2013 1 day Lean Start-up Execution What is my minimum viable product? How do I build a lean start-up? How do I use customer feedback to pivot more quickly? How do I know I am making progress? February, 2013 1 day Channels to Market How do I identify the right partners? How do I engage with those partners? How do I use APIs for business development? March, 2013 1 day Funding Strategies What are my options for funding my business? How do I present my business to funders? Will my proposition fly with investors? April, 2013 1/2 day igap Finale Presentation of Growth Plans Please note: Final Dates of Modules will be confirmed before the Programme Launch
igap 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: 1 Clearly demonstrate the potential to scale the business internationally over the internet. 2 Have an established team in place. Cost The cost to participate on igap is 3,000 (2 participants). The full cost of the programme is 10,000 of which Enterprise Ireland will fund 70% ( 7,000). 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 3,000 fee directly to Enterprise Ireland in advance of the programme commencing. Further Information To gain further information about the Internet Growth Acceleration Programme please go to www.enterprise-ireland.com/igap or contact; Michelle Lawlor, Enterprise Ireland, 01 7272317 igap@enterprise-ireland.com Ray Walsh, Enterprise Ireland, 01 727 2118, ray.walsh@enterprise-ireland.com The closing date for applications is Friday 31st August, 2012 3 Have demonstrated a clear customer need & demand for the products / service. Application process All applications will be assessed against this selection criteria. The selection process will be competitive and companies may be required to present to a selection panel before places are awarded. Places on this programme are limited. Please apply online at www.enterprise-ireland.com/igap
Module Facilitators igap will be facilitated by a number of world class entrepreneurs including: Justin Knecht Product-Market- Fit & Customer Acquisition Sean Ellis - Designing the Customer Experience Nicholas Lovell Monetisation & Revenue 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. 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 usercentred design, brand experience and service design and has developed and delivered many workshops in this area. Sean Ellis led marketing at LogMeIn and Uproar from launch through to NASDAQ IPO filings, and later helped bring Dropbox, Lookout, Xobni and Grockit to market and helped accelerate growth at Eventbrite, Webs, World Golf Tour and Songkick. Sean is now the Founder and CEO of CatchFree, a company focused on bringing transformative growth to great technology products. He strongly believes that traditional marketing approaches are not very helpful in the startup world and shares the insights gained during his vast experience in his blog www. startup-marketing.com Nicholas Lovell is the former CEO of GameShadow. 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. Nicholas has vast experience in Monetisation and also provides consultancy in Strategy and Finance
Module Facilitators Brian Caulfield Funding Strategies Eric Ries - Lean Start-Up Execution Brian Caulfield is an entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is a Partner at DFJ Esprit and based in Dublin, Ireland. Prior to joining DFJ Esprit, Brian was a partner at Trinity Venture Capital where he sat on the boards of or led investments in AePONA, ChangingWorlds (sold to Amdocs NYSE: DOX), CR2, SteelTrace (sold to Compuware NASDAQ: CPWR) and APT (acquired by CSR LSE:CSR.L). In 1992 Brian co-founded Exceptis Technologies sold to Trintech Group (NASDAQ: TTPA) in November 2000. In 2001 Brian co-founded Similarity Systems that was acquired by Informatica (NASDAQ: INFA) in January 2006. Brian currently sits on the boards of AePONA, ezetop, Clavis Technology and the Irish Times. 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 cofounded and served as CTO of IMVU. He serves on the advisory board of a number of technology start-ups and has worked as a consultant to a number of start-ups, companies and venture capital firms. He is the co-author of several books, including The Black Art of Java Game Programming and The Lean Startup which was published in 2011.
igap Coaching Team Paul O Dea Programme director & Lead Implementation Coach Cathy Winston Implementation Coach Harry Largey Implementation Coach Sean Baker Implementation Coach Paul O Dea (Select Strategies) has been through the cycle of startup 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. Prior to starting Select Strategies he was cofounder of internet banking software company Credo Group. 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. Cathy has worked within the corporate sector for over 20 years and the knowledge she brings to coaching and mentoring is based on real life business experience. She has been involved in the igap programme from its inception. She currently lectures and mentors on Business Innovation at DCU s Ryan Academy, and on Strategic Marketing at the IMI. Harry is the CEO of CloudMover, a Cloud migration specialist company, an Advisor to the NDRC LaunchPad Programme, an Advisor to the IBM Global Entrepreneur Programme and a non-executive director of four IT companies. Previously Harry held a Senior Director role in the EMEA HQ of ServiceSource, the market leading outsourced sales company. Sean Baker is an entrepreneur and co-founder of IONA Technologies. He is Chairman of 3Strata Technologies, and a member of the Boards of National Digital Research Centre, Delta Index and Gridstore. Sean is active in the Software Investor Forum, which mentors and selects a group of companies to present to a panel of Irish VCs. He was a member of the board of Iona Technologies plc, Havock and the Object Management Group. Enterprise Ireland July 12 - (310)