Dragon's Den!

Six months of prepping, researching, training, studying, exams, life events, pitching, pivoting, pitching again and we were on the home stretch to the Dragon's Den finale of the competition! 

On the last development day, each of the finalists were assigned a mentor and I got a really great one. I had two weeks to work with my mentor Mark Dineen (Senior Manager within Accenture technology consulting) who helped me take my pitch apart and put it back together like a great big jigsaw puzzle. 

I had so much fun with this that I am now a self confessed strategy geek… and apparently that is quite cool as long as you include the words tech and digital. Looks like the geeks are winning here in Dublin (aka Europe's Silicon Valley)!!

At this stage, the difference between my original starter pitch and my final polished "go for it" pitch were incomparable. The last two weeks of living and breathing the competition paid off and it was time to enjoy it. 

Pitch Perfect!

The Accenture Ireland Leaders of Tomorrow Finalists with Accenture Ireland Country Managing Director, Mark Ryan. Picture by Shane O'Neill / Copyright Fennell Photography 2014

So here we are and don't we all look smart with the "Alan Sugar" of Accenture and the coveted trophy?! It is rare you meet a group of people who are competing against each other that get on really well…but…take a good look folks...this is the group. There was nothing but support and encouragement with a good old heap of slagging (for those reading overseas, "slagging" is good natured teasing in Ireland).

The day started out with the photo shoot that you see above. Hilarious doesn't come close to describing the range of  "discomfort" to "natural ability" that the finalists had in front of the camera.

We also caused great amusement for the locals as we "leaned in", "walked to camera" and almost got run over by a taxi! By the time we made our way back to the office, I already had a text from a friend saying she heard I was filming for the next season of "The Apprentice" in Grand Canal Dock. You have to love social media and the speed that rumours can travel! :)

After a quick lunch, the running order was unveiled. Nobody wanted to go first and of course that was exactly where my name was placed. Five minutes in a quiet room going over the slides and I decided to close the laptop. There was nothing more to learn off, I was prepped and ready to nail it!

Show Time!

Following a short introduction to the Dragon's, I was up and my presentation was on screen in all its glory. The actual pitch was taking place in the Accenture boardroom which is a fabulously impressive room with floor to ceiling glass overlooking the water. The picture below doesn't do it justice but I wanted to set the scene for you.

(L-R) Sonia Flynn (Facebook), Gary Leydon (NDRC), Peter O'Donovan (Paddy Power), Nuala Canning (Brandfire), Mark Ryan (Accenture) and  Liam Kavanagh (Irish Times)

All of the hours spent tweaking, image searching, figure checking, data analyzing, researching, surveying, contact building, interviewing, changing direction and reciting were worth every second of the 15 minutes in this room. 

I went through the presentation piece by piece and managed to fit it into just over 10 minutes. Enough time for the Dragon's to ask questions and for me to add in the key benefits one more time!

When I came out of the boardroom, I really wanted to go back and do it again (for fun). I now know that front of room with the clicker in hand making change happen is where I am very happy and intend to be lots in the future.

Time to go back into the waiting room with the others and luckily I was able to reassure them that they were not going to be eaten alive. At this stage, I was very glad to have gone first and not have the nervous build up from the wait.

A couple of hours later and video interviews complete, it was time for us to have a well deserved drink and wait for family, friends and college representatives to arrive for the awards ceremony. All involved were in top form with a combination of relief, excitement and anticipation of what was ahead.

Colin Ryan (Accenture Leader of Tomorrow Sponsor) got proceeding underway without further ado and the winners were announced. Drum roll please…………

 In 3rd Place- Peter Duffy representing UCC

Colin Ryan (Accenture Leaders of Tomorrow Sponsor) and  Peter Duffy, 3rd place in the Leaders of Tomorrow Award 2014

 2nd Place- Tara Justin (moi) representing DIT 

Dr. Kate Ui Ghallchoir (Head of DIT School of Marketing), with Tara Justin, (LOT 2nd place) Eithne Harley, (Director of Integrated Marketing at Accenture) and Colin Ryan (Accenture Leaders of Tomorrow Sponsor)

1st Place!!! 

Nubi Kayode and Alex Keane representing Smurfit

Allen Higgins (UCD) with Nubi Kayode, Alex Keaney and Dr. Michael MacDonnell, Programme Dean of Business at UCD

Following the awards the ceremony, the celebrations continued late into the night (later for some than for others) with all of the Accenture team. Great fun and a great crew!

So there you have it, while the competition has closed the journey is only starting for each of the finalists. Big plans ahead for all involved and here is a snippet of what they each have in store……...

The dynamic duo (Owen and Norma) are still working on their innovative business idea "Effy", and are in talks with a potential developer.

They also have some new innovations up their sleeves!

This summer will see Owen crossing the pond to London to work in Business Development with Enterprise Ireland while Norma is off to Smurfit Business School  to begin a Masters in Supply Chain Management. I see a lot of skyping in their future. :)


Nubi and Alex are hard at work developing their business idea "OnePlace".

According to Alex, "There will be a good few long nights over the summer that's for sure……As for what we do next, there are too many paths to follow to give a definite answer, but we are fairly sure some funding is needed to go forward so thats our main priority at the moment". The duo are also seeking a technical co-founder to join their team in NDRC and they are really looking forward to their prize trip to the Accenture Innovation Centre in New York (I will definitely be giving them a shopping list!).

Following the competition, Peter  met with the team of coders who developed his prototypes with him to discuss the feedback received from the judges and the options they had to progress the idea further.

As Peter explains, "We brainstormed some improvements that could be made and decided to have a proper sit down about the future potential for Loopstr after all exams are finished. In short, we will be revisiting the idea in the coming weeks to decide what the future holds for Loopstr!".

Michael is currently in his penultimate year in University and is "graced with at least twelve months more" before he decides what next.  

KPMG will be the lucky company to have Michael interning in their advisory department over the summer. From this, he plans to apply for a number of consulting graduate positions with different firms, including Accenture, next year. His current aim is to gain experience across a wide range of industries as a management consultant, with the long term goal to create his own company once he has more experience within the operational side of business.

John has his head in the books for his impending exams in the short term and still has the potential to develop his business idea "Garage Finder" over the coming months.

He has a great future ahead of him and is a very persuasive communicator. With a taste of

entrepreneurship from the competition, he plans to pursue this career route and hopes to one day have a successful business which he grown from the ground up (that is if Accenture don't snap him up first!).  

As for my plans…I am heading into an accelerated semester for my Masters in June with two sets of exams on the horizon. "Pressure is for tyres" I hear!!

After that, I will be participating in the NDRC's 

"Female Founders" programme in July to hopefully build my team with the goal of being on the NDRC Launchpad in September! Exciting times ahead!

At the start of this blog, I told you that I have always believed that if you can dream it, you can do it. My aim was to get Accenture on board with my business idea and secure their interest. Well... that box is now well and truly checked.  I will be moving forward with the support and advice of the fantastic Accenture team  (along with a couple of dragons who have offered their help as well). Next on my list is NDRC and INVESTORS!! 

The Leaders of Tomorrow competition has been a game changer and I would highly recommend participating to any student/ graduate. The training, exposure to contacts and overall experience is something that I cannot put a price on. If you have a business idea, go for it!

On behalf of all of the LOT 2014 finalists, we send a big thank you to the Accenture and NDRC teams. Personally, another big thank you to DIT for all of the support (particularly Dr Kate Uí Ghallachóir, Dr Etain Kidney and Tara Grehan). 

So that is it for this installment. Stay tuned for the next steps on my journey to entrepreneurship and keep up to date by following me on Twitter @taraljustin. 

Signing off for now with one last video of "The Final" for you to enjoy!

THE FINAL!!

Unlike the last round, I didn’t have the luxury of time to wait for the results with coffee and an impatient trigger finger on the inbox browser. This round of results came in while I was coming to the end of some serious project deadlines and was being pulled in five different directions at once.

Phones a ringing, texts a bleeping, emails a dinging and there it was! “Congratulations on reaching the FINAL round”. Eeeek!!  

When I let my people know that I was through to the final, the reactions varied from formal phonecalls/ handshakes to a happy dance video message (by the parent of a child who could benefit from the business) to the expletive filled congratulations text from someone who has been there from the very beginning (and knows just how much this all means).

I should at this point mention that my business idea will improve services for adults and children with speech and communication issues….AND…the competition just happens to be coinciding with Autism Awareness Day and "Light it Up Blue Celebrating World Autism Awareness" for the month of April. 

If the result went the right way, it would be brilliant timing to let people know that new and innovative help from an IRISH startup is imminent. Just saying!  J

 

The excitement around all of this is extremely infectious and has caused a mini epidemic of smiley faces in my world!  I have never had so many people say "fair play to you" and "you are brave". 

Personally, I think being brave was not entering this competition but making sacrifices to go back to college last year to be the best that I can be. I just wish that more people had the opportunity to access a return to education. Hopefully the government will officially recognise the number of 30 and 40 somethings who are being held back from leadership due to a lack of digital skill set. Maybe the first year of graduates from  DIT MSc Digital Marketing and Analytics  (my class) will pave the way for the future. J

So here we go…the promised land of the development days. Expectations were set high by the Accenture team and they did not disappoint.

Development Day 1 took place in the NDRC, which is based in the Digital Hub.  Deja vu moment ahead as this was where I had training for my first part time job as a promoter for Guinness. Funny old world and what a transformation! The offices are now open plan, exposed brickwork and very trendy in the tech startup way that you might expect.

The finalists- Norma & Owen (UCD), Michael (UCD), Peter (UCC), John (UCC), Nubi & Alex (Smurfit) and moi (DIT).

The day started with a presentation by the NDRC Director Gary Leydon where he outlined what makes a great business idea and how to pitch.  After this we broke out into workshop mode.

Lights, Camera, Action…it was time to do our pitches (yes, both days were filmed). This pitch was mainly an introduction to the other finalists, as we didn’t know what each other’s ideas were. Once we got past that initiation, we each split into individual teams with an Accenture consultant. This was to work on our business model canvas and pitch our ideas with more clarity. 

At this point, my business idea pivoted and completely changed direction from B2C to B2B.  The second pitch wasn’t quite as difficult since it was a game changer.

Affirmation came from Gary who had recommended the new direction and questions were taken from the floor. The questions confirmed that the new thinking was correct. Happy days…and a lot of work ahead!

The afternoon was filled to the brim with a presentation on venture capital that was followed by another presentation on user experience. Great insights and notes firmly on board!

To round off the day, NDRC introduced us to companies that have gone through their LaunchPad programme. A place on this programme (in case I hadn’t mentioned) is the main component of the prize. 

If you don’t already know of them, check out SockMonstermedia.com, GoBramble.ie, Bizimply.com and Adyuka.com. We got the opportunity for a Q & A session with the creators of each of these businesses and to ask about the highs and lows of the startup process. 

One thing that became very apparent from all of the stories is that while the startup road is clearly a tough one, it is definitely worth embarking on!

Development Day 2

Just when you think it can’t get any better………it does!

Time for Accenture to bring out their expertise and they did not disappoint. The day was opened by the Accenture “presentation guru” John Morrissey who went through the dos and don’t of and impressive on screen presentation. 

This was followed by a session with the Director of the Gaiety School of Acting (Patrick Sutton) to hone our pitch skills. Patrick asked us to use our hands to describe where the past was when presenting. If you are finding yourself pointing over your shoulder, stand corrected! The past is to your left, the present is in front of you and the future is very firmly to your right (as illustrated by all of us below). 

I must have taken more on board than I realized as I have found myself using the very gestures he taught us at an important meeting the next day. Extremely effective! 

After a great lunch in Ely, we had a session on leadership with Ryan Shanks. Ryan explained the differences between management and leadership and the need for companies to address these differences for a sustainable workforce.

Ryan Shanks

Ryan is the type of person who can command a room and encourage engagement without a lot of noise. He has great presentation style and inspiring insight that leaves you thinking.

The final session was on digital marketing with Nina Gallagher, the Digital Consulting Lead within the Management Consulting Practice for Accenture. 

Nina got us to to apply the Accenture digital  strategy framework to our own businesses before pitching to the room again at the end of the session. I spent the time picking the brains of Nina and another manager (Niall Corrigan) on all aspects of my new pivot. This provided a logical path process that allows me to pinpoint exactly where my business needs direction and work. The framework is a really useful tool and I will be saving the slide for use in the future. 

The Dragons

To close the day off, we were given the long awaited list of judges for our Dragon’s Den pitch.

 If I could have picked the companies myself, the list would have been very similar. Well done Accenture and NDRC. This is going to be one seriously great event! Six of the top industry leaders in Ireland will be sitting around one table waiting to hear our ideas. Fantastic. 

The countdown to the April 10th final is officially on. It is time for the gloves to come off and to come out swinging….. Bring it on!!!

Well I think I have hogged the limelight on the blog for long enough. It is time to introduce you to all involved and hear from some of the other finalists competing for the big prize in the video below.

Forgotten what the big prize is? Let me remind you….The overall Accenture Leaders of Tomorrow winner(s) will receive a specially commissioned trophy by Seamus Gill Silversmith, Framed Certificate, the Leaders of Tomorrow Tour to an Accenture global innovation centre and the option of pursuing the business idea as part of the NDRC Launchpad programme or an internship with Accenture. Not so shabby!

If you have been following my journey to entrepreneurship story, please feel free to connect on Twitter @taraljustin or hit the buttons for Linkedin and Google + to the right of this page. Looking forward to hearing from you. J

 Press play and enjoy!

Round 2.5

Made it!! After hitting refresh on my inbox browser 50+ times in the space of an hour on Feb 17th, I finally got the “Congratulations, your business idea is in the top 12 shortlist” email.  Time to celebrate again (this is getting to be quite a regular occurrence).

Then of course, reality kicked right back in when I read the brief. The next round consisted of a 10 minute pitch to a panel and a 5 minute Q & A. This would be combined with a meet and greet event where participants would get the opportunity to meet Accenture consultants, finalists from previous years and representatives from NDRC.  Networking opportunity ahead!!

Once I had this information in hand, I went straight back to the lovely Peters (there are actually two of them replying to my emails in Accenture) and requested feedback from my presentation in the last round. Within a couple of hours, I knew that there were some areas within my presentation that needed a bit of tightening and more thought. Advice taken on board and late nights ahead for the next week!

**Pitch ready, game face on, show time**

On arrival at the Accenture offices, I was guided into the meet and greet area. After chatting with a couple of the consultants, I was ironically “pitched” by another competitor who literally did not draw breath until he was finished. Apparently, he thought that I was one of the judges. Brilliant!! I already appear to work at the company (as a head of department no less). Good start on the company fit profile. 

I should point out that I was not only flying the DIT flag in this competition but also the flag for all mature students! J

Following a welcome message, congratulatory speech, more details about the next round of the competition and a run down of proceedings by the Director, we were advised of our panel allocation. 

"The Top Twelve"

I was up next in boardroom Inis Mór. While this was a “Dragon’s Den” type of situation, the dragons were far more friendly than intimidating. I do have to admit though that nerves did kick in at that point. Usually pretty unflappable in these situations, I realised afterwards that presenting a project very personal to your life is a completely different scenario to a strictly work or college situation.  Lesson learned and I will be rehearsing with an audience next time. 

In the Q&A, I was asked a couple of questions that I hadn’t considered on the business model I was proposing. This has led me to take a second angle on the business idea that would make an excellent feasibility study. Great advice taken from Gary Leydon of NDRC. 

**Time to relax and network**

Having spent time with almost all contestants for the award, there was a very clear divide on motivation for entry. Approximately 70% were either applying or interviewing to work with Accenture. They were hoping that the competition would elevate them through the recruitment process. The other 30% really wanted to pursue their business ideas through NDRC and really didn’t see themselves pursing a career with Accenture. Curious odds but great for the recruitment department.  I also wonder how many of the 30% would turn down a position if offered…time will tell. 

One thing that was clear from talking to the consultants is that Accenture is a very positive place to work and people seemed genuinely happy in their jobs. Also, teams are not actually based in head office but in their client offices. Projects can vary from three months to three years and you can request which project you would like to work on next. There are clear paths for career progress and you are encouraged to be the best you can be. All sounding good so far and very well done to the company for taking care of their people.  

Back to the competition….

Round 3 will see the top 12 competitors halved to six finalists who will take part in a number of development days.  This is where the real prize foundations are set. 

Finalists get to “practice and refine the business abilities required to transform their innovative ideas into a formidable business proposition”. They also receive one-to-one mentoring
 and cover topics such as entrepreneurship in Ireland, new business start-ups, achieving growth, leveraging digital technology and the assistance options available to start-ups. Finalists also get the opportunity to learn about innovation and process improvement methodologies and how innovation is shaping the business landscape. 

Lastly, there is a "Leadership Skills Workshop" to prepare for the final pitch before a panel of Irish business leaders. Not so shabby if you want to kick start your career and boost your competitive edge.

Finalist results will be released this week so the race is officially on!!

Round 2

Once I managed to navigate my way through exam process (it had been a long time since I had the pleasure), I was able to get started on the detailed business case for my entry.

At first glance of the brief, I thought “no problem at all”.  Accenture gave a clear outline of what you should include and what the entry would be judged by. They wanted to know about my idea, the unique selling points, the target market and what it would do for them.

It sounded straightforward…until I started to drill down into these areas. I very quickly realised how much I had to learn. Steep learning curve ahead!

I needed to describe how the business would look. This is not the image and branding that might come to mind but the actual set up and operation of the business.  What will it do day to day? Who and how many will it employ? What technology will it use? How will it grow?

When I started to work on all of these areas, I realised that I needed financial quotes for the technology and salary scales for the proposed team.After four hours on the phone, I went from novice to expert very quickly in the area of apps and software development.

Basically, I was asking developers for rates on an app idea that I could not describe in detail because of intellectual property protection.

On the advice of the brilliant Lisa Domican (inventor of the Grace App), I scanned through the app store on iTunes and found the most similar app that I could get to the one I would need. From this, I could call the developer and ask for a rate on something close to the functionality. Bingo!! I had my quote in half an hour. I also discovered that while entry level apps are relatively inexpensive, high functionality without leaks and bugs come at a much greater price and consideration of mobile platforms has to be included (as that is the fastest growing sector of the market for my particular idea).

Advice to anyone researching costs and considering a similar route to market….developers do not like

tyre kickers (and who can blame them?!). Firstly, ensure that you actually need an app, have your example ready and a budget in mind. Then you are set for negotiation.

As for salary scales and qualification levels, I asked the experts. When I briefly explained why I was asking for help, professionals in the industry area were more than happy to share their thoughts. Don’t be shy or too proud to ask for help from peers, colleagues or even tenuous business links. At some stage you will be the expert and can pay it back by sharing your knowledge.

I would also highly recommend keeping a contact book/list from the day you first come up with your business idea. Use it to collect the names and contact details of each person you meet who may be interested in your idea, have expertise, or have access to information and people to help you. I have been carrying my original notebook (and now phone notes) in my bag for three years and they have travelled everywhere with me. The contacts, notes, links and ideas that it now contains proved invaluable during this process. No matter how much time had passed, people were delighted to give help and advice.

  

On the subject of asking for help, I would like to give “ Peter” a mention. This is the very lovely man who has answered all of my questions regarding the competition entry on behalf of Accenture. I have no idea who he is apart from his first name but suffice to say that he always replied within 24 hours and gave as much guidance as allowed. Professional all the way!

Once I had all of my information together, I was able to draw down the financials for the first year. This took into account seed capital needed, running costs, how much the business would make and how it would change over time.

All of a sudden the business was no longer an idea in my head, it became financially viable and I knew it would definitely be an asset to the relevant sector. Now I just have to convince Accenture to come to the same conclusion (no self inflicted pressure there then!).

After a final review of the judging criteria and ensuring that I had ticked all of the boxes, it was time to hit the button and press SEND. To say that there was a sense of relief mixed with euphoria on completion of the document is an understatement. Spending time planning and gathering troops to help you reach your goal is one thing but to potentially have that goal within grasp is on another level completely.  

The next stage of the competition is a short list of round two applicants who will be invited for a meet and greet event in the Accenture offices. This is the opportunity to talk with some of the Accenture consultants and meet with previous winners of the award. From this group, six finalists will be selected to attend “development days” and get the opportunity to pitch their idea to a panel of judges.

The actual prize at the end of the rainbow is (drum roll) the Leaders of Tomorrow Tour to an Accenture global innovation centre (New York).  The winner is also given the option of pursuing the business idea as part of the NDRC Launchpad programme or an internship with Accenture.

I have always believed that if you can dream it, you can do it. Now I just need Accenture to share the same philosophy and take my idea through to the next round. Fingers crossed for a good result on February 17th!!! J