With DNA From DEC and HP, Galway Builds Startup Hub Outside Dublin
Summary
Irish entrepreneur Michael FitzGerald still gets calls from investors and potential partner companies in the U.S. who ask him “How’s Dublin?” when making small talk—even though his startup, OnePageCRM, is located a two-hour drive west in the coastal city of Galway.FitzGerald’s scenario illustrates the global brand that Dublin has built—and shows that startup advocates in Ireland’s other cities have their work cut out for them in trying to get outsiders to take notice.Dublin unquestionably remains Ireland’s economic hub, its most populous metropolitan area, its most well-known city, and the seat of most of its startup activity, especially on the tech side.Galway’s advantages include a solid talent pool flowing from local universities; the presence of several major U.S. tech companies, including IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Cisco; a small but rising number of home-grown tech startups; a pair of tech meet-up and support groups, Startup Galway and the Information Technology Association of Galway; well-funded university research and commercialization initiatives, like the Insight Centre for Data Analytics that involves multiple Irish universities; and the “quality of life” factor that comes with being a beloved cultural icon nestled on Ireland’s west coast.Yet Galway wasn’t even on Miles Kane’s radar when he began scouting locations for his U.S. company’s new European headquarters earlier this year.
