Emerging finalists
EMMET O'NEILL
Smiles Dental
EMMET O'NEILL is the founder of Smiles Dental, the largest privately owned provider of dental care in Ireland. After working in banking, aviation, finance and ladies' fitness centres, O'Neill identified a gap in the market for a specialised tooth-whitening clinic in Ireland, and in 2005 he opened the first Smiles Clinic on South Anne Street, Dublin 2.
The original concept was of a high-end appointment-only tooth-whitening service provided by dentists in a contemporary setting. However, soon after launch, O'Neill realised the market was not just for tooth-whitening but for all dental services. Since 2006 he has opened 13 clinics nationwide offering all forms of dental treatment, from check-ups to cleanings to oral surgery and orthodontic treatments.
Locations include Dublin, Wicklow, Cork, Wexford, Galway, Waterford and Louth. In 2007, the company began acquiring existing dental practices. Smiles Dental has nine openings planned in the coming year.
O'Neill says the strategy of offering "Northern Irish prices in southern Irish locations" has appealed to the public. Smiles Dental employs more than 60 dentists and a team of 100 nurses and administrative staff.
PRODUCTS
All dental treatment is provided at Smiles Clinics - from standard cleaning, through to fillings, whitenings and veneers, oral surgery and orthodontics. The concept of "Inform before your perform" allows clients to be fully aware of the alternatives available to them.
CUSTOMERS
Smiles attracts people from all demographics and had over 100,000 patients in 2009 and is on track for 150,000 in 2010. It has seen a sharp increase in demand for orthodontic treatment among females in their 20s.
WHAT WERE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU FACED STARTING UP?
We were the first in Ireland to offer dentistry in this manner - the first to advertise our services. Within the industry, there was a bit of resistance. I struggled to get dentists to come on board initially as they did not believe they would have patients. Slowly but surely this changed, but only by proving the model.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO SUCCEED?
Fear of failure. I have always been competitive and don't see the point in trying anything if you don't give it your best. Re-establishing goals regularly keeps you focused. I have an unbelievable team who I work with and we are all pushing each other to be better and hit the highs.
SEÁN CARTY
Lita Lighting
SEÁN CARTY is a serial entrepreneur whose first company Connect Electronics was founded in 1993. Established as a manufacturer of board-level electronic components, it quickly began to specialise in sourcing and distributing hard-to-find electronic components for multinationals in Ireland. With offices in Dublin, Spain, India and the US, Connect Electronics still operates under Carty's leadership and has supported the business expansion to Lita Lighting, a LED lighting systems company, purchased by Carty in Madrid. He has changed the business processes to make the company a designer, manufacturer and distributor of state-of-the-art LED lighting systems and solutions. Lita Lighting has nine employees in Ireland with plans for further recruitment across R&D, logistics, quality control, administration and sales and marketing. Its portfolio of products has been designed by its R&D teams in Dublin and Madrid and it has set up sales offices in the UK, Spain, Germany and the US, with plans to expand this to Hungary and Argentina. Carty's vision is to have at least one commercial volume product range completely designed, manufactured and distributed from Ireland - he is currently working with Sanmina-SCI, Fermoy, Cork, towards making this a reality.
PRODUCTS
The company's range includes commercial and domestic down lights, tube lights, and high bay industrial lights to large spot lights.
CUSTOMERS
Lita Lighting supplies product to a number of sectors including, education, retail, industry, chemical and pharmaceutical
DESCRIBE YOUR PROGRESSION FROM START-UP TO CURRENT STATUS?
A rollercoaster ride! We've defied the odds. We've beaten two recessions, a dotcom bubble burst, and a biblical exodus of multinational electronic manufacturing companies from Ireland and yet we still continue to grow.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT?
Being the first Irish distributor of electronics components to set up in the US after been told we were too small to succeed there and that we were being ludicrously over ambitious.
HOW DO YOU RECHARGE YOUR BATTERIES?
I used to travel to watch Glasgow Celtic play, but these days this is considered a penance. Now I rely on the hilarious antics of my son for amusement and relaxation.
DECLAN O'HALLORAN
Quintas Energy
FOUNDED IN February 2008, Seville was the natural home for Quintas Energy as it claimed its place in the emerging solar energy sector. Under the leadership of Declan O'Halloran, it manages a large portfolio of ground PV assets in Spain. Climate and engineering expertise in renewables created the initial platform for a business that grew rapidly in its first phase to manage a gross investment of €130 million by the end of 2009. With offices in Rome, London and Dublin, Quintas has positioned itself to take advantage of the growing Italian and UK markets for solar energy generation, while reinforcing its access to equity and finance in Ireland and the UK for expansion. The company's second phase is targeting a total of €300 million in solar assets under management by spring 2011.
This is scheduled to dovetail into Quintas Energy's first US investments for which development, particularly across the southwest in Arizona and California, has begun. Confident in the direction of the company, Declan has focused his team on excellence in managing energy assets. Tougher economic times demand higher standards of proof of concept, viability studies, audits, due diligence, financial modelling and reporting and that is where Quintas has invested heavily in intellectual property, IT and human resources.
PRODUCTS
Quintas provides transaction, development, management and consultancy services in the solar, cleantech and energy efficiency sectors.
CUSTOMER
Quintas Energy's clients include pension funds, private equity funds, the wealth management divisions of leading banks, tax equity investors and other energy companies.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU FACED STARTING UP?
Although the solar farms were operating well on a technical level, the banking crisis made it difficult to raise finance, particularly project finance. The solar sector in Spain surpassed all expectations and this created payment problems that weren't fully resolved until mid-2009. The technical part of the project was less onerous than the administrative and financial sides. Almost all its problems were solved by strong management.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE ENTREPRENEURS STARTING OUT TODAY?
Never stop learning; make learning a part of your personal and business culture.
LIAM GRIFFIN
Monart Destination Spa
LIAM GRIFFIN has been involved in the hospitality industry all his life, serving customers from the time he was 12 years old in a small family hotel in Rosslare Harbour.
In 1974 he bought the family business from his then widowed mother, and started in business with five full-time employees and his wife Mary. He bought Hotel Kilkenny in 1985, which he developed into a four-star conference and wedding venue with leisure facilities.
He acquired Ferrycarrig Hotel in 1991, and, with minority business partner Tom Noonan, turned this around from an old 37-bedroom operation to a 103-bedroom four-star hotel. There are now more than 1,500 members in both the Ferrycarrig and Hotel Kilkenny leisure clubs.
Griffin acquired Monart House and 100 acres in 2001, and set about developing a world class facility in Co Wexford.
The spa was completed in 2005. It opened to an Irish market not yet familiar with the idea of a destination spa. Its exclusivity and high quality has since won many accolades; it awarded best Irish spa for three consecutive years; in 2006 Monart was named in the top 10 destinations to visit worldwide by Forbes magazine; and most recently it was voted Runner-up Best Spa Retreat Worldwide by the coveted Condé Nast Traveller.
Griffin employs 80 to 100 people in Monart and 400 throughout the Griffin Group.
PRODUCTS
Monart Destination Spa offers a complete range of spa treatments and tailored detox, rewind and physical programmes. It includes food and accommodation in an idyllic setting.
CUSTOMERS
Monart today enjoys 72 per cent repeat business. Customers come from all sections of Irish society, with smaller numbers coming from overseas. Younger and older people mix in an informal atmosphere.
ARE THERE ANY INTERESTING CIRCUMSTANCES SURROUNDING THE COMPANY'S INCEPTION?
I found great difficulty in getting finance to buy our small family business even though I was buying it for half its value. I was refused finance from all the major banks. Eventually I raised the finance at a 20 per cent interest rate! That was 1974.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO SUCCEED?
Customer feedback and the challenge of competing in one of the world's oldest and greatest industries.
The Award
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, now in its 13th year, aims to recognise and acclaim Ireland's entrepreneurs. The award is run in association with The Irish Times, RTÉ, Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland, and Newstalk. Eight companies have been chosen in each of the three categories: International, Industry and Emerging. Four nominees will be profiled each Monday over the next four weeks. A nominee must be a business founder or owner, and be primarily responsible for the recent performance of a company that is at least two years old. Founders of public companies are eligible, provided the founder is still active in top management. The nominee must own 5 per cent of the company to be eligible.
Anyone - including employees, company advisors and financiers - can nominate a successful entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs may nominate themselves and/or their peers.
The judges are business people who have achieved success in their own right. Thus, all nominees are judged by their peers.
Judging criteria include growth in turnover and employee numbers, as well as vision, degree of innovation, creativity in production, marketing and selling, and expansion in local and international markets
The chairman of the judging panel is Padraig O'Ceidegh, chairman of Aer Arran. The other judges are Terry Clune CEO, Taxback.com; Hugh O'Donnell CEO, Kentz Group; Brian Long, Partner,Atlantic Bridge Ventures; Michael Carey, Executive Chairman, Jacob Fruitfield Group; Anne Heraty, Chief Executive Officer, CPL Resources plc; Jerry Kennelly, CEO, Gustavo; Tom Hayes, Enterprise Ireland; Pat McDonagh, ThirdForce; Liam Shanahan, Managing Director Shanahan Engineering; Liam Nellis Chief Executive InterTradeIreland.
The winner will be announced at a televised awards ceremony on October 21st.
