WILD GEESE: Bryan Byrne Director of business and revenue products at Yelp
SILICON VALLEY has a magnetic attraction for computer programmers at the best of times but family ties rather than the lure of technology’s mecca was the prompt for Laois native Bryan Byrne to head west. His brother was working in San Francisco, so it meant Byrne joined the ranks of Irish people who packed their bags for foreign shores by choice, not compulsion at the tail end of the Nineties.
His trip turned out to be well timed; Byrne’s arrival with a UCD computer science degree coincided with the full swing of the dotcom era. “Anyone with a computer science background was getting hired, it was the boom and I was lucky enough to end up working at the travel website Hotwire.com – I was there pre-launch and spent roughly four years there working in various engineering roles.”
Having arrived voluntarily, what made Byrne stay after the dotcom crash? “It was definitely a tough economic environment but ultimately I have a very strong belief in technology – I don’t think anyone would say it’s not going anywhere. That’s what we’ve seen in Silicon Valley – people are still trying to innovate and build great products and really the future’s bright if you do that. I think that’s important for Ireland to focus on too,” he adds.
Byrne remained at Hotwire.com until 2004 before a year-long stint at the computer security firm Symantec. He then briefly swapped the Valley for the Pacific Northwest, having got a job in Seattle with the property website Zillow. It was there that he began using Yelp, a website for people who want to find local businesses. Part directory, part social network, the site relies extensively on people who write reviews of services ranging from restaurants and pubs to doctors and dentists. The reviews are shared online, and as Byrne used the site more and more he eventually sought out the company and relocated to San Francisco in 2007.
Now in the role of director of business and revenue products for the site, Byrne was back in Ireland this month to help promote the Irish version, Yelp.ie. Ten years away would normally put someone at a disadvantage when looking for places to eat and drink; ironically Yelp is designed to solve problems like this. “I went to UCD so I used to know all the hot spots but since I moved away they’ve all changed, so it’s great to come back and still end up at the local hot spots,” Byrne says.
Permanently based out of the US, Byrne tries to make it home at least once a year. He is a firm supporter of the move to reinstate a direct flight between Ireland and Silicon Valley – for business rather than personal reasons. “I would love to see it back again. I think it’s important because Silicon Valley has so many of the top technology companies in the world, I think it’s important for them to have easy access to Dublin,” he says, pointing out that Ireland is very positively perceived as a technology hub by executives in Silicon Valley.
Looking back on a decade spent near the heart of technology culture, Byrne is well placed to pass on advice for anyone thinking of making a similar journey. “I think it’s all about the individual and focusing on being great at what you do. There’s plenty of people I worked with, especially in technology, that didn’t go to great universities but who worked really hard and learned the technologies. If you’re interested in computer engineering there’s so much you can learn for free online, outside of any college course. Look at some of the products we know now – [at] Google, those guys didn’t even end up finishing their PhDs at Stanford. They had a great idea and wanted to innovate.”
Hard work is another key ingredient in any recipe for success in Silicon Valley. “At Hotwire I definitely worked 120-hour weeks – there’s definitely times where I was sleeping in the office and there’s plenty of examples of that,” says Byrne of the start-up culture. He subsequently qualifies that, saying such intensive periods aren’t the norm but tend to come when companies prepare their first product or service for public launch.
Another factor in Silicon Valley’s favour is a culture that doesn’t demonise failure, he says. “There’s a fostering of entrepreneurship. Not every start-up succeeds, and building a great company is very difficult. You have to be open to failure and trying again. We all hear about these success stories but it’s important to go in and work hard. If something doesn’t work out, try again.”
Over his career Byrne has worked for companies that other people have started. He says he’s happy to have done so but remains open to the bite of the entrepreneurial bug. “I ultimately will start my own company but it’s just the right time, right idea,” he says. “Not everyone needs to be a founder. You can be a key contributor in a great company and that’s fantastic. That’s what gets me excited about Yelp. Google wouldn’t be where it is if it was just the two guys in the garage.” Byrne draws out the final syllable, betraying a decade spent in “the Valley”, before quickly correcting himself with in his midlands accent. “I’m only back four days,” he laughs. Clearly, “the Valley” leaves its mark.
