Two years ago Mr Martin Casey and Ms Dervla Cunningham stood on top of the technology world as paper millionaires following the sale of the Dublin-based Web-design firm Zartis, which they co-founded with three other twenty-somethings.
Breakaway Solutions paid $18 million (€18.2 million) in cash and shares to the five co-founders and staff of Zartis, a firm that had been operating for just 11 months. Within a year the dream ended as the technology bubble burst, stock markets crashed and Zartis closed.
But the two entrepreneurs are back in business just a few months after their 30th birthdays with their latest venture Arekibo - an internet firm that offers customers Web consultancy, design and management services.
"There is a downturn but there is still work out there. Companies are just vetting firms much harder and choosing people with experience," says Mr Casey, managing director of Arekibo.
Mr Casey, who has won awards for a website highlighting the difficulties faced by people with speech impediments, says Arekibo will not grow at anything like the pace with which Zartis expanded. The firm has just seven employees at the moment, but has already signed several deals with FÁS, IBEC, AOL and AIB.
Ms Cunningham, who will manage Arekibo's marketing and sales operation, says many firm bought expensive technical equipment but don't know how to manage a Web presence. This is the niche that Arekibo is targeting.
