"Entrepreneurship requires flexibility. No matter how well you strategize, things will not always go exactly as planned. I like to think of mistakes more as learning opportunities to guide future decisions. When you’re thrown a curve ball, you must allow yourself to take a second to rethink your strategy and adapt."

My first article for Inspired Startups published in May 2015 was entitled ‘What Enterprise Ireland are looking for in a CSF Application’. This follow up post will focus on an increasingly important part of your Stage 1 application for Competitive Start Fund - the video pitch which is worth 25% of the available marks."

A few years ago, Enterprise Ireland introduced the Competitive Start Fund to assist early stage startups. A hugely vital initiative for startups, CSF facilitates Enterprise Ireland to invest €50,000 for 10% equity. This post will provide first-hand experience of what the state agency is looking for in a well completed application.

Ireland is probably one of the most generous countries in the world right now in terms of government supports, there's a lot of it out there and yet we see a lot of founders who are agitated or stressed out cos they can't get it or they don't know how to get it..So, know the system!"