Mark Hogan

Mark is a current journalism student in DCU and has covered a range of topics across print and radio. Having taken a class on entrepreneurship, he found startups were the most exciting thing happening in Ireland and developed a keen interest in them. Apart from technology, Mark has a love for biographies and Woody Allen films.
by Mark Hogan  -8th Jan '19
"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."
Brian Wilhite
Sqor Sports
"At the moment there is no mobile-first food ordering company that connects people with the best restaurants in Dublin and lets them order in two taps. Every design decision was made to streamline the process because people are busy and their time is their most valuable asset - anything that gives people back their time is very valuable."
James McCarthy
FlipDish
"We strive towards freedom and self-determination and I feel that entrepreneurship is the path to achieving that end goal. At this early stage, that path is hard to see amongst the bushes of doubt and the brambles of uncertainty. However, even in that dark place being able to walk that path is a wonderful feeling and I’m enjoying the experience."
Nick Hynes
Gymr
"Just keep Walking. The advice helped a lot. Success, failures, funding, no-funding, there is only one direction. Forward. You have to keep walking on it. Startups are like journey of crossing a desert. Once you are started you can’t afford to go back."
Girish Mehta
Joosworks
"The biggest learning for me is that a startup is really just one big experiment. It’s often hard to let go of an idea that you think is great, but if no one is going to pay you for that idea then you need to move on. Also, focusing on the business rather than on the tech is key. Look for budget and appetite from customers as early as possible..."
Bart Lehane
KillBiller.com
"The best gamification strategy is to really understand your customers, and have a good analysis of what is a key value for them. It is important, especially in a longterm gamification, to realise that most gamified solutions are dynamic systems that require updating, and are honed and refined over time - similar to mobile app development."
Oliver Simko
Luducrafts
"It’s definitely a challenge managing two startups. But our trick is to not make them mutually exclusive (i.e. we are using development resources from Digital Purpose to build Shareneeds). In addition, both startups share many similar values since the people behind both are the same. I would also recommend practicing patience and perseverance."
Martin Dejnicki
Digital Purpose | Shareneeds
"One of the things I have learnt is not to overthink too much and just go for it. The more exposure you can create the better, more contact points and engagements mean more potential for cross pollination or meeting a person that is genuinely going to make a difference to your company."
Lukas Decker
Coindrum
"Word of mouth is probably our strongest growth channel. We recently did a Net Promoter Score survey. The NPS is a simple question: "How likely are you to recommend Bullet to someone?" We scored 75 for the first couple of weeks which now hovers around 68. That's a higher recommendation than Apple's iPhone, and we're an accounting product!"
Peter Connor
Bullet
75% of all the entrepreneurs I mentor are Women and they seem to be very receptive, proactive and determined to turn their ideas into reality. One striking difference I have seen in the difference in how they work is their ability to network, ask questions and learn from more experienced business people - a key skill to be successful!"
Ryan Windsor
Windsor Properties
"Team is so important. It goes without saying, in work or in life, surround yourself with people who lift you up. It doesn’t matter if it’s a costume team or a software team. I must work with people who love what they do, are fired up about it. I like it when the people around me hold me to a very high standard. I surround myself with the best."
Tara Van Zyl
Seamless