Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you grew up and your career journey to date?
I was born and grew up in Ballymena, a town in the North of Ireland about 20 miles outside Belfast. The town was a mix of agriculture and industry and interestingly, was also the birthplace of Professor Sir Samuel Curran, the first Principal of the University of Strathclyde.
From an early age, I had a desire to travel, and I spent a couple of years exploring the world before returning to Ireland. I moved to Glasgow in 1998 where I met my (now) wife Yvonne, who had a small start-up, restoring and publishing old comic strips from the 1950’s and ‘60’s. It was the first time I’d been exposed to the sales and marketing process and I was fascinated by how the machinations of a small business worked. I learned a lot about entrepreneurship from Yvonne and ultimately it led to my chosen career path.
In 2000, I had a chance opportunity to work in London as a Start-Up Advisor, where I worked with a range of businesses and learned from experienced advisors and mentors. I’ve worked with early-stage companies ever since and joined the University in 2005 as a Start-Up Advisor. Although I’ve taken time out to set up my own consultancy business and been a co-founder of a software start-up, my real passion is helping others through the start-up process.
What is your role at the University of Strathclyde and what are your main responsibilities?
I work exclusively with pre-start and start-up entrepreneurs at the University. This mostly involves advice, coaching, helping with business planning, and raising early-stage funding. A big part of what I do is acting as a sounding board for ideas and strategies. Being an entrepreneur can be a very lonely existence and having someone to talk to about you plans can be invaluable. There are numerous things to consider – finance, intellectual property, sales and marketing and recruitment to name a few. Being able to have a conversation with someone who has had direct experience with all of these is a huge benefit to our entrepreneurs.
Why should University staff, students and alumni work with the team at Strathclyde Inspire?
I’ve worked across the enterprise network for the best part of 25 years, and I can honestly say there is nothing comparable to Strathclyde Inspire. The level of support is incredible, and the Inspire Hub is an amazing facility. When you couple this with the Inspire team, the network of supporters and, most importantly, the entrepreneurs who are engaged, you end up with something very special.
What is your greatest accomplishment in life?
In 2012 I climbed Kilimanjaro to raise awareness (and money of course!) for a charity called Funding Neuro. This was originally set up by my friend, Bryn Williams, in response to his early onset Parkinson's diagnosis. Bryn is a patent attorney and has been a long-time supporter of Strathclyde start-ups. Apart from overcoming the physical and mental challenge of climbing a pretty big mountain, there was a real sense of accomplishing something for a bigger cause.
What’s your favourite random fact?
Hollywood superstar Liam Neeson’s Mum (Kitty) was my school dinner lady!
If you could win any award possible, what would you choose?
Football’s Golden Shoe. Sadly, my lack of talent was recognised at an early age…
