Oscar-nominated films and Ireland’s largest coffee chain at Start-up Night

There was a focus on successful companies with local origins at the AIB Start-up Night in Kilkenny.

Bobby Kerr talked about the growth of his company, Insomnia Coffee.

He opened his first coffee shop in 1998 and now has 100 shops and more than 200 Spar locations.

Kerr said that when he started the company, “you never saw anybody walking down the street with a latte”.

The company benefited from the “exploding coffee market which was able to sustain both us and new arrivals like Starbucks”.

Insomnia recently partnered with Debenhams and will expand into the UK.

“During the recession, we throttled back and grew the Spar business rather than the high-street business,” Kerr said. “Now we’re in a very strong position to internationalise the business.”

Cartoon Saloon

Guest speaker

Gerry Shirren

talked about the inner workings of Academy Award-nominated animation studio Cartoon Saloon, which was founded in Kilkenny 16 years ago.

He talked about the years of development that go into making an animated programme. Puffin Rock, an original children's series set on Puffin Island in Kerry, launched on Netflix in 2013 after five years of planning.

“We want to be an independent studio . . . and do our own stuff,” Shirren said. “The cost of being independent is we’re struggling all the time to finance projects.”

The studio's feature film The Secret of Kells was nominated for an Academy Award in 2009. Angelina Jolie is the executive producer of The Breadwinner, one of its current projects.

“Cartoon Saloon might be considered to be an overnight success, but really it’s an overnight success over 15 years,” Shirren said.

Three start-ups gave five- minute "elevator pitches" to show aspiring entrepreneurs and early-stage start-ups how a pitch is done.

Shane Lynn returned to the AIB Start-up Academy stage to pitch KillBiller, a free app that examines phone usage and allows customers to choose the right mobile phone plan.

Lynn was a semi-finalist in last year’s Start-up Academy and he explained how the company has progressed since then.

He plans to launch KillBiller in the United Kingdom and Canada next month and is exploring other opportunities to expand internationally.

Gerald Costello pitched Costello’s Brewing Company, which launched in Kilkenny in August 2014 with a draft red ale. The company recently launched its first bottle beer – The Red.

Niall Rhatigan pitched Ecocool, a commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning company that focuses on energy savings.

Catherine O’Meara and Darren Mooney, founders of the Marshmallow Factory, attended the event to meet other entrepreneurs. They started their all-natural, gourmet marshmallow business a year ago and are now stocked in 47 SuperValu locations.

“We came here to see what was going on, see who’s here and get a few ideas from other businesses. We go to as many of these events as possible because you always meet interesting people,” O’Meara said.

The event was part of a nationwide tour leading up to the second AIB Start-up Academy, which is open for applications. The next event will take place in Belfast on November 17th