IRISH TECHNOLOGY Leadership Group (ITLG), the California-based organisation of Irish and Irish-American technology executives, has entered into a partnership with the Kauffman Foundation to deliver education on entrepreneurship to Irish start-ups.

The first fruits of the relationship will be a “CEO boot camp” which will take place in Silicon Valley next March as part of the group’s Irish Innovation Summit.

During the two-day event the group will publish its annual Silicon Valley 50 list of the most influential Irish and Irish American business people in the US technology industry. The winners of the ITLG/Irish Times company of the year awards will also be announced.

John Hartnett, founder and president of the group, said the partnership with Kauffman would address an issue his organisation had identified when working with Irish start-ups who were looking to expand into the US market.

“When a Californian entrepreneur pitches their company they make it sound like a Ferrari but sometimes when you examine it you see it has a Volkswagen engine,” said Mr Hartnett. “The Irish companies we see call it a Volkswagen but when you examine it there’s a Ferrari inside.”

The group intends to create a version of the Kauffman Foundation’s FastTrac course, which helps accelerate the time between start-up idea and foundation of a business, tailored for Irish start-ups.

“It will be aimed at chief executives who have set up their company, have a product and want to accelerate their growth,” said Mr Hartnett.

“It’s a very well recognised course and we will run it in Silicon Valley and Ireland.”