DigitalBoost

The €250,000 Seed Fund for Irish SMEs
Our Partners & Expert Panel
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    The Ireland SMB team at Google Ireland are a dedicated team of experts who drive the adoption of digital among Irish clients as a strategic tool to propel Irish business growth. Our team assist Irish small and medium enterprises to get the best possible results from doing business online.
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    Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in technology, opening new possibilities for people everywhere. Through relentless innovation and discovery, we are transforming the worlds of TVs, smartphones, tablets, PCs, cameras, home appliances, printers, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. To discover more, please visit www.samsung.com
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    PayPal, a world leader in online and mobile payments with 15 years of payment innovation, is committed to helping start-ups. PayPal - together with subsidiary, Braintree - enable people and businesses to pay and get paid in a more secure and intuitive way, wherever and whenever they want. With 157 million active digital wallets in 203 markets, PayPal offers an open and secure payments ecosystem that is truly global. PayPal supports Irish start-ups by educating them to make the most of online and mobile opportunities, connecting them to a global market. Fast and easy to set-up, PayPal’s start-ups can accept debit cards, credit cards, bank payments and PayPal in minutes. PayPal helps every step of the way, with more than 2,000 Irish teammates helping tens of thousands of businesses every day.
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    The Digital Marketing Institute is the global certification standard in digital marketing education, producing more graduates trained to a single digital marketing standard than any other certification body. The organisation works with global digital industry leaders to define the skills and qualifications required in this rapidly growing industry, which it teaches via its accredited Professional, Postgraduate and Masters Education programmes. Courses are lectured full time, part time and online in 50 countries by the Digital Marketing Institute and its network of licensed education partners.
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    Salesforce the world’s #1 CRM and only Customer Success Platform, is the clear leader in sales, service, marketing and cloud platforms and has been ranked by Forbes as the Most Innovative Company in the World for the last four consecutive years. Having pioneered the shift to cloud, social, mobile and connected devices, Salesforce allows its customers to connect with their customers in entirely new ways via its Customer Success Platform. From SMB’s to large Enterprises, Salesforce provides companies of all sizes the tools they need to transform the way they sell, service, market and innovate.
Meet the Expert Panel

Serena Lawless

Head of Sales, Irish Small and Medium Enterprises, Google.

Serena heads up the Irish sales team in Google’s Small & Medium Sized Enterprise Division. The SME team at Google Ireland are a dedicated group  of experts who drive the adoption of digital among Irish clients as a strategic tool to propel business growth. The team help Irish SMEs get the best possible results from doing business online. Before working at Google Serena held a number of Senior Sales and Business Development roles across the telecommunications and digital media sectors. She worked internationally for companies including Ericsson, RealNetworks International, LogicaCMG and Silicon and Software Systems.
Serena Lawless

David Walsh

Director of Small Business, eir Business

In this role David manages teams with responsibility for meeting the needs of eir’s Business Solutions’ broad customer base, matching customer requirements with eir’s portfolio of fixed and mobile voice and data networking solutions and services. David has over 14 years’ experience in senior management roles, gained initially in Tennent’s Ireland as General Sales Manager. He joined eir in 2001 where he has held a number of senior management positions. David is a graduate of University College Dublin, where he completed an Executive MBA in 2008, and he holds qualifications in Marketing, Finance and Food Science.
David Walsh

Anthony Quigley

Director and co-founder of the Digital Marketing Institute

Anthony is considered one of the pioneers of digital marketing in Ireland. Outside his role with the Digital Marketing Institute Anthony advises and mentors organisations on how to plan and implement digital marketing campaigns, using online technologies as part of their business growth.

As an entrepreneur Anthony has created, developed and sold a number of successful ventures. Prior to launching the Digital Marketing Institute in 2008, he founded or held director level positions in eWare, iQuate, Microsoft, Net Results and Web Kitchen, among other businesses.

Anthony Quigley

Jim Cassidy

Managing Director of Isobar Dublin

Isobar is a global, full service digital agency with 68 offices in 37 markets and a wide mix of international, local and government clients. Jim has vast experience in the online and mobile sectors, working in these areas throughout his career. In 2006 he developed a traffic video app that spanned 10 cities and garnered 2.5 million downloads. Under Jim’s leadership Isobar has grown from an infrastructure and technology company to one of Ireland’s leading full service digital agencies. In addition to leading Isobar, Jim is also a lecturer in eCommerce and Digital Strategy for The Digital Marketing Institute and Retail Excellence Ireland. He is passionate about giving Irish businesses a platform to operate on a global scale.
Jim Cassidy

Gary Disley

Director of Small Business, eir Business

Gary has over 15 years’ experience working for several leading telecommunication companies in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland, including Optus, Telecom NZ and Telefonica O2 in Ireland. Gary held various commercial and marketing roles at these companies, in areas such as strategy and planning, segment propositions, devices and supply chain, and program management. Born in Sydney, Australia, Gary has a Bachelor of Business Studies in Marketing. He also holds a Masters in Business Studies in International Management, which included a year studying on the MBA program at the University of Montana in the USA.
Gary Disley

Íde O'Brien

Marketing Manager with Samsung Ireland

As marketing manager, Íde works closely with mobile phone operators, bringing products to market, and managing various projects such as the Samsung Night Run and the Samsung Technology Partnership with Leinster Rugby. Íde has worked in Marketing since 2005, having completed her Masters in Marketing in the Michael Smurfit School of Business, UCD. With almost 10 years’ experience in consumer marketing, Íde knows how to deliver strong through-the-line campaigns, comprising channel marketing, PR, sponsorship, below-the-line advertising and digital elements. Prior to taking on her current role with Samsung in 2013, Íde worked with Irish Distillers in Pernod Ricard Austria, and Microsoft Ireland.
Íde O'Brien

Sanj Bhayro

Senior Area Vice President – EMEA SMB at salesforce.com

As an EMEA Sales Leader at Salesforce.com for 10 years, Sanj has managed multiple regions and market segments. He is currently responsible for the EMEA Small to Medium Business Unit, and in this role he is committed to aligning and helping start-ups and fast growing companies achieve success. Sanj has over 15 years’ experience in technology roles across various industries and segments throughout Europe, Middle and East Asia.
Sanj Bhayro

Anthony Rafferty

Head of PayPal’s UK and Ireland merchant operations and inside sales.

Anthony is responsible for the end-to-end experience of enterprises and SMEs.  He provides SME merchants with support structures that help drive revenue growth and education. In seven years at PayPal, Anthony has been responsible for the design and integration of payment solutions which support merchants, ranging from start-ups that need to quickly process secure payments without the complication of PCI compliance, to much larger merchants expanding into new markets who want to remove the complexity of multiple currencies and payment methods over multiple devices.
Anthony Rafferty
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Success Stories
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