CEO Pat Lucey speaks on newstalk FM about how he set-up Aspira ten years ago following the closure of Motorola. This was his burning platform that inspired him to take the entrepreneurial leap to set-up Aspira with his colleague Colum Horgan.
Pat talks about the culture change from a multinational environment, where you are somewhat protected from the trials and tribulations of the economy, to having to deal with the challenges and demands of running your own business. However, both Pat and Colum came from family businesses, so were aware of both the risks and commitment required, to make Aspira the success it is today.
Both the combination of their multinational experience, where there was a huge investment in people and their backgrounds of growing up in family businesses gave them the confidence and ability to lead their own company. Aspira employs nearly 100 people and has offices in both Dublin and Cork.
Pat advises that creating a new business takes more than just a good idea. You need to investigate thoroughly and look at all the available supports out there, including Enterprise Ireland, which is very helpful to Aspira. Importantly you need people to tell you ‘your baby is ugly’, if the idea is not good enough.
Don’t be reluctant about giving negative feedback. People often just casually say ‘oh, that’s a great idea!”, as they are afraid of upsetting budding entrepreneurs! So don’t be afraid to tell people their baby is ugly!
