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Veronicas Snacks was recently mentioned in a lovely Facebook Post and image by Dara Murphy that incorporated enterprise, investment and women in business amongst many other things.

Dara Murphy is a well-known politician from Cork who I have met on numerous occasions from a social and work point of view. When doing a recent publicity shoot he asked me, along with my Veronicas Snacks, as a way to help promote people to go ahead and follow their dream.

The picture was taken outside the Clarion in Cork. I literally got a call thirty minutes earlier from Frank Walsh who is the VC who invested in my company.

I had met Frank for the first time just under a year earlier. He is possibly the best VC in Cork; as my shrewd and very blunt brother told me “Frank will tell you pretty quick if you have a good idea or not!”

Start-up Investment Advice

Frank told me that he normally never invests in food companies and never husband and wife teams; well I must have changed his mind as he phoned me a few weeks after an Enterprise Ireland meeting saying Julie Sinnamon had made the point that Ireland needs to invest in female entrepreneurs. That was the deciding moment for my Enterprise equity.

The Enterprise boards first and then Enterprise Ireland are fantastic! They paid for my mentor who gave me the initial steps to help me on my Veronicas Snacks path. I then did a 6 week course in the Rubicon in Cork which forced me to stand up in front of a crowd and tell them my idea. It was there that one of the experienced advisors said ‘hold on I think she has a great idea’

I learnt about ‘elevator pitches’ which became very important and I started the journey that led me to where I am now, heeding their advice in helping me to avoid the many pitfalls that I could have potentially encountered.

 

Women in Business

More than anything I sometimes feel that being a woman has been a fantastic help. I have a family of three kids and a husband at home and everyone knows that it ultimately falls on our shoulders to make sure the dinner is on the table and the house is running smoothly. Even if at times we are not there but we ultimately want to be.

Now one person cannot do everything so one of my skills is to make sure the wheels keep turning and I find the right person to do the different steps that are necessary to get things done and done well to get to the next stage.

I think women are excellent time managers; we try to get the job done as efficiently as possible and if there is a better way of doing it, we are on it!

 

Why Veronicas Snacks?

It is no secret that we have a serious problem with people eating too much unhealthy fast foods and sometimes it is because they do not know better. Here at Veronica’s I want people to have a choice because we can offer a choice; a healthier alternative.

Just make the healthier swap! Food is one of life’s great pleasures, I live by the motto that one should enjoy all pleasures within moderation.

 

Cork is Great!

It was fantastic to be mentioned within Dara’s post alongside the thriving Cork Companies like Pat Phelan’s success, Trustev and Cork’s Trend Micro and Intel McAfee. Thank You Dara, I am delighted.

Cork is a great place to set up a business and people are only delighted to help in any way; no matter what size you are.

Here is a copy of Dara’s post that inspired this post. Many thanks once again!

I have nothing but praise for the management at Enterprise Ireland and their local staff in Cork and the South-West region for their success in generating a record number of jobs in 2015.

Enterprise Ireland supported firms across the country and created 21,000 new jobs last year – the highest figure achieved since the state agency was founded.

This success translates into a net increase of 10,169 jobs for 2015 in Enterprise Ireland supported firms – taking into account job losses – and brings total employment in these companies to 192,223.

I’m proud to report that Cork accounted for the highest jobs growth outside of Dublin, up 17% and 1,750 jobs.

These figures confirm that this is a balanced recovery. The upward employment trend on Leeside is set to continue in 2016, as Cork establishes itself as Ireland’s second engine for growth and we position to attract further investment from rapidly expanding indigenous firms looking to develop new business opportunities within the existing cluster of leading technology and pharmaceutical multinationals located in Cork.

Enterprise Ireland’s local staff in Cork and the South-West are to be congratulated for their success in generating a record number of jobs in 2015.

Enterprise Ireland, in tandem with the Local Enterprise Offices, provide an essential business mentoring and financial support service for Cork startups, as well as helping Irish SMEs to scale up and expand into overseas markets. They are also proactive about supporting women in business, with 60 Enterprise Ireland funded startups in 2015 being led by successful female entrepreneurs.

Bishopstown-based healthy snack-food company ‘Veronica’s Snacks’, led by Veronica Kenneally, is an excellent example of an innovative Cork startup catering for the needs of health conscious snack buyers.

Cork is also developing an international reputation as a favourite location for online security companies from major multinationals such as TrendMicro and Intel McAfee, to Enterprise Ireland supported cyber and information security company, Smart tech, led by IT@Cork Chairman Ronan Murphy, and Pat Phelan’s online fraud prevention company ‘Trustev’ – one of Enterprise Ireland’s leading showcase companies of 2015.