Startups can be dark places. Founders can be both confused and manic in equal measure. The heroes journey is tempered with lack of cash and lots of uncertainty. Yet the joy and freedom of choosing to follow your dream is so rewarding. Incubators, universities and investors ask whether there is a better way to get to product/market fit? They ask how startups can learn to build their companies more efficiently?

Have you ever wondered how startups go about selecting a name for their businesses? Often it seems they choose a name that reflects what the product does. Seems to make sense – yes? Yet when you are an early stage startup trying to find product/market fit that can be tricky. What if you pivot to a new industry or application of your product?

Every startup founder knows that the greatest challenge they face is to deliver products that customers want and are prepared to pay for. Discovering that group of customers is a risky business of trial and error. The timeline to find these customers is tight and runway limited.

Enterprise Ireland in partnership with Select Strategies is delighted to announce the launch of a new initiative, SPRINT, to help founders address this challenge.

We’ve all heard the jokes about the number of (insert relevant profession) it takes to change a lightbulb. But recently I witnessed an exercise that got me thinking – when we ask groups of people to work together effectively, do we give enough thought as to how that group will make a decision?

Last week, I met famed leadership expert Gareth Jones (author of Why Should Anybody be Led by You?). Jones speaks about large companies and draws lessons from great leaders like Mandela and Branson. It got me thinking - how would his lessons apply to startups?

We work with startups all the time. On iGAP we meet 25+ new ones every year, each with their own set of challenges and issues to figure out. A friend of ours, let’s call him Jeff, has recently set up an internet business. One evening last week Jeff popped over for some advice and feedback on his beta site.

Someone asked me an interesting question recently - what is the right number of founders in a startup? Most of us only have the agony or ecstasy of a few startups so this an important question to consider early on. Like all seemingly straightforward questions, the answer is complex.

As programme managers, on behalf of Enterprise Ireland, for their internet and games startup programme iGAP, we are always delighted to hear stories from past participants about how iGAP changed their business. This blog post comes courtesy of iGAP past participant, Rory O'Connor www.scurri.com, who shares how the iGAP experience impacted his business:

Winning the first international reference site is tough. The normal rules don't apply. Greg Turley (Cartrawler) told a great story recently which has become known as the 'embassy close'.

The challenge Greg faced was getting that critical signature from an international airline. He had tried everything. Frustration in getting it across the line was mounting. Vanity was the only route left. He told his sales manager to call the international airlines key buyer to tell him that the CEO of Cartrawer (Greg) was hoping to meet him in Warsaw in the Irish embassy, with the Irish Ambassador and some media to sign the famous contract.