I Love the Smell of a New Startup in the Morning…

Ah the launch of a new startup. Back in the dotcom era such ‘launch events’ were very popular, and often vulgar. They fell out of fashion after 2001 so I haven’t witnessed any in a decade. But I was very happy to help out (around the fringes) in the launch event for GreenEgg Technologies, with their partners and client Global Action Plan Ireland, last Thursday morning. No champagne or celebrities in sight, this was very much by the people and of the people.

The EcoBike - Perfect for Teaching People the Importance of Energy Conservation

We have been working with GreenEgg Technologies for a while now, actually since before they were GreenEgg Technologies.

The founder, Dr Shane Linnane, was one of the Dublin City University postdoctoral researchers (from the DCU Sustainability Lab) on the Ryan Academy Tech Start programme that we delivered earlier this year for DCU Invent. Rob Merriman, the new co-founder, was a top student from my Entrepreneurship Masters module in Dublin Institute of Technology. Getting them together has been, as they say, a match made in heaven.

This is the first (of what may be as many as four) startup coming out of  this Invent-inspired new venture creation programme, which had an initial group of 16 postdoctoral researchers from Engineering, Computing and Science Schools in DCU.

GreenEgg Technologies are a cleantech company. Yes, I know cleantech is a wide church, but GreenEgg have new product ideas that span a number of areas, so for once the title fits them nicely. Their first product is a nifty but high-tech EcoBike that is used to educate and excite kids about sustainable living. It was launched by the purchaser, Global Action Plan Ireland, at the Farmers Market in North Dublin last week. Complete with local school kids. And a Green Santa. Cue enjoyable chaos. All the enjoyable chaos of a startup.

Getting to Grips with the GreenEgg EcoBike!