On November 21, 2024, we hosted our Annual Founders Meet-up at Dogpatch Labs, Dublin, to demystify the cybersecurity start-up journey. We had the pleasure of partnering with Enterprise Ireland, Scale Ireland and Cyber Innovates to run this event.
This bespoke meet-up is for founders of cybersecurity companies at various stages from new start-ups, to established companies with investment exporting internationally. It also provides a space for industry professionals with an interest in founding or joining a start-up as well as the investment community.
The event was opened by Cyber Ireland’s cluster manager, Eoin Byrne, highlighting the opportunity for Ireland’s cybersecurity start-up ecosystem. The event was chaired by Colm Healy, CEO of Corrata, who moderated a lively panel discussion exploring the diverse experiences and challenges of founding and scaling a start-up. The panel featured:
- Aidan Finn, CEO and Co-Founder of Binarii Labs
- Conor McGoveran, Chief Technology Officer of Cyber Cert Labs
- Nicola Emmet, Founder and Executive Chairman of RiskEye
- John Randles, CEO of Siren
The speakers shared personal stories, offering insights into the unique hurdles they’ve encountered while building and scaling their start-ups, in particular around investment. Key takeaways from the panel discussion included:
- “Considering your forecast in a particular journey to hit specific milestones, you are never going to hit them in that time—it will take at least twice as long. But you must remain cautious and keep working.” – Aidan Finn
- “You don’t have to be big to have people who want to listen to you, as long as you develop expertise in your specific field.” – Conor McGoveran
After the panel, Michael Hayden, Senior Development Adviser at Enterprise Ireland, shared What Makes a Great Start-Up, emphasizing four critical factors for success that attendees could apply to their own ventures.
To close the session, Ronan Coleman, director of the Cyber Innovate program, introduced the needs-led entrepreneurship training programme run out of Munster Technological University that will create new cybersecurity entrepreneurs and start-ups over the coming years. If you’re interested in starting a cybersecurity company, Cyber Innovate’s application is now open for 2025. For founders or mentors who want to give back, you can also get involved in the programme through guest talks or mentoring.
Thanks to all the speakers, panellists, and attendees for joining our annual founders’ meet-up and helping to develop Ireland’s cybersecurity start-up ecosystem.
