Olive O’Connor, Creative Founder of MediStori and Mumtrepreneur of the Year 2015, made her Mayo Ideas Week debut at the ‘Spirit of Entrepreneurship’ event in 2013.  We at Mayo Ideas Week decided to catch up with her this year to ask her for some tips and advice on starting a business.

Who is your inspiration?

I have two inspirations, both of whom have shaped the way I live my life and run my business.

My first inspiration is my mum. From a tiny age she always encouraged me to follow my dreams and not to listen to people who would say “it can’t be done, so why bother”. She had so many challenges in her life and yet she always smiled outwardly; she always put us first; she stayed true to herself and because of this she achieved things so many people told her she would never do. She also taught me to have faith, have balance and to always go with my gut instinct.

My second inspiration is Richard Branson.  Everything he does is sourced from his own baseline vision and he doesn’t worry about the “how to” just the “let’s get started!” He empowers his team to become leaders in their own right and values the importance of their health and wellbeing – he even gives his management team free reign on holidays and time off, with the simple attitude – just get the job done! He thinks like the customer and doesn’t forget what it is his service aims to do – to simply keep them happy.

Tell us about yourself/your work?

Where to start?

Okay, so I am a mum first and an entrepreneur second – making me a part of a very special group of business people called Mumtrepreneurs. We are, as defined by the Oxford dictionary, women who sets up and runs their own business in addition to caring for her young child or children.

So my product is called the MediStori, and it is, put simply, a personal health organiser.

The idea for my product stems [unfortunately] from personal experiences - I have three amazing daughters aged 13, 12 and 9, whom all suffer with complex health issues ranging from juvenile arthritis to heart surgeries to high blood pressures, to name but a few. I myself also have a heart condition and my husband suffered a stroke [TIA] a few years ago, just after I was caring for my dad who was on 22 medications. It was at this time when I realised just how difficult it was to manage medications, appointments and medical history, not just for my family, but also for my dad and my mum on their own trying to manage themselves.

So I created a paper-based health organiser to help us, and it was only when a paramedic saw it in action and told me I should develop it further as it could really help them too, that I saw its potential to help others. 

This all in 2012 and since then, a lot has happened! Initially I pitched to win a place on Enterprise Ireland's prestigious New Frontiers programme [receiving €15,000 in the process]. This really helped me de-risk my business through research and strategic planning, working with a team of mentors and experienced entrepreneurs. Just after this process I learned that it is extremely important to network and because of this I have been endorsed by An Taoiseach on international TV; I have won three national awards [including Mumtrepreneur of the Year with Mums & Tots, Special Merit Sccul Award & JCI National Award in Medical Innovation].  

The key to my businesses success has to be down to two things – a clear vision and a great team (both internally and externally). It are these two elements that keep my business growing from strength to strength – and keeps me on track too!

What advice would you give to start up’s or expanding businesses?

First and foremost, do not let your ego get in the way of constructive feedback. Remember, family and friends will either completely support you or think you’re off the wall – either way, listen to them. If you do research (and do, do research!) step back from it and take everything on board. Of course, this is not the same to listening to people who are just “Negative Nancy’s” – you will find these kind of people in all walks of life – and you just have to ignore them! If your feedback is good – great – but if it is negative – then stop what you’re doing or change your product/service/model to suit their needs. Remember, the worst thing you can do is spend a whole lot of money on something no-one wants.

It is completely okay [and important] to change your business model, product or service over and over again when needs be – actually it is important to leave your business plan stuck up where you can see it – it is not just a document for the banks or investment!

Secondly…ASK! Ask for help; ask for money; ask for advice. Do not be afraid to tell people what you’re doing – just don’t give away trade secrets, and use NDA’s as necessary! Don’t try and do it all yourself, you will get burnt out – and don’t spend time doing something that you can outsource others to do. Ask people to join your advisory board and start growing a team of people who will have your back! Thirdly, create a balance in your life. You will get sick if you don’t and then your business will suffer. Train yourself to shut off from work mode for a few hours and do something you enjoy. Entrepreneurs are known for working long, hard hours (and I’m no different) but burn-out, believe me, is no fun!

And lastly, I would always say – go with your gut instinct. If it feels wrong, it probably is. Try to create a baseline question that you can ask yourself when trying to make a decision, for example, I always use “Is it in the best interest of the patient?” For me, if the answer is no or maybe, then I don’t do it – if it’s yes, then off we go.

What mistakes have you made and what have you learned from these? 

I have made no mistakes. Big statement, I know, but mistakes are only that, when people do not learn from them, and act upon what they learnt. The reason I say this, is because I believe everything happens for a reason. I know my business wouldn’t be what it is only for the ups and downs of the last three years. For every time I went off track or I took ill advice, I learned from it and changed what I was doing and how I reacted to it. This attitude has made me a better business person (and mum!) for it. Every conversation I have ever had has never been wasted – because it has taught me something. And every bit of money I have spent on my business has not been wasted either.

One of my biggest saviours were the conversations with other start-ups in the canteen of our Innovation Hub. All businesses have the same pains; needs and wants, irrelevant of their service or product and when you get talking to other entrepreneurs, you can learn so much from others “mistakes” and they will motivate you to keep going. I always seem to learn more over a cuppa than I do in a full training day! The iHubs gives start-ups great opportunities to network with those in the same boat (and those who have been through it) and help you de-risk your start up by offering ways to do market research; get mentoring; network (check out INC60); link with local enterprise boards, VC’s and Enterprise Ireland to name but a few.

How difficult is it to raise investment? Any advice here?

That’s much like how long is a piece of string, haha.

Okay so it is hard. But it’s not un-achievable. You just have to know who it is your presenting to and what is their “pain”. What I mean by this is, that while you may completely know your market inside and out and know there is a need, the person you’re presenting to just may not “get it”. If you can make your pitch relevant to something they understand i.e. compare to something in the news, then chances are they will understand what it is you’re setting up. My advice is to not give up any opportunity to “pitch”. You never know when someone is listening to you and they could have a few bob to throw your way. This has happened to me and I was sent a cheque by someone who I never met, who was happy for me to pay back the money in a few years’ time! In our centre, I have recently been dubbed as the “giraffe” because I’m never afraid to put my neck out! Remember when you’re going for investment, that projections are only that – projections! It’s important to be realistic and go at a pace that’s reasonable for the business space you’re in – and to get this across in your pitch. One rule of thumb for me is – I never talk money unless I have to – it’s all about two things – the person and the product!

Mayo Ideas Week is a week-long series of idea generation, entrepreneurship and business events hosted by the development and enterprise support agencies and organisations in Co. Mayo.  Admission is free to most events

Please find the full Mayo Ideas Week brochure at http://www.westbic.ie/mayo-ideas/  

Posted by Nichola Cosgrove – Mayo Ideas Lab