Mr. Daniel Ramamoorthy:

One of the things referred to in the report at the start and mirrored all the way through is the recognition that the Government has done a good deal. The question for the future is what the community can do to move things forward. One of the things that has been mentioned is co-working spaces. Many characteristics have been highlighted, including peer-to-peer mentoring, the office hours, learning from each other and the culture of not fearing failure or not trying something new. All these can be tackled organically at the grassroots from a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach. A bottom-up approach in this sense could be a co-working space because it is an environment led by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs and with entrepreneurs. It is a simple concept and it has worked well throughout the globe. Currently, there are approximately 2,500 co-working spaces but there are few, if any, in Ireland. These 2,500 co-working spaces have emerged in the past three years; there has been an unprecedented growth. A co-working space is a big space - approximately 10,000 sq. ft would be the average but some can be smaller or larger - where entrepreneurs come together.

Some maintain that too many resources are available and that one of the issues is the navigation of resources. There have been conversations from departments about whether we should create a portal or website and I have been part of some of those conversations. The thing about such an environment is that there is a better chance I will call someone else who is an entrepreneur and who has done something and ask him how he did it rather than go to a government website. Again, a co-working space is another beacon that helps to navigate people.

Many of our proposals and recommendations come back to what entrepreneurs and the start-up community in Ireland can do to accelerate the process. The idea of co-working spaces is among the ideas and it addresses one of the problems. If my child wants to be a doctor, I might take him to a hospital and show him what a hospital does. If my child wants to be an engineer, I might show him a building or a bridge. If my child wishes to be an entrepreneur, at this stage, I might show him a loner sitting in Starbucks or the newspaper headline relating to a failed entrepreneur. On the other hand, if I bring him to a co-working space he could see a lively vibrant hot-spot which is how it has been described. Then, all of a sudden, it inspires in students and children a sense that they can do it, that others have done it and that the path has been paved.