Earlier this week I attended a dinner in an Embassy in Dublin. It was a small gathering of "senior" business people who were meeting for a round table discussion on the state of business today. It was really interesting. There was certainly a good serving of anger. It came with the starter as the debate raged on about previous politicians, banks, developers and regulators. Blame is of course, an easy game. There were plenty of examples of excess and greed. The slight pause before the main course was good, when the "cuts" came up - the cuts in public spending. There was strong support for this, we can't go forward without taking our expenditure into hand. We must reduce it to acceptable levels. These cuts will be harsh, bound to cause some social unrest but the alternative of not taking this measure ourselves was unthinkable. A light began to emerge when the success of Ireland attracting overseas investment echoed around the room.

I was keen to interject at this point as I wanted to focus the conversation to the other side of the page. To selling. I know the cuts are needed and will be harsh. We need to cut to keep the national accounts in order. However while it is the case that we spend too much, we also sell too little. This is where I see real opportunity and real future. It is also something about which I am very optimistic. And I am not alone in this thinking. Many Irish business people are working very hard right now and selling well into markets outside of Ireland. Every time we engage with a prospect or client outside of Ireland we reduce on dependency on a market the size of Manchester. We are great at selling, we love selling and people like buying from us and doing business with us. Today every deal - no matter how big or small, done by an Irish business with an overseas customer is something to celebrate. These businesses must be encouraged and supported to go forward now, despite the general culture mood of anger and blame. They are the real light that shines.

Original thinking during a crisis is crucial. It's so easy to follow and often risky to stand out. Indigenous Irish businesses who export will lead us out of where we are today. My anger is gone, the blame irrelevant. I am excited about the future, I'm encouraged by my colleagues around me, I'm hugely optimistic about achieving a highly ambitious plan. Above all, I'm a proud Irish Internet businessman who holds his head up high when asked internationally how things are in Ireland. I believe in our innate capability. I hope my feelings came across the table!

Colm.

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This time ten years ago I would get the DART into town and usually getting off at Westland Row and I would hang out in one of the nearby hotels. These were my “offices”. I had my mobile and laptop, which allowed me to work on the go! This went on for several months before a friend of mine was kind enough to give me a “real room” in their offices.

Given that we are having a ten year birthday bash this week there has been some reminiscing of the early days in Realex Payments. In particular, people are interested in the very early days and what was going on at the time. I could say that I had the amazing detailed plan, cash flow forecasts, and product specifications and that I raised venture capital – but that would not be true! The reality was different of course. Let me share two thoughts….

There was no plan, but there was a vision. The vision, while not referred to in a strategic way, was the aspiration of what the service would deliver. That vision was absolutely clear and didn’t change.  I spoke about it all the time, all of the time. It was everything. I knew the proposition for the online retailer and the bank inside out and back to front. I believed that it would work and never considered any extensions to it or diversification to other areas – e.g. shopping carts and hosting services. So the clear vision was mixed with an absolute belief. I guess that replaced the plan and the specification.

Secondly, there were no staff but there was a network. The other strong memory from these very early days was the excitement of meeting scores of people. Every person I met became a sounding board for some aspect of the vision. And I met people every day – people from all walks of business, web developers, merchants, bank staff, legal advisors, telecoms etc. These people were unwittingly my focus group and they helped to define the product. I learnt a great lesson at this time – people like to help and you should always ask!

There was no plan, but there was a vision. There were no staff but there was a network.

Colm

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I know for many online retailers times are difficult. If I compare our March 2009 to March 2010 figures, we see a massive rise in the monthly values processed – from €484m to €737m. If we take out our new business that came during the year, our Irish based businesses saw a net increase of €50m year on year. However 53% of our Irish clients saw their value fall (down €36m) and 47% saw the values increase by €86m. So those that are doing well online are doing very well.

A smaller number - 47% - of our UK clients on the other hand saw their value fall by €13m. So I guess in general terms we concluded that a smaller number of our UK clients were impacted and this impact was less severe.

But that’s not necessarily all bad as the UK online market offers Irish online retailers an excellent “near-commerce” opportunity. I often recommend to clients that they should look at the UK and Ireland as the one market. Two regions fine, but the one market as processes, consumer behaviours and practices are very alike.

Colm

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I run the blog on the Internet Growth Alliance web site and it’s a little strange that I’ve not used a blog on the Realex Payments web site – but here we go. I hope to use it to talk about broader industry issues and would be delighted with thoughts, feedback or ideas for discussion.

I thought my first post ought to be about something that it very important to me. Right from the start my real interest is about seeing Irish internet businesses develop and grow internationally.

I make it my business to try and get more people connected, informed and growing when it comes to Irish internet businesses. I see the Irish internet industry as one of the key areas where investment needs to be significant and ongoing. Sometimes we need to state the obvious – we can scale Irish businesses via the internet. While inward investment can create jobs, working with people who are creating and supporting Irish internet businesses is far more rewarding. These businesses create jobs and lots more benefits. Let me focus on some of these:

The most important benefit is the manner in which a successful Irish Internet business can inspire others to move. Having an aspiration or a vision about an internet business is very important – really believing it, is crucial. There’s nothing like looking at a peer, friend, neighbour and saying to yourself – “if he did that – I can do much more!” So local success is a wonderful way to encourage others to try and grow internet businesses.

When Irish business people or internet entrepreneurs meet there’s always an incredible optimism about the room. We know our market is not limited by scale or geographic location – it is in fact limited by our own ambition. Irish Internet businesses are extraordinarily ambitious and want to scale. One of our best advantages is that the country is small, the size of Manchester – did you ever hear someone launch an online business for Manchester? Therefore we must think beyond Ireland right from the start – this is a forced advantage. Irish Internet businesses demonstrate this message constantly.

When we make successful internet businesses we also create an ecosystem around them. These businesses need good advisors, they consume services and they connect with one another. The connections and network effects that can be formed within the Irish Internet industry are very strong and supportive. There are no barriers to lifting the phone and asking others in the industry for help or feedback. It happens all the time. In other countries size and protocol can hamper these connections. This is the shared learning experience that comes from having a vibrant cluster of Irish internet businesses – this learning is not just a benefit but an essential ingredient in fulfilling future ambitions. Enterprise Ireland, with iGAP have been instrumental in this regard.

Knowing what’s around the corner – I remember learning in college that businesses didn’t like uncertainty! So when our banking, political, church and travel systems all hit rock bottom you would expect businesses to suffer and clearly many have. However many others have adapted – quickly, and now look for other ways to achieve their plans. When we are the masters of our businesses – Irish internet businesses – and some other “issue” emerges we can react. We can try new routes, new products, features etc.

People often ask me why we set up the www.alliance.ie, I hope you see the answer! It helps to inspire people, to raise ambitions, to learn and to remain adaptable in an ever changing world. It also helps me in this same way.

The playing field is level and we are on the pitch. We play to win.

It’s ten years, to the day that I left my job – 20^th April 2000. Time to redefine winning!

Colm

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