A tribute was paid to the tremendous success of Kerry Entrepreneurs at a special celebration held in the Meadowlands Hotel, Tralee recently. Hosted by Ernst and Young and Shannon Development the event was organised to pay tribute to the tremendous success of Kerry natives who have been award winners in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards.
The guest of honour at the event was Alan Scroope and his team at FreeFlow, the second Kerry Technology Park Company in a row to have won the “emerging” category award in the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Last year’s winner, Jerry Kennelly of Stockbyte, went on to sell his company for $131m.
This award is a great tribute to Alan Scroope, CEO of FreeFlow who first approached Shannon Development in 2001 for assistance in establishing his innovative company at KTP. We were delighted to help Alan who embodies the true spirit of a business entrepreneur. Alan found a solution to a problem faced by manufacturing companies of how to access a global brokering market. His ingenious solution now allows businesses to engage in an equitable way with an unlimited number of Brokers and Re-sellers all over the world”, said Mr. Eugene Brennan Executive, Director of Development & Marketing, Shannon Development.
As a special tribute to Alan Scroope, Ernst & Young organized a video link from this year’s Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year, Kerry born, Bill Lynch now living in South Africa. Ms. Lynch congratulated Alan on his success and wished him well in all future endeavours.
A total of five Kerry natives have won Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Awards in recent years. Among them; Brian McCarthy from Fexco, Sean Kelly from Killarney won the this year’s ‘Social Entrepreneur’ Award for his involvement in GAA, and John O’ Shea from Caherciveen won this category Award last year for his work with Goal.
We would like to congratulate all five Kerry Entrepreneur award winners. We are delighted that Kerry consistently shines in this competition, and beats off strong competition from all over Ireland. This award for FreeFlow and last year’s award for Stockbyte, are a testament to the range of high calibre companies at KTP. Based on this success we are confident that KTP can score a hat-trick at next year’s awards”, said Mr. Kevin Thompstone, chief executive, Shannon Development.
County Kerry is gaining recognition for its track record in producing world class entrepreneurs. The modern renaissance of entrepreneurship in County Kerry began in the Seventies and Eighties when Kerry produced and nurtured a string of world beating companies such as Kerry Group, Fexco, Spectra Group and Dairymaster, all led by local entrepreneurs, said Ogie Moran, Shannon Development Regional Manager, Kerry.
The new millennium brought a new breed of entrepreneurs to the fore in Co. Kerry and the opening of Kerry Technology Park in 2001, in particular, proved to be a vital catalyst for the development of the high tech sector in the County. Kerry Technology Park is a world class business location developed by Shannon Development alongside the new campus of the Institute of Technology Tralee it is one of a network of parks developed by the company in the Shannon Region under the “Knowledge Network” banner..
“The combination of an excellent quality park environment, on-site InnovationWorks facility specifically designed to stimulate and support the creation of new knowledge-based enterprise, and easy access to resources and expertise at the Institute of Technology proved to be a winning formula” according to Marie Lynch, Development Manager of Kerry Technology Park.
A succession of new technology-intensive enterprises led by a new generation of bright young entrepreneurs ready to take on the global market soon began to emerge from the Park. Company names like Altobridge, FreeFlow, PulseLearning Aspen Connect, GCX Corp and Stockbyte began to gain international recognition.
“The sale of Stockbyte was a strong signal that the young companies, which moved into the Park when it first opened in 2001, were now ‘coming of age’. “The Stockbyte experience proves beyond doubt that it is possible to build and operate a global business from Tralee” according to Jerry Kennelly CEO and founder of Stockbyte.
FreeFlow’s latest award comes on the heels of Gartner’s recognition of FreeFlow as the Best Service Provider at RetailVision, a premier global event for the retail sector and. recognition by MBT, a leading US technology magazine as a Top Emerging Software Vendor.
FreeFlow provides a suite of hosted inventory asset management solutions which address at-risk inventory at all stages of the product lifecycle, in all conditions, and in any location to help its customers improve product profitability and to make immediate, positive impact on their balance sheets. “FreeFlow’s solution has been gaining traction with global manufacturing leaders as our proven ROI is demonstrated through out their product lifecycle,” stated Alan Scroope, FreeFlow’s CEO and founder. Commenting on the accolades received by his company during 2006, Mr. Scroope said “This recognition underscores the value we are delivering to our customers.”
Kerry, it seems, is reclaiming the title of Home of the Entrepreneur and world class facilities like Kerry Technology Park are helping retain it.
Nandi O’Sullivan
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