Bernard Walsh - Hot Irishman
This company has gone from being about 40pc to 90pc export-based in five years.
ENTREPRENEURS
Killian Stokes
Mygoodpoints.org
Set up by Killian Stokes in 2009, Mygoodpoints.org is a registered charity that aims to be fully up and running by September 2010.
The objective of Mygoodpoints.org is to provide users with an online account where they can set up a ‘charity account’ to gather and collect their unused loyalty points – be they coffee shop, air miles, petrol or supermarket points – and donate these points directly as cash to fund a charity project of their choice via the web, Facebook or a mobile application on their phone.
The genesis of Mygoodpoints.org
Stokes, who has a background in the telecoms sector, was doing research on Aids with Concern in Uganda in 2005 while he was completing a master’s degree in international relations. Despite the dire scenario, he says he noticed how technology was everywhere.
“I figured that it would be very possible to use the network to channel funds down directly to communities and, at the same time, to channel information back such as updates, video blogs, photos, update reports from the charity workers.
Upon his return to Ireland in 2008, Stokes got together with some people from the telecoms sector and they came up with the idea of using loyalty points as a means of making a donation to a charitable cause.
“We had a good business plan and a good pitch but because of the recession we were getting nowhere.”
Vodafone World of Difference competition
In 2009, Stokes applied to the Vodafone World of Difference competition. He was one of the last four winners, each of whom got their salary paid for a year and all of their expenses.
“This gave the whole project credibility. On the back of that we were able to close a deal with KPMG. They were very good in helping us get charity status for our organisation. They helped us with the Revenue Commissioners and they’ve also given us a lot of free pro-bono advice.
“We also got a position with Microsoft on its BizSpark programme so we’ve accessed all of its free technology.
“Once we got charity status Google gave us access to €0.5m worth of Google AdWords. Salesforce is also providing support. It was great getting all those five corporates on-board.”
Volunteering effort
In the meantime, Mygoodpoints.org has also been able to pull in a lot of volunteers.
“We’ve had an extended team of 15 people helping at different stages.
“We got free engineering time, web designing, free graphics, free printing. We talk about it as having €1m of free technology.”
A market niche
Says Stokes: “We’ve looked at the market and who is giving in this way and really it’s not something that’s happening here in Ireland. It’s still an untapped market. Ultimately, Mygoodpoints.org will sit on your mobile phone as an application. You’ll access it through social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.”
“We’re not ready for market. It’s been a tough time but everyone we ask has been so positive and willing to give their time. People from all walks are willing to donate their expertise and time.
“It’s still a long way to go. Like any charity we’re still looking for philanthropic support.
Accessing donors through multiple digital channels
“We’ve looked at the market and who is giving in this way and really it’s not something that’s happening here in Ireland. It’s still an untapped market. Ultimately, Mygoodpoints.org will sit on your mobile phone as an application. You’ll access it through social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn.”
Start-up persistence
Stokes’ advice to other people starting out is to have persistence.
“You get a lot of knockbacks. It’s hard to set up a business and I think that’s probably true in any climate. You’ve got to know what you're doing and then to just do it and not let people knock you.
He also did a six-week EnterpriseStart programme with Enterprise Ireland, which helped him in devising his business plan.
“I found that very useful, but the other thing about these courses, it’s all about what you put into it. You have to articulate your own ideas.
“We had a good, strong business plan; we were clear about our goals – we still are – but you’ve just got to persist,” he affirms.
