In the ever-evolving world of Irish start-ups, one challenge looms large above all others: The struggle for Funding. 💰
Scale Ireland Report
Diving into Scale Ireland’s latest State of Start-Ups Survey for 2024, a comprehensive study based on the experiences of 340 pioneering founders and CEOs. A clear picture emerges. 50.3% of these innovators identify funding as their primary obstacle. Even more telling, 78.8% find the quest for private capital challenging.
Struggle for funding is a familiar problem?
These findings reflect the sentiments of industry leaders like Patrick Collison. He co-founded Stripe, whose recent valuation could fund a small country.
In a 2012 blog post, Collison highlighted the hurdles he would have faced launching Stripe in Ireland—a landscape with limited investment opportunities and a shortage of investors, especially compared to the vibrant US market. Over a decade later, Scale Ireland’s report confirms similar challenges remain, painting a sobering view of the funding environment.
“All investors aren’t created equal, and the investors a start-up is likely to want are much more likely to be in the US. It still makes sense for most Irish start-ups to raise money outside Ireland, and over the last few years, it seems that the most notable technology start-ups with Irish founders have chosen this path.”
Patrick Collison, co-founder of Stripe
Angel Vs Government
Éanna Kelly’s insightful analysis on Sifted sheds more light on the current landscape of the Irish start-up scene and its money challenges. The piece includes a recent interview with Dogpatch Labs CEO Patrick Walsh, who emphasises the scarcity of angel investors willing to support emerging ventures and cites it as a big barrier to funding.
Despite Enterprise Ireland’s status as Europe’s most active investor (an incredible achievement that deserves praise), its more procedural approach contrasts sharply with the agility of angel investors. This difference underscores how obstacles within funding streams can hinder growth by increasing the burden of due diligence.
Notably, Irish unicorns like Wayflyer, Intercom, and Fenergo have opted for backing from international investors, bypassing potential impediments.
Summary
Amidst the allure of international funding, it’s tempting for Irish startups to set their sights beyond the horizon, chasing the promise of distant shores and foreign backers to solve their problems. But as the old saying goes, sometimes the grass isn’t greener on the other side—it’s just different.