Brendan O'Hara set up his online digital coaching venture Support In Your Pocket to tackle the problems associated with traditional coaching
Brendan O'Hara used to work in the City of London and his ventures into entrepreneurship so far has meant a seismic lifestyle change. Here he explains how the New Frontiers Programme has helped him on his journey with Support in Your Pocket.
About the business
Business/industry sector Employee Acceleration and Wellbeing
Where is your business based? Co Waterford
Explain your business/product Online digital coaching - accelerating employees
Audience/market Medium to large organisations
Experience of New Frontiers
When did you participate in the New Frontiers Programme 2017
Did you take part in Phase 1 or Phase 2 or both? Phase 2
Where did your business idea come from? It tackled the problems associated with traditional coaching :
- too expensive and therefore not accessible
- not continuous
- suddenly ends when money runs out
How has the New Frontiers Programme helped you to get where you are today? New Frontiers has helped me get a handle on all aspects of our business from legal contracts to creating Intellectual Property to developing robust sales and marketing strategies. As a result, I have hired people with the right expertise to handle each of these areas setting the foundations for a well built business.
What age were you when you started on the New Frontiers programme? 46
What advice would you give to those considering the New Frontiers programme? I had a young but up and running business. I believe that this program was more useful to me than to those that were still at the pre-revenue stage. Everything you learn, you can put into practice immediately. It helps you get out of the detail and helicopter up and think about all the different areas of the business that you should be aware of as a CEO / MD such as HR / legals / sales / marketing.
Not to be under estimated is the relationships you form with others going through similar experiences as you. You can soundboard ideas off like minded peers all of whom are going through the same struggles as you at the same time as you. These tend to be really bright and efficient people. If you are serious about building a lasting business, this is a program that you need to think seriously about including in your timeline.
What's your vision for the business for the future?
We would like to provide support - both to individuals and to groups - in the entire LinkedIn community. We would like to see people (perhaps from different industry sectors) working with each other to solve similar problems. Our intelligent platform will be a fountain of knowledge and enabler for customised support at work. It will be the platform of choice for any company wanting to promote a coaching culture within.
For more information and to make an application see www.wit.ie/newfrontiers