We made amazing progress on the Hi start programme 2012 which we could not otherwise have done alone. The guidance and advice we received was invaluable, practical and based on an understanding of our company’s requirements.  Attending the programme enabled us to analyse and validate our proposition, and in fact we started the course in one direction and finished on another but better path!  All in all I would highly recommend participating in this programme.   Emma Webb  Stackajack Products Ltd  (2012)

The Hi-Start mentoring programme has been of enormous value in helping to reassess and recalibrate our business strategy and value proposition. As a result we completely refocused our marketing towards a particular segment, a strategy which is already beginning to bear fruit. In addition, the monthly interaction with the other candidates on the programme has been very insightful and another valuable learning opportunity. The world of the would-be entrepreneur can be a lonely place and sometimes just knowing that others face many of the same challenges is the fillip needed to keep the motivation and energy levels high. T.J. Whelan Prosalis (2013)

The Hi-Start programme was of huge benefit to our company.   Just before its commencement we had set in motion a new direction of business development.   The Hi Start programme really helped us to focus on what we had that was of value, what we wanted to achieve and then how we would get there.  We are in no doubt that being part of this programme assisted us significantly in achieving our set goals and placing us in a very positive and exciting place for the future. John Mac Mahon's mentoring skills are refreshingly honest but also inspiring. His instruction skills are engaging, focussed and always relevant.    Elaine McCabe Clever Box Club (2012)

The process followed to formulate your business strategy, forces you to examine how you can differentiate your offering and understand the organisational/financial  requirements necessary to succeed. In addition the mentor explores all avenues and provides valuable insight that will stand to you going forward. John Shortt, Lifecycle Ltd (2013)

Thanks to the Hi-Start programme we are a lot more confident and better prepared for scaling the business and developing our international markets. John McMahon is passionate and dedicated in bringing out the best in people and their businesses. Since completing Hi-Start we now feel investor ready and look forward to the next phase of our business. Barbara Hanly, Soopapets (2013)

My business partner and I found the Hi-Start program to be excellent throughout.  After being initially wary of wasting our valuable time, by the end of the first session we were looking forward to the rest of it. The facilitator and mentor John McMahon was particularly good and always left us with plenty to think about across a range of business disciplines from marketing to finance. It gave us a great base to develop our business plan and investor pitch. Angela always ensured everything was organised perfectly too.   Kevin Loughran, Director, Inventise (2012)

The Hi-Start programme hosted by Angela Tynan and John McMahon provides the sort of information that most entrepreneurs didn’t get - but should have gotten - in advance of embarking on a new business venture. If ‘experience’ is knowledge that you get just after you really needed it, the information provided in this course is the closest thing to ‘experience’ a startup business can get.  The typical “start your own business” course will guide the inexperienced entrepreneur through the minefields and legal-ese of tax, “compliance” and similar necessary concepts, but will fall well short of providing any real-world tactics or process of analysis that any business venture requires to be successful. For example, it’s one thing to say, “know your market”, but quite another to provide a methodology that allows you to actually go about it. John’s extensive business knowledge and acumen was precisely was precisely what we needed to get our business to the next level. We would strongly recommend this course to any entrepreneur starting a new business, or even for the experienced businessperson who wants to expand and grow their current business to another level. Katherina Stephens and John Edwards, Sports Ink (2013)

This morning have we received word that eCAT has been approved to the HPSU program to the “tune” of €250k matched funding. And I have no problem in saying that that is in no small part due to the Hi-Start program. I have no doubt that had the guys in Fingal CEB not introduced us, this would have taken much longer to come about… if at all. So thanks again to both you and John. I hope this is not too late for the testimonial, but I thought it would be worth waiting for. If there is anything else I can do to help for you or the program, please let me know. Francis Lyons, eCat (2012)

Today we got notice of Approval from EI for the CSF investment. We are absolutely delighted and would like to thank both of you for all your help along the way. As I said before I believe this application process started last March as your guidance and training has been of huge value and was instrumental in our success..  I wasn't sure about taking the programme last January and I thank you for taking the time then to detail its possible benefits. I am delighted that I did participate as it has been a very worthwhile and relevant programme for me. I would just like to express my own personal thanks to you for all your help, support and guidance on this journey.  Elaine McCabe Clever Box Club (2012)