I love Ireland and hate the tough times we are going through at the moment. Add in the fact that I sold my business recently and that I have been looking for an opportunity to help some people share the same good fortune and that is how I came up with the idea of giving away €10,000 to 2 business in Ireland using social media. This is obviously my food blog which has nothing to do with start ups but it's the only website I run personally these days and as this is my own personal project that is how it ended up here sitting here. If you read this for food reviews don't worry they'll be back as normal next week.
The reason for the amount is because myself and Lauren started Simply Zesty with a little under 10k ourselves. We did it in my spare bedroom and all we had was that small amount of cash and a couple of old laptops. I'd love to find 2 similar businesses to invest this money in to and my goal for this is to hopefully create some jobs in Ireland and get people back working. In fact that will be one of the main factors in deciding this...does it have the potential to create 20-30 jobs within a couple of years just like Simply Zesty has. This short video explains what I am looking for...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ep15j5VAlU
I won't be involved in the business myself in any way whatsoever. I have enough on my hands at Simply Zesty trying to grow that business with the guys and I really want to find somebody with the passion, drive and commitment to create their own vision and build their own company. I will of course connect you with all the people in my network and make some introductions that will instantly help you get going. There will be 2 competitions each with a prize of €10,000. Details on how you enter both are posted below. In return for the €10,000 I'll take a 10% equity stake in the business but i'll be the most silent partner you could ever ask for. This is your gig. That would value the company at €100,000 before you even start which is why this competition really suits start ups best. You don't even have to have a business plan yet. You don't have to wear a suit not do you have to suck up to a bank manager to grovel for the money. All you need is an idea.Just because I like food and social media doesn't mean the business has to come from those areas either. I'd invest in a product, a person, a shoe maker, a pig farmer, a new movie you want to make, a rock band, a nightclub or even a new fashion shop or website. All I want to see is some passion and the drive that I know you will need to make this happen.
To enter the competition to win the first €10,000 all you have to do is leave a comment on this post explaining why you deserve the prize and what your idea is. I'd love people to get creative with social media and leave links to videos, photos, presentations, documents or anything else that you think will give you a good chance of winning. It really is up to you how you get the pitch across for your business and it might be something as simple as a couple of paragraphs of text. If you are worried that you have something that you can't share publicly yet then email me niall@simplyzesty.com but I'd generally lean towards something public as I don't believe too much in the whole "stealth" thing especially given the prize on offer here.
There are no more rules than that for this one. Leave a comment and the best one will win.
I'll contact you by email if you win so make sure to leave a correct email where you can easily be contacted at short notice.
This one is even easier to enter and uses one of the tools that has been very good to me...Twitter. All you have to do is follow these steps...
Choosing A Winner + The Rules
If anybody feels like they want to help get two Irish companies off the ground email me niall@simplyzesty.com. You might be able to give them a bit of space in a disused building. You might be able to lend them your business experience as a mentor or give them a bit of coverage when they launch. Maybe it is a free phone or an old van to get them on the road. It's a small country and rather than all sitting around moaning it would be great to get others involved in throwing some services or goods their way. Give me a shout.
