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Business and lifeVolume 8 i s sue 1

100 Greatest self–made IrIsh

entrepreneurs 2009

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The IntervIew

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9Business & LifeIRISH ENTREPRENEUR 30 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9 IRISH ENTREPRENEUR 31Business & Life

Hotel ier

Cover Story

ust two months after 9/11, John Fitzpatrick’s newest hotel in Chicago was undergoing a full renovation. His two hotels in New York were down thirty to forty percent in occupancy after the Trade Center attacks, and businesses everywhere were bleeding.

“It was a disastrous time for me,” says Fitzpatrick, CEO of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group in New York, the first Irish-owned hotel company in America. “If I have to say, in both my career and my life.” His father had just passed away and he was up to his neck both financially and emotionally.

The strain was so great that it was nearly impossible to see the right thing to do. Influential friends were telling him to sell Chicago, advising him to get out from under it before it took him down. But he couldn’t shake the words of his father, his hero in business and in life:

“He would say “we never sell”. We always buy - unless you’re taking a big profit”. Still, sometimes you doubt yourself and say ‘God, have I lost it? Have I lost the edge? It was a tough time“

In 1991 he opened his first hotel in New York, The Fitzpatrick Manhattan. By 1999, his portfolio expanded to three thriving hotels in New York, and Fitzpatrick had made such a name for himself that Crain’s New York Business named him to their list of “Top Forty Entrepreneurs Under Forty”. Irish America Magazine recognised him as one of their “Top 100 Irish Americans in Business” in 1998, and then again in 2008. He was a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in May 2002. Previous honorees include George Bush, Bill Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, several Nobel Laureates, and other distinguished leaders.

"We fought through some tough times, and the Chicago property turned a corner and boomed like everywhere else." Fitzpatrick says. "Shortly afterwards, we got an irresistible offer." According to sources, the 140-room hotel, which Fitzpatrick

Hard timeS Come again no more

Hotelier John Fitzpatrick talks frankly to irish entrepreneur and says that optimism is the key to overcoming the tough era in which we live

By Jody JenkinS

“Obama’s chOice oF HiS Friend Hillary Clinton For

SeCretary oF State iS a douBle viCtory For ireland”

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9Business & LifeIRISH ENTREPRENEUR 32 J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9 IRISH ENTREPRENEUR Business & Life 33

bought for $21.4m (€15.9 million) in 2001, sold for an estimated $35.5 million (€26.5 million) in 2006. Fitzpatrick added, “It was a tough decision to sell, but I thought this was an opportunity to use the profit to purchase the remaining shares of the New York Hotels from my family and be the sole owner of two fine Midtown hotels.” Since then, Fitzpatrick has also re-invested over $11 million in both his New York Hotels and just finished a complete redesign of the Fitzpatrick Manhattan, giving it a total new look.

Fitzpatrick is the son of legendary hotelier Paddy Fitzpatrick. The senior Fitzpatrick had a long and distinguished career, managing hotels in Ennis, Wexford, and Dublin before buying his first hotel, the Fitzpatrick Castle at Killiney, in 1970. As a result, Fitzpatrick and his siblings practically grew up in the hotel business. His father insisted that all his children learn from the bottom up. “You need to know the intricacies of every single department, because if we ever go bankrupt, God forbid, you’ll can always make a good headwaiter” the senior Fitzpatrick said to his son half jokingly.

Fitzpatrick’s philosophy is simple. Keep focused when you’re on your heels because there’s opportunity in everything, even during tough times. Optimism is the key. Which is why he thinks what’s going on in Washington now is so crucial for Ireland and the world.

“I really think that Barrack Obama being president will be fantastic,” Fitzpatrick says from his office on Lexington Avenue in New York, headquarters of the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group, which has now been a fixture in the US for 18 years. “It’ll open up doors to global markets. You know the United States has not enjoyed a good image over the last few years due to recent policies. I think the change in direction will be very positive for the United States and for the whole world.”

Fitzpatrick believes that Obama’s choice of his friend Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State is a double victory for Ireland, as it will help keep Irish issues front and center with Ireland’s second-largest trading partner.

“I think that’s a great move and I’m

delighted she took it,” says Fitzpatrick, who knows the Clintons personally. He and Declan Kelly, another prominent Irish supporter of the Clintons, even played a round of golf in very wet conditions at Portmarnock with Bill during a $400,000 (€285,700) fundraising tour of Ireland for Hillary’s Presidential bid.

“She knows all the players,” Fitzpatrick says, clearly pleased with Barrack Obama’s efforts to bring all the best talent to bear in his government. “And from an Irish point of view, we still have a friend in the White House. And that’s very important.”

This past October, he received his highest honor, an honorary OBE in recognition of his charitable work contributing to peace in Northern Ireland. “I have to say, unless you were there …,” Fitzpatrick says, still sounding somewhat awed by the experience. “To be a part of such a time-honored ritual was a bit

overwhelming and quite humbling. The ambassador himself presents the award to you, complete with the red carpet and the guys in traditional uniforms with the swords and everything else.”

It’s the personal touch that Fitzpatrick has mastered that sets his hotels apart. Like his father, Paddy, he insists that his managers greet guests in person. And because Fitzpatrick leads by example with a personal style that is both self-deprecating and relentless in his pursuit of excellence, it brings out the best in others. “He’s a great guy to work for,” confides an employee.

US InvestmentFitzpatrick estimates that 30% of the business in his two New York locations (the Fitzpatrick Grand Central on East 44th Street and the Fitzpatrick Manhattan Hotel on Lexington Avenue) comes from Ireland. And he has a high percentage of repeat customers. He believes that the key to his success is taking care of the regular guests, whether they are here for business or pleasure. “People want to be recognized. Treat them well, learn what is important to

them, and they will support you in good times as well as bad,” said Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick believes that the most critical element to helping Irish entrepreneurs get through this economy is to get the United States back on track. As Ireland’s number two export market behind the United Kingdom, and her number one foreign investor, the US is essential to Irish economic success. “So the number one priority has to be getting the country going economically,” he says.

“Ireland enjoyed such a fantastic ten year run” Fitzpatrick says, remembering trips home to Ireland during the years following September 11th. “New York hotels were struggling hard to work out single–digit revenue increases, year over year, and watching Ireland turn double-digit growth was way ahead of anybody’s dreams.”

But now that Ireland has fallen back to earth, Fitzpatrick stresses the number

one mantra his father taught him: Optimism. “I was in Dublin recently, and the mood was somber …,” he says. “Everybody

was acting as if they were at a funeral. Not that it’s not that bad, but I think we’ve got to start talking positive otherwise we’ll never come out of it.”

Surviving the stormFitzpatrick said Irish business would do well in this economy to keep a level head, manage costs responsibly, and ride out the storm: “As they say, ‘Cash is king.’ That’s been my slogan for the past few months. Just hold on to as much of it as you can, and there will be opportunities once we ride this storm out.” Fitzpatrick pointed out that he was able to expand into New York during the recession following the Gulf War, a move that has worked out well.

Staying lean and keeping focused with an eye on the horizon for opportunities is the way to go. He recalls how two years ago when his rooms were full, he couldn’t think of expanding because property prices were so high. He doesn’t think the market in the US has bottomed out yet. But in another six to eight months there will be deals aplenty. And there will be opportunities for entrepreneurs wanting to break into the US market.

Hotel ier

Cover Story

“PeOPle want tO be reCogniSed. treat tHem well, learn wHat iS

important to tHem, and tHey will Support you in good timeS aS well aS Bad”

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Wednesday, January 15, 2014

This week’s blog is from Jody Jenkins, a quiet force working behind

the scenes to create local TV worth watching. Jody recently arrived in

Savannah to be a producer for SGTV…but think more than talking

heads and bickering residents though as Jody’s putting some

seriously cool stuff on the government channel! Read on as Jody

brings the Rocky Mountain Way mindset to Savannah. FYI – – The

Creative Coast’s blogspot is Savannah’s sounding board for local

thinkers, innovators, wanderers and wonderers. Guest bloggers share

their thoughts, opinions and creative noodling from all over the

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It’s become something of an obsession for the past year since arriving

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in Savannah from Boulder, Colorado to figure out what might be the

key to unleashing Savannah’s potential to emulate Boulder’s success

when it comes to startups.

Small businesses make up half of the US economy. They make up

over 95 percent of businesses in the entire country depending upon

how you define “small.” But startup connotes something of an upstart,

those brassy tech companies known for their vinegar and willingness

to take a risk – the kind of risk that pushes the business envelope and

expands the economy. They’re not simply small businesses, but small

businesses with attitude.

Boulder is the startup capital of the United States. People move there

to just to start businesses – from biotech companies such as Amgen

to organic tea maker Celestial Seasonings to Horizon Organic Dairy to

computer storage companies such as Storagetek to Ball Aerospace

and countless internet companies.

In 2010 Boulder – with a population of 100,000 (countywide

population of 300,000) – had six times as many hi tech startups as the

nation’s average and twice as many as the runner up for the title – San

Jose-Sunnyvale, California. It ranks among the top twenty most

productive metro areas in terms of GDP. All that without natural gas or

oil or any dominant industry of any kind.

According to Forbes magazine, Boulder sprouts a new startup on the

order of every 72 hours. That’s 122 new businesses for the year, which

raised a total of $502 million. How do they do it?

According to Karston Strauss of Forbes, it’s not one thing. It’s a lot of

things. But mainly, it’s lifestyle, access to education, transportation

infrastructure – which makes it easy for twenty somethings with ideas

to get around without cars – and low costs. Strauss’ article takes it as

a given that there’s a healthy supply of cash around from venture

capitalists cruising the waters looking for the next big thing.

Savannah has a lot of the same qualities as Boulder. We have a

ripened and growing culture of ideas. There is enormous creative

energy swirling around out there and a significant amount of it comes

from SCAD with its interesting mix of cultures, ideas and the creative

arts it nurtures. But that mix also includes the film industry, Hunter,

Savannah State, Gulfstream, Georgia Tech, Armstrong, the Port and

many others.

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Boulder has a large federal presence of a type that we lack through

the University of Colorado, the National Center for Atmospheric

Research, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, the

National Renewable Energy Lab (researching new and renewable

energy sources) and others, all of which provide well-paying jobs that

helps seed the NewTech idea economy. Savannah has the port and

the heavy influence of federal dollars through Fort Stewart and

Hunter, but that money isn’t going into research or the idea economy

– an idea economy such as research and technology that can lead to

NewTech job creation. But we don’t have to be a perfect mirror.

We, like Boulder, have a beautiful city surrounded by great natural

beauty that translates into the question of lifestyle: Boulder is nestled

right up against the Rocky Mountains and attracts a lot of people who

are physical and business risk takers – very often they are one and

the same. Boulder is a haven for bikers, hikers, skiers, triathletes,

kayakers and extreme athletes of all sorts who come to test

themselves against the physical majesty of the mountains. Savannah

has a history like few other cities in America, stunning physical beauty,

the marshes, and the vast expanse of the ocean for kayaking, surfing,

sailing, fishing and other sports. We have runners galore and the

Rock-n-Roll Marathon and numerous other such events. We recently

became a Bike Friendly City USA, which means we’re on a forward-

thinking path about alternative transportation that, while slow, is

progressing. We have a lifestyle and quality of life that many would

envy. It’s not perfect, but it is certainly maturing.

The question is how can we tap into the potential stirring in this town

to draw in the money and know how to launch ourselves on an

entirely new path that translates into creative business? How do we

become a startup upstart that might one day rival Boulder’s

reputation? It’s a question the city itself is looking in the eye and trying

to find ways to answer.

Recently Greg Parker of the Mayor’s Business Roundtable gave a

frank presentation about the need for the city to be more sensitive

and responsive to business needs in order create a more vibrant

economic atmosphere. Parker used Forbes’ list of most business

friendly cities in America, on which Savannah ranks 124th, as the

centerpiece around which he built a call for a leaner, meaner city

government, hungry to change the business culture with an emphasis

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on ‘customer service.’

He said the city needs to revamp its approach to serving businesses

so they can better get on with the business of business, which is

making money, creating jobs and improving the economy for all of us.

He called on government to streamline, simplify, become more

nimble at its job and then step out of the economic way. The

presentation was a call for Savannah to shed its old reputation of

being business unfriendly, which is exactly what the city is taking

pains to do and why the Roundtable even exists.

It’s recognition that in a new, post-crash economy you’ve got to be

lean to take on the competition. Which is why it’s encouraging that the

city didn’t wait for the Rountable before quietly revamping

government in ways that anticipated the Roundtable conclusions: The

city has already instituted an eTRAC system, which allows for

electronic tracking of permits or plans, requesting inspections and

making electronic payments. And it has already created what Parker

called a “Sherpa” position, a single person whose aim it is to lead

businesspeople through the processes of government and make it

easier for them to start up and to one-stop shop. It’s not drive through

service, but it’s a beginning.

The City of Savannah has also created the position of Sustainability

Coordinator, in recognition of the idea that sound building practices

using the latest technologies not only save energy and promote

conservation in other areas, but also is simply a good idea whose time

has come. And it’s a reflection of a community that in many respects

is beginning to blaze a trail into the future.

These initiatives follow SCAD’s creation of a Design for Sustainability

program that is bursting with ideas about how to improve the

economy and the quality of life here. Part of sustainability’s premise is

to create businesses based on circular models to sustain themselves

– in a sense breaking out of the old exploitative grow-or-die mode of

thinking that has dominated business and evolving into a more “living

within our means” approach. Southern Pine, a wood reclamation

company in Savannah, is one example of how such models work. And

groups such as Emergent Structures and the Volta Collaborative are

providing the brainpower and working models to feed the growing

appetite for alternatives to the old ways of doing business.

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Sustainability has a decidedly green element premised on finding

business solutions that minimize or even eliminate impacts on the

environment. And an integral part of sustainability is providing

living-wage jobs that will pull people out of Savannah’s large poverty

fringe, creating viable futures for people who then give back to the

community.

These new paradigms are the currency of the 21st Century startup

economies that Boulder inhabits. Savannah is a city with a

sustainability program, where possibilities such as solar and wind

power alternative may soon become a reality. It has a growing food

movement as evidenced by community gardens, organic garden to

table restaurants, a great farmer’s market with others sprouting up,

and a growing choice of food stores. It’s a city where catchphrases

such as sustainable business, sustainable living and sustainable jobs

are part of the language of life. It’s a world where the environment is

central to our consciousness.

A persistent barrier to spawning business in Savannah is capital. The

Boulder/Denver area is a venture capital haven. Naturally, where

there are startups with potential futures, there will be people to invest

in them. And while Savannah doesn’t have the wealth of a Denver to

draw upon, it has groups like the Angel investors that can serve as

examples. But there is clearly a dearth of funding to lay the

groundwork for what Albert George, the founder of the Savannah

Green Economy Summit, called “The Silicon Marsh.” Simply the fact

that Savannah HAS a Green Economy Summit speaks volumes about

where we’re heading.

But perhaps in order to make this new paradigm viable,

considerations needs to be given to building a consortium of banks

and businesses and individual investors that could pool funds for risk

capital that those entrepreneurs already here and those that might

come here to start new ventures could draw upon to surf this new

wave. We need more adventurous venture capital. And we need city

policies that not only encourage potential startups and other

energetic small business to locate to Savannah, but actively recruits

them in the same way we actively recruit big businesses, by offering

tax breaks, incentives, and programs that help them get on their feet.

Which brings us to another important point that Greg Parker of the

Roundtable addressed in his talk to the City Council in mid December:


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The big sell. If we’re going to do and be all these things, to realize our

highest hopes and aspirations, we have to shout it from the rooftops.

We have to let it be known that we’re playing for real by advertising

that fact far and wide. We have to begin touting Savannah as a place

where good things happen.

Perhaps by taking the steps necessary to position the city to make a

run at the top of Forbes’ list of America’s Most Business Friendly

Cities, by walking the walk, we can back up the talk when we talk it.

It’s an exciting prospect, perhaps something akin to being a startup.

On my desk sits a small square hunk of metal given to me years ago

as an anonymous Christmas present. Embossed into it is a question

that I ponder nearly every day. It reads, “What would you attempt to

do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” It seems at this opportune juncture a

good question for Savannah. And it seems there is no way to lose if

we embrace a new vision. And places like Boulder serve as stirring

examples of just the kind of future we might attain if we do.

Jody

Jody Jenkins

Jody Jenkins is a producer for SGTV, Savannah Government

Television. He has been a journalist and filmmaker for thirty years

and was a Ted Scripps Fellow at the Center for Environmental

Journalism at the University of Colorado in Boulder, in 2011-12.

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JUNE 2009 21IRISH ENTREPRENEURBusiness & Life20 IRISH ENTREPRENEUR JUNE 2009Business & Life

SNAPSHOT

The Enda time

t was a differentworldback in September 2008 when the Irish Entrepreneur first talked toEnda O’Coineen about his bringing the Volvo around the worldOcean Race to Galway: We were all still basking in the warmth ofyears of sweet success and excess, living the good life, not worryingfor the future because we truly believed that it was ours. And witha long history of privation behind us, there was a certain nouveauriche pride in Dublin being the most expensive capitol in Europe. Ifyou could make it here, you could make it anywhere.

Construction cranes dotted the new glass skyline. The cars. Thehouses. The hi tech. Pearl cufflinks and a satisfied glance in themirror before a night out at Patrick Guilbaud’s. All signs we hadfinally shed our humble past and could proudly strut the stage withall comers. And the Volvo Ocean Race was just another reminderthat we were full-fledged members of the modern world. And, well,quite frankly, we deserved it.

What a difference nine months make. The shock and awe ofstock market crashes slow rolling tsunami-like around the globelittered every shore and we rudely discovered instead of beingimmune to history, we’d been humbled by our own hubris. Andwhen we got through the denial and the self-pity and starteddigging ourselves out of the mess, men like Enda O’Coineen cameto mind.

It’s fitting that someone who knows the fear and bitter taste of thestruggle to survive show us a way into the future: After capsizing a16-foot dingy trying to cross an ocean with a supply of Heinz bakedbeans, he spent the night fighting for his life in the freezing, storm-tossed waters of the Atlantic. And the Volvo Ocean Race and otherinternational events like it could just be a way to start piecing thecountry back together again.

When the racing teams arrive in Galway port on the 23rd and24th of May, the docks, which are usually filled with small fishingtrawlers and yachts, will be covered with a Race Village featuringfood and wine fairs, exhibits, live music, street theater and a massivefireworks display. An estimated 140,000 people are expected toattend the two-week event and the knock-on effect is an estimated€43 million injection into the economy of Western Ireland. For atwo-week event, that’s a pretty impressive take.

Economic escape clauses are few in Ireland at the moment. Itwill take independent and creative entrepreneurs like O’Coineen toturn visionary ideas into solutions necessitated by the times. Andperhaps with their help, as bold as it may seem now, one day soonwe just might find ourselves hosting the summer Olympics. ■■

P H O T O G R A P H B Y COLM HENRY

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