A new investmentnetwork wi l llaunch inWest-meath tomor-r ow w i t h afunding pot of

e1 million for promising ven-tures in the midlands.Lir Investors, the Midlands

Business Angels Network, hasbrought together a group ofprivate investors with the aimof supporting promising localentrepreneurs who have lim-ited funding options.The initiative is the brain-

child of Mullingar-based in-vestor and web entrepreneurMartin Nally.Formerlymanaging director

of the Westmeath ExaminerGroup, Nally now runs thesites Handyweb.ie and Farm-ersforum.ie.‘‘It has been on my mind to

research some way to makefunding available to businesseswho have no other access tofunding,’’ said Nally.‘‘Having researched the

HaloBusinessAngelsNetwork[HBAN], I felt it was an excel-lent way to bring together peo-ple who have funds with theintent of putting somethingthey have made back into thecommunity.’’Nally’s aim in setting up Lir

Investorswas, he said, to createa flexible match-making ser-vice tobring worthybusinessestogether with suitable inves-tors.So far, he has assembled a

group of ten investors withcombined funding of up to e1million, but hopes tomorrow’slaunch in Mullingar will drawinterest from other suitablecandidates.‘‘I was attracted to the flex-

ibility of the HBANoperation.

Investors are not handcuffed,’’he said. ‘‘You don’t have to putmoney in, and you are only inthe group because you trustthe other members and theytrust you.You can invest in oneproject ^ or several ^ with oneor a number of other investors,or you need not invest at all.’’Nally said the new network

would look most favourably on

investees with clear potentialfor growth and a sturdy salesstrategy.‘‘We are particularly inter-

ested in any businesses that aresuitable for the export industry.There are huge markets world-wide that are predominantlyunaffected by the global down-turn, and if we can enable amidlands company to move

into export markets we arecreating opportunities for longterm income and employmentfor the midlands region,’’ hesaid.

Lir Investors will host itsopen evening tomorrow from7pm in the Mullingar ParkHotel in association with theMidlands Regional Authority

and the Midlands GatewayChamber. John Teeling, foun-der of the Cooley Distillery,will chair the meeting andspeakers will include GerryDuffy, UK Deca-EnduromanChampion 2011 and HBANnational director Diane Ro-berts. To confirm a place, e-mail info@midlandsgateway-chamber.com

Midlands entrepreneursto gete1m funding boost

OUTONYOUROWN

Y ou can use LinkedInto manage your pro-fessional profile on-line, connect with

trusted business contacts, andexchange knowledge, ideasand business opportunitieswith a global network.

Getting started1. Log onto www.Linked

In.com and select the ‘join to-day’option.2. Input your name, email

and password to create youraccount.3. Build your profile, com-

pleting all the relevant sec-tions.4. Connect with your con-

tacts to develop your Linke-dIn network.5.Get active, keepyour pro-

file up to date and utilise Lin-kedIn’s social media features,such as the ‘Network Activity’section.

Optimising yourprofile1.Make sure your profile is

100 per cent complete.Uploada professional, business-style

photographand awell-writtenbiography. Spend time writingyour LinkedIn summary sec-tion. Make sure it clearly ex-plains what you do, and that ithighlights your experience.Ensure that it will attract theattention of your prospectivecontacts and potential custo-mers and makes you standout fromyour competition.2.Create auniqueLinkedIn

URL and add it to your busi-ness cards and email signa-ture. For example, http://ie.linkedin.com/in/conor-lynch.3. Add profile links from

your Facebook, Twitter, blogandweb spaces.4. Every time you update

your status on LinkedIn, itshows up on your connectionsnewsfeed. Relevant updateswill ensure you are not forgot-ten by your connections.5.Transfer yourofflinebusi-

ness contacts to your online

LinkedIn database. Updateevery relevant business cardyou receive. Make time eachweek to connect with newcontacts on LinkedIn.6. Build up a number of

quality recommendations.Ask every satisfied customeror client to recommend you.

LinkedInapplicationsThere are many LinkedIn

applications you can leverageto get more attention, trafficand brand awareness. To addthese, click the ‘More’ buttonand then ‘Get More Applica-tions’.Three top applications are:1. WordPress blog ^ link

your blog to your LinkedInprofile. Blogging about yourmarket, your products andservices or sharing researchinsightswill not only strength-en your profile, but it will alsohelp drive more traffic to yourwebsite.2. Slideshare ^ SlideShare is

the world’s largest communityfor sharing presentations.Through this application, youcan share presentations anddocuments with your Linke-dIn network.

3.Twitter ^ Tweets is aTwit-ter client you can use on Lin-kedIn.With this application,you can access the most im-portant parts of the profes-sional conversation. You canalso display your most recenttweets on your LinkedIn pro-file while having instant ac-cess to the updates of peopleyou are following on Twitter,and the power to tweet, reply,and re-tweet.

LinkedIn groupsJoin and participate in Lin-

kedIn groups. For example, ifyou are selling services to ITmanagers, use LinkedIn tofind relevant groups in that ca-tegory. You will not get no-ticed unless you participate inthe group.Start discussions, share

your blog posts, ask questionsand comment on other peo-ple’s posts.

Demonstrate your capabil-ities and experience by an-swering questions posted inthe group. Stand out as an in-dustry expert and showcaseyour expertise.

LinkedIncompaniesCreate your own company

profile, and showcase yourproducts and services. Clickon the ‘Companies’ button inthe main menu. Rename the‘My Company’ section as thename of your company ^ forexample, Socialmedia.ie. Youcan also embed your blog andTwitter feeds into your com-pany page, which helps tobuild followers.Search for and follow Lin-

kedIn companies relevant toyour industry sector.To followa company, simply visit theirLinkedIn profile and click the

‘follow’ button.Once you havedone so, you will receive up-dates regarding recent hiresand promotions, new job op-portunities and company pro-file updates.

LinkedIn adsLinkedIn Ads is a perfor-

mance-based advertising ser-vice that you can use totarget LinkedIn user profiles.Set your daily budgets andwhoyouwant to reach,uploadan image and text, and startyour campaign. Monitor theactivity and optimise the adsyou set up based on your ob-jectives.

Conor Lynch is a socialmedia strategist and founderof SocialMedia.ie, a Dublin-based firm that advises busi-nesses nationwide. For moreinformat ion, log on towww.socialmedia.ie

Social media for start-ups

Conor Lynch

Dogpatch facility forentrepreneursPolaris Venture Partners openedits new Dogpatch Labs facility onDublin’s Barrow Street last week,with Noel Ruane as entrepreneurin residence. Aimed at entrepre-neurs working on new businessideas, Dogpatch provides freespace, connectivity and ‘open-sourced’ collaboration throughindustry and open house events.Describing the opening as asignificant development for inno-vative entrepreneurs, Frank Ryan,chief executive of Enterprise Ire-land, said it would act as acatalyst for the creation anddevelopment of new businessideas.For more, log on to http://

dogpatchlabs.com

New-look NubieBusiness start-up site Nubie.comhas re-launched with a freshformat a year after it first hit themarket. The new-look site featuresa nine-step process designed toguide entrepreneurs through thevarious financial, legislative andpractical steps involved in settingup a new venture. Commenting onthe initiative, Nubie chief execu-tive Rebekah Brooks said it was inresponse to feedback from clients.To complement the software,Nubie has launched Jumpstart

Programme, a two-day interactivebootcamp.

Business awardslaunched

New and early-stage firms will beamong the ventures in line fornational recognition in an annualawards scheme for companiesnorth and south.Now in its 18th year, Ulster

Bank’s Business Achievers Awardsscheme is open to entrants ineight categories, including Inno-vation & Emerging Technology,Social Entrepreneurship and BestBusiness Start-up. Entrants will bejudged on financial performance,company milestones andachievements, business strategyand product or service innovation.For more, see www.busi

nessachieversaward.com

Female Entrepreneur ofthe YearGemma Robinson was namedFemale Entrepreneur of the Yearat last week’s South East Womenin Business Conference andAwards. Representing TipperarySouth County Enterprise Board,Robinson’s venture Acorn Regula-tory Consultancy Services pro-vides regulatory and qualityassurance services to the phar-maceutical sector.

Wifi firm pitches tovictoryIn Dublin, Fleet Connect took tophonours in another businesscompetition organised by FingalCounty Enterprise Board. The firm,a provider of wifi for passengertransport, was named best ofthree finalists at the event inSwords last Thursday night, on theback of owner Patrick Cotter’spitching skills. Cotter pitched hisbusiness ideas and plans to ajudging panel that included busi-nessman Ben Dunne, Insomnia’sBobby Kerr and Nicola Byrne of11890.

Microsoft fast-tracksIrish firmsTwo Irish companies, SkillPagesand Inishtech, have been chosento join Microsoft Bizspark One, afast-track programme for high-potential start-ups. The two companies were among

100 companies identified globallyfor the programme, which pairsparticipants with a dedicatedrelationship manager who workswith them to promote theirvisibility, expand their network ofinvestors and mentors, find andcreate business opportunities anddevelop new and cutting-edgeapplications.

NEW THIS WEEK

In the third part of our series onusing social media, industry expertConor Lynch explains how LinkedIncan help your business

ElaineO’Regan

Martin Nally, founder, Lir Investors; Angela Rigney, Midlands Gateway Chamber; Gerry Duffy, UK Deca Enduromanchampion; Paul O’Reilly, Midlands Gateway Chamber

Andrew Dennis, Andor Technology and overall Ulster Bank Business Achiever 2010;Brendan Flood, Enterprise Ireland; Nicole Byrne, founder of 11890; DeclanFitzgerald, managing director, Business banking, Ulster Bank; Liam Nellis,InterTradeIreland, and Donal Durkin, Invest NI

n24THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

OCTOBER 2 2011