PRESS RELEASE: Mayo entrepreneurs and investors get together over coffee

The Mayo Open Coffee Club (MOCC), a business network run by businesspeople for businesspeople, is launching its winter series of monthly meetings on Wednesday, October 7th, in Castlebar.

The Open Coffee Club concept, first established in London, allows for informal meetings between businesses of all types. It is completely free of charge, thanks to sponsorship from O’Brien’s Sandwich Bar in Castlebar, and the aim is to let businesspeople make contacts, pitch their business, and get assistance on business issues and challenges.

“This club exists because businesspeople like to get together and talk. A lot of good tie-ups have taken place as a result of our meetings over the past year. The meetings are facilitated by a member of the group, but they are generally informal in nature, and people can just come along and talk to other businesspeople,” said a spokesperson for MOCC.

“Our guest speaker at the next meeting on October 7th will be Justin Knecht, Manager of the Centre for Design Innovation at Sligo IT. He is recognized and respected as a creative leader and divergent thinker.

“Justin is experienced in design, brand management, e-commerce, information and technology solutions, project management and marketing. Prior to joining the centre, he was the Senior Manager of Creative Services at Crayola Inc. The speakers help to stimulate discussion by sharing their own business experiences with the group.”

Meetings are held in the Innovation in Business Centre, which is located on the GMIT campus in Castlebar, on the first Wednesday of every month. The following is the schedule for meetings over the next three months (all meetings start at 11am and last between one hour and 90 minutes).

All you have to do is turn up on the day. More details on the Mayo Open Coffee Club are available on http://mayo-open-coffee-club.org/, or you can email any of the organisers:

Chris B Kerndter (chris {at} achill-online(.)net),
Robert Grealis (Robert {at} thediscoverypartnership(.)com),
Maria Staunton (Maria.Staunton {at} gmit(.)ie), or
Liam Horan (liam {at} slinuacommunications(.)com)

Start-up businesses, people with the germ of an idea, and established businesses all find the Open Coffee Club a useful vehicle to get in touch with what’s happening in the business world around Mayo.