There are over 40,000 businesses based inside Dublin City. For startups/companies not located at this epicenter of emerging companies, it might seem like an uphill battle, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, a lot of new and growing companies has already undergone a substantial geographical shift from the city of Dublin to the commuter towns of Kildare. Maynooth, Naas, Dunboyne are just a few of the new hubs looking to entice entrepreneurs away from the “Big Smoke.” And they have found success.
Here are a number advantages of launching your startup outside of the city.
Avoid the herd.
While there’s great benefit to being in the hub of activity, sometimes, especially when you’re re-inventing an existing space, it helps to take a step away. Moving away from the herd can give you the much needed opportunity to stand out and make your own mark: really creative folks are doing new things just on the fringe.
The workforce is becoming more rural.
Dublin City is changing so much. Office blocks and corporate zones were the norm a few years back, but now workers want to be able to be have a calmer pace and a better work life balance. Spending less time sitting in rush hour traffic or finding parking is a big bonus. There are a lot of other rural benefits that are attracting companies — from hub towns like Maynooth and Naas to smaller towns such as Celbridge, Kilbride, Clane, Dunboyne and Sallins
Lower cost of living attracts young talent.
Few European cities are as expensive as Dublin, London & Paris, which can deter talent from making the trip. Outside of Dublin City are young people who are looking to take a chance and make a move. To a student fresh out of college, Dublin’s median rent rate of €1,450 per month (nearly three times higher than the national average!) can seem daunting.
Less money on office space, more to spend on perks.
Acquiring talent in Dublin City can be expensive, and so can renting office space. In Dublin City, prime office space can be upwards of €600 per square metre per year. When your company can avoid paying that kind of premium on space, then you will have more assets for innovation, perks to attract employees, and, of course, a lower overhead for your business.
Competition for talent in Dublin City is fierce.
In cities like Dublin, startups have to compete with the likes of Google, Facebook and LinkedIN for top talent. But, in other parts of the country, you can snag star talent without worrying about interference from the tech giants, who will offer senior software engineers $90,000 — almost €20,000 above the national average, according to Glassdoor. Yikes.
Not everyone wants to live in the city.
Let’s face it, not everyone wants to move across the county, country or world to be in Dublin City. There is homegrown talent around Ireland who want to live closer to where they grew up, near their families or in a geographical area that isn’t the big smoke. Tap the local culture of your community rather than adopting the city mindset. That’s what being disruptive is all about.
Startup hubs are everywhere.
Dublin City used to be the place to be but now startup hubs are sprouting up all over the country, like in Kildare, Waterford, Galway and Limerick, with these new hubs are corresponding ecosystems that help foster the growth of other startups. The Internet and the cloud are scalable, opening new opportunities for expertise and innovation, anywhere.
Corner your regional market.
Yes, Dublin City is no doubt the center for tech startups, but it’s not the center for every industry. For instance, if your startup/company is planning on reinventing the education or science industry, it might want to be close to the university town of Maynooth so that it can attract the best talent, straight and expertise and have access to the companies and institutions that it will count as customers and clients. Kildare is the European home to two of the biggest electronic firms Intel and Hewlett Packard and the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.
The bottom line is that when you found your company, you don’t have to relocate to Dublin City to find success. The most important things are the strength of your idea, your will to get it done and the talent and commitment of your people – all of which you can find and foster wherever you wish to be.
