Niall O’Sullivan talks to Emma-Jane Power - the Waterford-born founder of PR Slides, an online PR company that provides journalists with information about new products from major global brands.
The company was one of 40 taking part in Enterprise Ireland’s recent One to Watch networking workshop hosted by the Irish Embassy in London.
How much business do you have over here?
We have just launched PR Slides UK three months ago and now we have more than 20 clients, including brands like the House of Fraser.
Have you had a hard time breaking into the British market?
Sales-wise it has gone pretty smoothly, but it was quite difficult to knock down the first few doors. We were lucky to have a lot of clients in Ireland who use the service and really champion Ireland, so they introduced us to their UK teams.
How do you conduct your business in Britain?
At the moment, all 14 of our employees are based in Ireland and are travelling over here to do business.
Is that a big obstacle to your growth?
It is costly, but with Ryanair and affordable flights it is not too bad. And it is closer for me to get here to London than it is for me to get home to my hometown, Waterford, in south Ireland.
Another obstacle is that the UK is so much bigger than Ireland. I have always found that if I wanted an introduction to someone in Ireland I could get it through someone’s sister who works in the company or something like that.
But it has proven a little bit harder over here – you cannot get introductions through family.
See More: Business, Ireland, PR Slides, UK
