Open Letter to DCEB Board Members

Background: Dublin City Enterprise Board’s LINK! network is a network for startup business to meet up and share experiences, business tips, and sometimes just to talk to someone who is going through the joys and pains of starting a business. The network has been running for about 2.5 years now and meets from 6-8.30pm the last Tuesday of the month. It costs EUR100/yr per member, and has a membership of around 120 of business owners from around the Dublin City area. Attendance figures range from 25 on a quiet evening to 65+ on busy evenings, as well as co-hosting 2 large events per year with other DCEB networks (Women in Business and Plato IIRC).

The network manager announced to us at the last meeting that DCEB are withdrawing support for the network and that the next meeting will be the last.

The members are very disappointed to hear of this and we have contacted the board of DCEB to show our support for the network and to ask them to reconsider.

In this time of recession and financial turmoil, particularly in the Small and Medium Enterprise sector, now is NOT the time to be withdrawing support for startup businesses.

Below is the text of my letter to the DCEB board members. If you would like to learn more, please see the Bring Back LINK! Facebook page.

Dear DCEB Board Member,

I’m saddened to hear of the planned closure of the DCEB LINK! network for startup businesses. I’d like to express my support for the network and any plans to keep it open.

I want to let you know how valuable a resource the LINK! network has been for me and my business. I have made many friends, business contacts and learned massive amounts from the LINK network events. The chance to learn from and talk to inspirational people like Adrian Birrell, Ireland’s hugely successful cricket manager, Brody Sweeney, amongst many others.

I’ve also learned about the many valuable DCEB resources including training courses and particularly the mentor programme which I found invaluable (In fact I found this so useful that I started a business with my mentor – there’s networking for you!).

But the most important part of LINK for me has been to have a network of like-minded peers going through the same issues of starting a business. This is a huge asset to any small business owner, particularly one like me who is not coming from a traditional business background (I was a software engineer working in a large corporation). The peer support from the LINK network is invaluable.

I believe that the network should remain open so that the current members can continue to benefit from its existance BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY so that new businesses and entrepreneurs who are just now starting out for whatever reason, so that they have peer support and gain from it as I have been lucky to do so. As you can see from the messages of support and subscribers to the Facebook page, there is large support from the existing members to keep the network intact.

I understand the fiscal realities facing DCEB but if there is anything I can do to help the network remain open and in place, please let me know.

Thanks for reading.

Best regards,
Alastair McDermott
Director, LogOn Internet Marketing Ltd (T/A WebsiteDoctor.com)
Director, ArrangeMyWorld Ltd.

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