 |
| Oisin Halpin and Cian Brassil. All images courtesy of Westcoastsurfer.com |
WestCoastSurfer.com has won the prestigious NUI Galway Student Enterprise Award. The concept came from 20 year old I.T. student Cian Brassil who is an avid surfer himself. Cian saw a gap in the market for a comprehensive surf website based in Ireland and took the initiative to set one up.
Along with fellow NUIG student Oisin Halpin who recently joined the team, Brassil scooped the top prize of a €15K investment for the business as well as invaluable expert mentoring and guidance.
Runners up, LittleGreenWheels, a recycling centre for children and Algorithm, a facility aimed at helping students overcome the difficulties of returning to education after child birth, were awarded €2000 for their innovation. However, it was Brassil’s brainchild Westcoastsurfer.com that impressed the most.
Cian and co-worker Oisin Halpin were ecstatic with the win. Brassil recounts “I was so surprised, but delighted all the hard work paid off. We’ve put so much time and labour in to the site that it’s nice to get some recognition for our efforts.” The Award which was presented by the Minister of State for Small Business, John Perry T.D., NUI Galway President, Dr James Browne and NUI Galway Students’ Union President, Peter Mannion, should give a notable boost to the website.
It is clear that potential for greatness was always there, with the chairperson of the judging panel, CEO of Creganna-Tactx Medical, Helen Ryan announcing: “West Coast Surfer.com has huge growth potential and is well grounded in commercial reality with great opportunities for the West of Ireland.”
The young entrepreneur admits “I try to get out surfing at least once a week so I’m constantly looking up the forecast. There are a couple of great websites for that but I was always wondering why someone had not set up an Irish site that would give an insight in to some good surf spots, cover local and international surf news, have a place for people to buy and sell gear and just meet like-minded surfers.”
The Westcoastsurfer.com founder said “The idea for the website was always there but it was last Summer that I decided to give it a go.” Since it’s inception the website has flourished with top Irish Sufwear Brand, Emerald Surfwear on board as the primary advertisers for the site.
Judges were blown away by the WestCoastSurfer.com brand and its potential to draw investment to the domestic economy. The goal now is to design, build, promote, develop and manage the premier Irish surfing website.
Surf tourism is on the rise in Ireland and the achievements of Westcoastsurfer are bound to help this along further. Ireland is quickly becoming one of the top Surf holiday destinations in the world. Boasting one of the most beautiful coastlines and some of the best waves in Europe, not to mention the world, the west coast is truly a surfers paradise, without the sunshine!
For anyone who has not yet stumbled upon the site, Westcoastsurfer.com is a one stop shop for Irish surfers looking for information on the sport. It offers a detailed insight in to the Irish surf scene. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro you won’t be lost for articles to read, gear to buy or forecasts to scrutinise, not to mention the stunning gallery of pictures of the Irish coastline. Check out the site on www.westcoastsurfer.com.
by Lia Stokes
No comments:
Post a Comment