To start off the season we meet up with Róisín Callaghan, Co-founder and CEO at Cogs & Marvel, a brand experience and creative event agency. 

Having moved her business to San Francisco in 2016, she’s learnt a lot over the past 3 years about the dos and don'ts involved with moving a business across the pond. 

From finding her first contracts and building up her companies reputation, to the struggles she faced and expectations she had to overcome, she shares with us all she’s learnt...

”It’s hard work in setting it up and getting established, but there are networks and organisations to help you with that, so use them. Americans are really good at networking and they really want to help you.” - Róisín Callaghan

Time Stamps:

02:19 - Working in events and event management.
04:06 - When Cogs and Marvel started.
05:11 - Working with Google and gaining their first contracts.
08:47 - What makes their events special and stand out from others.
10:44 - What inspired Roisin to move her business to San Francisco.
15:12 - Good reasons and bad reasons for wanting to expand your business to the US.
16:06 - The types of businesses that might struggle more in the US compared to the UK.
17:40 - The logistics involved with moving to America, and the qualities that helped Roisin be successful.
22:09 - The differences involved with setting up the company in America compared to Ireland.
23:42 - Advice for people who are just starting with their move to America.
25:50 - The existing communities that are available to help entrepreneurs with moving their businesses abroad.
30:53 - The different challenges that come up when running an event in America compared to Europe.
38:02 - The process of proving themselves when first arriving in America.
42:11 - The expectations that come with being an Irish company in America.
44:00 - Advice for those thinking of moving their business to San Francisco.

Resources:

www.mtbonnell.com
www.cogsandmarvel.com
www.enterprise-ireland.com

Episode Transcript

Connect with Róisín Callaghan: LinkedIn

Email us at - [email protected]

Twitter - @mtbonnell

Connect with Sebastian Sauerborn: Website

Connect with Nastaran Tavakoli-Far: LinkedIn

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