Everyone has experienced that sinking feeling brought on by a ‘low battery’ icon. IADT students Conor Nolan [pictured above: right] and Conor McGowan [pictured above: left] saw a startup opportunity in preventing it, so they set up WattSpot.

Formed in 2014, WattSpot sells a portable charging device that businesses can place on tables and counters. The battery-powered device has several leads for most makes of smartphones, and businesses can either buy the charger outright or rent it.

Brought together by golf on a J1 visa, psychology student Nolan (22) teamed up with entrepreneurship student McGowan (22) to develop the idea. “We approached Dominic Mullan, the innovation development manager in IADT with our vague idea, and he was very helpful.”

They found the product they wanted in Italy and secured exclusive rights to sell it in Ireland and the UK.

“It’s pretty expensive importing from Italy and if we can source a product with cheaper components and a more powerful battery, the charging speed could be improved and we could make it a lot cheaper for customers,” said Nolan.

In Association with

The founders then cold-called their way into café chain Insomnia’s head office, and once the coffee chain was on board they used the agreement as leverage for other clients. Besides Insomnia, WattSpot has also sold units to Topaz, the Shelbourne Hotel, various student unions and William Hill in the UK.

In retrospect, Nolan says that trying to land a showcase customer in the venture’s early days caused them to overlook the bigger picture. “We targeted a big company and worked on them for weeks when we could have been sending out emails to everyone at the same time.”

However, WattSpot’s founders insist that the entrepreneurial game is not as hard as it’s made out to be.

“Just take it step by step and break it down into smaller components,” says Nolan. “Set a strong foundation for the business and then go for it. You don’t have to have a business background to start up a company. You can really go from anywhere if you have a good idea and you work hard at it.”

The two lads are still completing their studies, and use social media to hustle the business forward. LinkedIn’s InMail has been great for our sales, connecting with important people and inviting them having a look at our company profile.”

Watts up: Conor Nolan (right) and Conor McGowan