When Cara Martin and Eoin Lynch made the big brave leap to set up a business at the end of 2019, little did they know that a pandemic was lurking around the corner. But as Reid Hoffman is famous for stating, an entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a cliff and assembles a plane on the way down. 

Enter Covid-19, and it was time to sink or swim.

InvestinU, like many companies, was very much a client-facing business before coronavirus, specialising in IT training and consultancy in areas such as Excel, web design, databases and predictive data analytics.

The first item on the evolving Covid-19 list was traditional training, which was no longer feasible in the Covid-climate. “Instead of face to face training, we built custom and preset webinars,” says Lynch (pictured).

Next on the list of Covid adaptations was the way they consulted with clients — remotely, using the latest online collaboration apps such as Zoom, Webex, or Teams. 

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But first, the business website was in need of a makeover. With so much of their business conducted online, their digital presence was now paramount. 

With Covid-19 affecting businesses all over the country, Local Enterprise Offices promoted the availability of Trading Online Vouchers,  a grant for sole trader and SMEs  develop their online presence. InvestinU applied for one of these vouchers, and soon the proverbial lightbulb moment hit.

With so many businesses wanting to avail of TOVs, and with websites very much a necessity in today’s business world for sales and bookings, few knew where to start. InvestinU identified a new market: they would guide others in the TOV application process. 

Cara Martin (pictured above) explains: “We offered an hour of free consultancy for all those applying for the TOV.  This helped them to identify how they could adapt and restart their business online. We’re delighted to help each business with the application process, and design quality websites, which we know will increase their revenue and establish their digital profile.”

InvestinU also offers data analytics, customised training, consultancy, building bespoke databases, webinars, marketing and branding, plus systems and process development.

Lynch says that these days companies may have more time to work with their data. “We have helped clients to convert this raw data into valuable information using fully functional Excel dashboards. This type of information is vital to companies during Covid-19.”

More information on the process here.