2011 Irish Small Biz 50 Honorees, E-H
Name: Fergus Hurley
Biography: Clixtr is a real-time, location-aware, mobile photo-sharing platform with a series of mobile products including PicBounce and Clixtr. Its first product, the Clixtr iPhone App, allows people to collaboratively share photos at events and tune into events happening nearby and around the world. PicBounce, launched in 2010 and rated 4.5 stars in the Apple App Store, is the fastest and easiest way to upload photos from an iPhone onto Facebook and Twitter, and has hundreds of thousands of users and photos. Clixtr, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is based in San Francisco, CA. It is seed funded by DFJ and Silicon Valley angel investors. Clixtr launched as a finalist at TechCrunch50 in 2009 and won the Mobile App Showdown at CES in 2010.
Fergus Hurley, founder of Clixtr, is an Irish entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley. Hurley is an expert in real-time, location-aware, mobile media sharing having developed the patent pending technology behind the Clixtr and PicBounce products, which have been enjoyed by people in over 150 countries. He has spoken at conferences in USA, Asia and Europe and secured venture capital funding from top tier investors. He was recently selected as one of the Silicon Valley 50 Irish Americans in Technology 2011. Hurley has a Bachelor of Engineering degree from University College Cork Ireland and a Masters in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT and studied at Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Name: Francis Reynolds
Biography: InVivo Therapeutics Holdings Corp. is a Cambridge, MA medical device company focused on utilizing polymers as a platform technology to develop treatments to improve function in individuals paralyzed as a result of traumatic spinal cord injury. The company was founded in 2005 on the basis of proprietary technology co-invented by Robert Langer, ScD, Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Joseph P. Vacanti, MD, who is affiliated with Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Name: Francis Schott
Biography: Francis Schott and his partners established Prigmore Corporation in 1992, establishing a fine dining restaurant in the troubled downtown of a not-yet redeveloped city. They served on various community boards and helped to bring the city back, primarily by growing a vibrant business with regional appeal right in the center. Stage Left was immediately recognized as one of the best restaurants in the state and has remained at the top for 19 years.
The company opened a second restaurant, Catherine Lombardi, in 2005, which is recognized as one of the best Italian restaurants in the state. Among the very first restaurateurs to champion local farms and sustainability in NJ, the business has been going strong for almost 20 years.
Through their radio program RestaurantGuysRadio.com, and public speaking engagements, they help to spread the message that small businesses can make big differences in people’s lives and in the lives of the communities they inhabit.
Name: Gene and Tara Callaghan
Biography: Irish Eyes Imports is a specialty store in Westwood, NJ which carries a broad selection of quality products and unique gifts including Waterford Crystal, Belleek china and Newbridge silverware. The company has also launched a new and improved website – www.celticpride.com, where customers can purchase items that can be shipped directly or picked up at the Westwood location. The owners hope to reach a much broader clientele with the convenience of online shopping. Tara and Gene believe in exceeding customers’ expectations while meeting every need.
Name: Gertrude Byrne
Place of birth: Co Mayo
Business: Promotions
www.gertrudebyrnepromotions.com
Where you live: NY/Florida
First job: Secretary
What it taught me: Discipline and the ability to finish a task were monumentally important in valuing my work ethic, proficiency and skills
Family: Husband, John, three children and five grandchildren
Best advice anyone ever gave you: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you
Best advice you could give someone starting out: Be confident of what you want to do and don’t give up
The most important thing for business success is: Reputation is an important asset along with product delivery. People will see you as someone they can trust.
Name of Business: Gertrude Byrne Promotions
www.gertrudebyrnepromotions.com
First established: 1976
Employees: Two
Name: Gregory McIntyre
Biography: Greg McIntyre is General Manager of The Padded Wagon Inc having started with the company in 1994. Born in Coleraine, Co Derry he is the second of five children to Joseph and Phyllis McIntyre, all of who still live in Ireland.
An avid Gaelic football fan and player, Greg also plays golf and was an amateur pool champion in his teens and twenties, at one time toying with the idea of becoming a professional pool ball player after becoming the 1995 NYC MVP player of the year. He is also an official member of Liverpool FC Supporters Club.
He previously worked as a technician for Fruit of The Loom, in Derry before moving to New York in 1992 and starting work for an Irish moving company.
He is a former Vice President and founder member of Derry GFC NY and the current second Vice President of Irish Business Organization of NY. He is also a member of the following associations: Scandinavian Building Managers Guild; Manhattan Resident Managers Association; New York Building Managers Association; A.O.H Division 4; I.B.O NY; Metropolitan Building Managers and NYARM.