Adam Coleman, The Entrepreneurial Spark
Adam Coleman, CEO of Lahinch-based HRLocker talked about his selection to join the Entrepreneurial Spark programme in Manchester last February, and how he has only good things to say about his experience so far.
Adam says, ‘In November 2015 I saw an advert for Entrepreneurial Spark an initiative sponsored by RBS, KPMG and applied out of interest. I got selected to participate in the programme and we chose the Manchester Hatchery as Manchester is a strategic hub for the company.
Three months in I can really say how happy I am that I made this decision, the enablers on the programme test and challenge me and keep me focused on my goal to accelerate our business. We are now within weeks of being investor ready and are making decisions like 1. will we scale HRLocker by taking on debt or look for strategic investors? These were questions that I would not have known to ask or contemplate.”
Adam set the company up in 2004, operating out of Lahinch, and in 2008 it was evident that there was a need to change the business from consultancy to product and this is what has lead HRLocker to become the company’s main focus.
HRLocker allows growing tech & professional services companies to automate their people management and recruitment efforts easily & affordably. Recruiting, managing employees and tracking training are difficult, expensive and time-consuming for growing companies. HRLocker makes this affordable and easy to do and puts all your people management in one place. HRLocker is easy to set up and automates holiday/absence management, time sheets, employee details document management, training and recruitment making people easy, scalable and affordable for growing tech-savvy companies with 5 -500 employees plus. HRLocker now lives in over 44 countries around the world and currently employs 7 people.
Coleman says, “I have self-financed the project so far and have had no investors. We are adding 10-15 new customers month on month which we are delighted with, but it is now time to prepare to scale up the company. When we decided to scale we sought out support from various agencies, banks and financial institutions in Ireland, but this was met with mixed results. We found that the opportunities available in the UK gave us greater options and additional support which will allow us to grow the company in a strategic direction in alignment with the company’s future goals. Our goal is to always keep HRLocker headquartered in Lahinch.”
“I would encourage any Entrepreneur no matter what stage they are at, be it an idea or a business there are trying to scale get in touch with Entrepreneurial Spark and enquire, enrol and sign up,” he added.
