Savvy Teens

At Savvy Teens, we are dedicated to delivering hands-on learning experiences that empower young people, connect them with meaningful career opportunities, and support educational reform in Ireland. Our Approach: 1️⃣ Equipping students with essential workplace skills through practical, real-world experiences. 2️⃣ Enable active peer learning through collaborative, engaging environments that encourage students to learn from and inspire each other. 3️⃣ Building impactful connections between businesses and students to foster engagement and development. 4️⃣ Promote diversity within career paths by inspiring young people to pursue any career they aspire to and supporting them in following their ambitions. We are passionate about preparing today’s youth not just for the workforce, but for life, helping them grow as individuals and realise their full potential. #TYWorkExperience #SavvyTeens #LifeSkills #TY #TransitionYear

Wow! Thank you so sincerely for this lovely post Robert McConnell CDir CEng FIoD FIMMM! I truly love the InterTradeIreland VCC day and the energy and passion that people from all over the island bring. Thank you for coming up to me in the hotel the day before too. I’m glad we had a chance to have a quick chat and I hope you had a superb day right throughout. Thanks again Robert.

MEGA was delighted to attend the Department for the Economy NI's Peer Support & Development Conference at Stormont Hotel. The focus was Advancing Excellence - Showcasing the Impact of Collaboration, Innovation, Quality Improvement & Lifelong Learning. Our Education & Industry Engagement Manager Elita Frid presented with Janet Toal of InterTradeIreland the outcomes for students, teachers & industry mentors and the power of collaboration for creating win/wins from Engineering Across the Border, a partnership between Savvy Teens and MEGA- Manufacturing & Engineering Growth & Advancement and supported by InterTradeIreland. Susan HayesCulleton CFA, "The Positive Economist" Janet Toal Maria Curran Debbie Deans

Delighted to attend the 18th annual IoD Northern Ireland Women’s Leadership Conference Crowne Plaza Belfast with my amazing colleagues from The Open University in Northern Ireland Looking forward to hearing from inspirational women and gaining valuable insights that will empower and motivate us. The energy and enthusiasm here is incredible - I’m thrilled to be part of this journey towards championing diversity and leadership. #WomensLeadership #IODNI #Empowerment #Diversity #Leadership #OpenUniversity #WLC2025 #theFutureisOpen Grainne Mc Gowan Imelda Haran Dr Lynsey Quinn Marie-Claire O'Neill Alice Byrne Ewelina Korytkowska The Open University Susan HayesCulleton CFA, "The Positive Economist" Kirsty McManus Dip IoD, MBA Chelsea Brennan

We’re looking forward to welcoming all our guests at our Women’s Leadership Conference 2025 bright and early tomorrow morning where we’ll be hearing from all these inspiring ladies! 🙍♀️ Helena Morrissey 🙍♀️ Lucy Edwards 🙍♀️ Jill Gallard CMG CVO 🙍♀️ Dorinnia Carville 🙍♀️ Elaine Atkinson, CPCC, ACC 🙍♀️ Fiona Emmett 🙍♀️ Belinda Brown 🙍♀️ Susan HayesCulleton CFA, "The Positive Economist"   𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆: ✅ Get there early to ensure you’re parked and enjoying your breakfast in time! Rideshare where possible and make use of all car parks for seamless entry/exit.   ✅ Take part during the pitching competition and vote for your favourite competitor! ✅ Cash or QR code donation for our Charity Prize Draw – you’ll be put in for the chance to win a £500 holiday voucher courtesy of Selective Travel Management ✅ Make sure to tag us IoD Northern Ireland in your photos! ✅✅ And most importantly – enjoy your day! #WLC2025 Herbert Smith Freehills/ NIE Networks / KPMG Ireland / Danske Bank UK / Henry Brothers Ltd / SONI - System Operator for Northern Ireland / Cathedral Eye Clinic, Belfast / Translink / The Irish News

Hearing from all the amazing speakers and panelist’s at the InterTradeIreland VC Conference and dinner this week - has me exciting and ready to GO! - Focus on culture- not where the people are based - OKRs (love them or hate them, metrics and targets will keep things moving!) - AI Agents - AI Skins AILEEN CARVILLE COLONII - angels 👼 is where it’s at! AwakenAngels Denise McQuaid HBAN Niamh Sterling Naomi McGregor Movetru® = know your numbers = scinario plan = build relationships = don’t be afraid to ask! All expertly run by the mega MC Susan HayesCulleton CFA, "The Positive Economist" who is phenomenal at summarising each session! And….. not to forget all the great chats! (Don’t be cross if I miss you- busy couple of days!) Jenny Ervine Sorcha Mulligan Leyla F Karaha Equisscore Máirín Murray TechFoundHer Orla McDonnell With Everly Gary Lyons TalkTerms Eoghan Powell Michael Mcdowell SeedLegals Victoria Finlay The MenoPal Shana Chu Tailr Elaine Patterson Meg Magill Mark Farrelly

Irish News Business Editor Gary McDonald interviews ‘The Positive Economist" and host of today’s annual IoD Women’s Leadership Conference 2025, Susan HayesCulleton CFA #IODWLC2025 Institute of Directors (IoD) IoD Northern Ireland Susan HayesCulleton CFA, "The Positive Economist" Gary McDonald

This week I had the incredible opportunity to join host Susan HayesCulleton CFA, "The Positive Economist" at InterTradeIreland Venture Capital Conference to discuss ‘Raising significant angel funding round in UK and Ireland’ alongside Denise McQuaid, Andrea Sinclair, and Niamh Sterling. It was empowering to be on the stage with our investors who have believed in and supported Movetru. By having investors who have a track record of success from business to raising funds, their advice is always insightful. On stage it was an honour to officially announce the investment of AwakenAngels, HBAN, and Angel Academe - increasing female investment into Movetru®! These outstanding partners have been pivotal on the Movetru journey and will continue to be as we hit this next chapter. I’ve now left Dublin and in Austin for SXSW. Hit me up if you’re here! 🇺🇸

Yesterday I had the amazing opportunity to visit PwC Ireland as a part of their new Access Pathways Programme. It was an experience which provided me with valuable insights about the various opportunities within the firm. The day began with enagaging talks from Doone O'Doherty and Enda McDonagh who shared valuable career insights and advice about their personal journeys. Afterwards we took part in a feedback workshop, in which we learnt how to provide effective yet constructive feedback in different situations which may arise. I also had the opportunity to shadow Sarah Jane O'Mahoney who shared knowledge about her daily responsibilities as a senior associate. A huge thank you to Susan HayesCulleton CFA, "The Positive Economist", Deirdre Kennedy and everyone at PWC for making the day so welcoming! #Pwc #AccessProgramme

After my fourth year hosting the action-packed #VCC25 Venture Capital Conference with InterTradeIreland, here is a summary of the takeaways: 1. Marina Gorey says that “there’s nothing more strategic than culture”. As you think about what you’re striving for, ask yourself why you want it to uncover your real motivation. Understand what you will give up to get it and give opportunities 120% after that. You need to solve for today with the foresight of what this means for your longer term objectives. Don’t hire until you’re ready to let go of the dopamine of doing the world and use job specs as a powerful team tool. 2. The panel discussion with Niamh Sterling, Denise McQuaid, Andrea Sinclair and Naomi McGregor revealed that angels are wondering whether a potential investee’s sector and problem-to-be-solved are something they’re interested in and can help. Investees need to think abut “both angels wings” i.e. their capital and their knowledge capital. If you’re going to raise money in different jurisdictions, you need to have the legals to back it up. Talk to angels early and bring them on the journey with you. You need to be on top of your numbers including pricing, customer acquisition, TAM (total addressable market), users, customers, revenue, costs and cash burn. Go for grants and non-dilutive money first and then when you approaching angels, commit to making it work. 3. DC Cahalane, Sure Valley Ventures describes AI as the “industrialisation of the knowledge economy”. He says that “living without AI will be like living with out the internet”. If you’re interested in investing in an AI startup, then look for data advantage, real talent and action and agility bias. Cultivate intellectual honesty in your business, use AI to extrapolate future scenarios and founder burnout should be on the risk register. 4. Jimmy Martin, AMCS Group one of Ireland’s unicorns, stressed the importance of finding high value problems and finding ways to solve them quickly, effectively and efficiently. He has built a discipline of “unit economics” from his US investors. He noted that sales is more of a science than we think and Ireland needs to build its capability in its execution. He sought more specialised investors as the business got bigger. Find a customer to bring you into a new market, he says and rather than focus on the solution the customer wants, ask them about the problem they have first. Keep your focus on the business when you’re raising money as it’s easier when you’ve got a good business to invest in. A huge thank you to Drew O'Sullivan, Gary Stokes, Jane Watson and all of the team who gave me the opportunity to be part of the experience this year.