The PorterShed, has succeeded in keeping many start-ups well on track

IT’S where? It’s for what? But can ya have a pint there? Just some of the reactions when I’ve shared my amazement of the goings-on in Galway's techie hotspot The PorterShed.

Once you find it (behind the Meyrick Hotel and railway station, well, kind of) you’re baffled as to how you’ve never come across the city centre spot before and are even more intrigued by the view it offers and how a quick tumble down hill would have you falling on the docks. We tend to forget how small Galway as a city centre is.
The PorterShed will either bore you or intrigue you – but it should certainly impress you whether or not you’re indifferent to the world of technology or are all-in with apps, Bitcoin, programming, software platforms and virtual spaces. And yes, I’ve guessed some of you are lost already – join the club.
This nondescript building opens into an open-plan office with a background of quiet bustle, a place where people spend most of their worktime in front of their computer screen or similar. There's a lot happening but from an output point of view, there’s no conveyor belt – much of it happens in that magical and mystery world of the Cloud.
But for Galway to have such an innovative and encouraging entrepreneurial space is hugely important and the appetite for what The PorterShed offers has been massive.
It’s a place that supports and encourages companies and start-ups to grow and while it is home to a few non-tech businesses, the keyboard rules.
Hands up, I hadn’t heard of most of the companies operating from the hub but then again most of them are quite small and some are in their infancy. But already many who came before them have grown and moved on — and that's what they're supposed to — find their feet and run off happy!
Corofin's Mary Rodgers, founder of the successful Stateside Solutions which helps Irish companies access the American market, is very familiar with dealing with what businesses want. She is also a business mentor for Líonra and LEO Galway, a member of Going for Growth, the International Irish Business Network, New York Digital Irish, and global professional women’s network Ellevate.
Mary in her role as Innovation Community Manager is the person who pulls all the individuals in The PorterShed together and ensures the building operates 24/7 and that its members get access to the help and advice they need.

Read the full feature in this week's edition of The Tuam Herald