Danny Moore's keynote presentation at the recent Dublin Web Summit.

1. Entrepreneurship: 7 Core Pillars (Personal Beliefs)
Danny Moore – Founder, Lough Shore Ltd
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

2. A little background…
• From Glenavy, Co. Antrim.
• Studied Queen‟s University, Belfast.
• Joined First Derivatives Plc in January 2001,
with a focus on New York from early 2002.
• Joined Wombat as the second FTE in Jan
2004, based in New York.
• Wombat was acquired by NYSE in 2008.
• Became COO of NYSE Technologies
through to April 2010.
• Founded Lough Shore Investments in
November 2010.
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

3. Pillar 1: Be brave and go for it
• There are thousands of armchair generals
when it comes to business, it‟s easy to talk a
good fight without ever getting out there and
onto the battlefield.
• Dare to dream, most people underestimate
what can be achieved in 10 years (and
overestimate what can be achieved in 1
year).
• Most people will try to talk you out of it, be
brave and stay the course.
• Risk management is key, always
understand, “What‟s the worst that could
happen!?”
Rams Island, Christmas Day 2010
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

4. Pillar 2: It is all about the team
• Building a world class technology business is
about building a world class team.
• Find a partner in crime, then build a core team
of five.
• Find like-minded people, with positive energy
(“fire in their bellies”), work rate, and a
penchant for getting stuff done.
• Get the right people on the bus! (and wrong
people off the bus) - Jim Collins
Golden Rules:
• Hiring (and retention) are defining skills.
• “A‟s hire A‟s and B‟s hire C‟s” – Steve Jobs
• Remember the "Birds of a feather” principle.
• Mentors are key, Aristotle mentored
Alexander the Great.
• Slow to hire, quick to fire.
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

5. The Dream Team, March 2008
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

6. Pillar 3: Is there money in it?
• This should be every entrepreneurs first question,
often though, it‟s their last.
• Ask yourself, what‟s unique about your business?
Who‟s your competition?
• Can the business model (and company) scale even if
there is a potential market?
• „A mediocre company in a storming sector will often
give a much better return than the best run business
in a dying sector‟ – Warren Buffet
• Wombat was the next interation of a proven model:
• Every decade (going back centuries) a new
player emerges and iterates the model.
• TIBCO & Rich Systems Inc. were examples of
this in the 1980s & 1990s.
• We were a combative customer focused fintech
company in a marketplace that was very lucrative
for winners.
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

7. Pillar 4: Always Be Closing (ABC)
• If you are not closing deals you‟re running a
research project (or hobby), not a business.
• Deals are the lifeblood of any business.
• Closing deals early and consistently can have
a massive impact on cash flow, balance sheet
growth, business scalability, retention of
equity and perhaps most important, product
direction.
• Always be delivering, sourcing great talent,
finishing projects, engaging with customers,
communicating & fund raising.
• There are lots of starters out there, to make it
big, an entrepreneur needs to be a great
finisher too (see right!).
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

8. Pillar 5: The Dreamweaver
(I sell dreams…)
In 1961, President Ford’s dream was a
Kennedy told America car for every
he would put a man on household in rural
the moon within ten America, the first truly
years. They did it in
nine. affordable automobile.
• Build a vision which resonates with a key pain point or aspiration.
• Communicate this vision to the team, customers, industry, competitors, investors &
potential hires.
• The entrepreneur with the strongest vision wins!
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

9. Pillar 6: Compound growth
Einstein considered Buffet’s life story “The
compound interest “the snowball”.
most powerful force in
the universe”.
• To make it big in the medium term, entrepreneurs need to understand the power of
compound growth (including how it relates to building a balance sheet).
• It is a concept that‟s fundamental to growing a customer base, cash flow, team,
balance sheet, & retaining equity.
• Small changes in level of debt, revenue growth, margin, return on equity, have
massive impacts on how a business scales in the medium term.
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

10. Pillar 7: Mr Consistency
• Get the small calls right and grind out the
results, consistently. Day after day, week
after week, year after year.
• It‟s all about base hits and RBIs (i.e. take
the base hits and the home runs will
come). Or, as they say in Ireland, take
your points and the goals will come!
• The concept of the “flywheel” is key,
aggregating hundreds of small wins to
build sustainable momentum – Jim
Collins
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

11. Summary
Pillar 1: Be brave and go for it
Pillar 2: It is all about the team
Pillar 3: Is there money in it?
Pillar 4: Always Be Closing (ABC)
Pillar 5: The Dreamweaver (I sell dreams…)
Pillar 6: Compound growth
Pillar 7: Mr Consistency
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore

12. Recommended Reading
1: Good to Great by Jim Collins
2: Moneyball by Michael Lewis
3: The Essays of Warren Buffet (Lessons for Investors &
Managers) by Lawrence A. Cunningham
w: loughshore.co - Tw: @loughshore