Tell us what your business does?

At Avalanche we specialise in unique website design for innovative people and anyone who is a forward-thinker. The name Avalanche was chosen directly from our favourite video game. The group aims to change the world & we thought it was the perfect name for what we want to do! We are always looking for new projects that excite us and help us to make a real difference to people and help them reach their goals. We truly believe we are among the very best in the world at what we do and we look forward to building creative and elegant solutions for businesses accross the globe.

Where did the idea for your business come from?

The idea for Avalanche was developed while I was studying in college and was tasked with developing a business plan for a local business, I noticed that the said business had a very poor website and upon researching it, I noticed that so did their competitors. Expansion from this allowed me to see that this is the case for a lot of SME’s so I spotted a gap in an oversaturated market and have carved out a little niché for ourselves.

Have you always wanted to run your own business?

Yes, I have always wanted to run my own business, I have never been a typical “rule-follower” and as such never fit into the mould in any other “steady” jobs. Being the boss lets me do things the way I want to and bring a fresh approach to a stale market in many people’s eyes, my approach is quite unique as many of our client’s will tell you but it’s working for us so far! Plus picking your own hours is a bonus!!

What planning did you do before you started up?

Literally none, I dived into cold calling clients and developing sites for local causes such as my local Family resource Centre and other charities. Avalanche just grew from there and thankfully we continue to grow to this day. Sometimes a little too quickly for my liking!!

Which entrepreneurs do you admire?

Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg and of course Steve Jobs. Closer to home, I have learned so much from Chris Mack of Club Colours/Macks Corner, Una Healy of Una Healy Design and many others who I have met along the way. The single biggest influence in me becoming an entrepreneur was my grandfather who ran his own business and inspired me to do the same!

What challenges have you faced & how have you overcome them?

As a young entrepreneur, the biggest challenge I faced was people questioning my capabilites, as we grew I was determined to keep the average employee age in and around my own age as we could then develop a brand and hopefully grow as a team into a big design powerhouse.

How have you promoted your business?

We have primarily used social media to promote our business. It is where we begun as it was very low cost and it suited the image we wished to portray to the public as a young, “goofy” design firm. WE have since grwon to over 7,000 followers on social media and we gain a lot of client’s from #irishbizparty which we run in conjunction with Samantha Kelly of Tweeting Goddess who has been another major help to us!

Are you optimistic about 2014?

Yup! Why wouldn’t we be? It is our two year anniversary and we believe that we are only going to go from strength to strength as we continue to push the creative boundaries of website development through our ever expanding codework.

What advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?

Believe that you are the best, if you don’t how will anyone else ever believe it?!