That’ll Never Work Book
Waterford business man and entrepreneur Kevin Coleman is one of twelve Irish entrepreneurs featured in a new book that was put together by accountancy giant, KPMG. The book describes how Irish entrepreneurs ignored detractors and opted to back themselves, their ideas and their business acumen in pursuit of a dream.
Kevin Coleman is the Managing Director of Green Cone, a unique natural Food Waste Digesting System he discovered in Toronto. “Given Ireland’s obsession with landfills and incinerators and our national move towards more environmentally-friendly waste disposal, it was a no-brainer that the Green Cone would be a hit here,” explains Coleman.
The Green Cone is a completely natural safe solar powered digester system that returns over 90% of all food waste to your soil in the form of nutrient enriched water. The food from your kitchen now becomes food for your garden. By reducing the amount of waste that has to go to a landfill site, the Green Cone also helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Coleman has recently added the Green Earthmaker to his offerings, a unique product that uses gravity to turn waste into compost in half the time. “When I found it, I said: “This is the best thing since sliced bread!”
Coleman’s is one of twelve stories of innovation, risk-taking, heartbreak and the ultimate success featured in a new publication, That’ll Never Work…by KPMG’s Michael Gaffney and Colin O’Brien.
The very personal accounts featured in the book provide an insight into the world of entrepreneurship – what worked, what didn’t and how twelve entrepreneurs eventually found their success.
According to Michael Gaffney, KPMG, That’ll Never Work… captures some great stories that would otherwise go untold: “Irish entrepreneurs have played a pivotal role in the development of Ireland into an economic powerhouse over the last few decades”.
He added: “This book recounts the unique accounts of a collection of these exceptional individuals, and highlights the challenges they overcame to achieve their success.”
“Through our experience in KPMG we have found that whilst entrepreneurs come from widely varying backgrounds, they all share some common attributes. These include an instinct for a market opportunity, an eye for innovation, tremendous persistence, singular self belief and a fantastic ability to bounce back in the face of adversity.”
The book also features accounts of other environmental entrepreneurs such as John Concannon of JFC and James and Chloe O’Connor of Stronghold.
Co-author Colin O’Brien, KPMG, explained the reasons for compiling the book: “Everyday in KPMG, we come across fascinating people who have started a business from scratch, taken over a small enterprise and built it to a formidable scale, or reinvigorated a family business.
Hopefully this book will give aspiring entrepreneurs encouragement, not just from the success stories but by hearing about challenges surmounted, mistakes survived and lessons learned.”
The entrepreneurs featured in the book include Pat Walsh, Walsh Mushrooms, Sean Gallagher, Smarthomes, Pádraig O’Ceidigh, Aer Arann, Norah Casey, Harmonia, Kevin Coleman, Green Cone, John Concannon, JFC Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Vincent Carton, Manor Farm, Ivan Yates, Celtic Bookmakers, James and Chloe O Connor, Stronghold, Richard Barrett, Treasury Holdings and Brian Ranalow, H&K.