Web business shows Dragon its pedigree

Local web-based business www.pedigreecattle.ie, which became the first company in Ireland to get backing from television’s Dragon’s Den, continues to moo-ve forward, even without the involvement of the Dragons.
Proving there are no hard feelings, the Ennis Mart-based company will be revisited in this week’s Dragon’s on Tour show this Sunday, even though Sean Gallagher and Gavin Duffy are no longer investors. The show, on RTÉ One at 9.30pm, sees the Dragons return to those they sealed a deal with and find out how the ones that got away are doing.

Since first appearing on the show, the business has gone from being a website showcasing livestock to become one of the largest suppliers of livestock grooming products in both Ireland and the UK, along with sales throughout Europe and they have expanded even further to sell veterinary products online.
Founder of the company, Donall O’Connor from Doora, told The Clare Champion that even though the business’ relationship with the Dragons ended, “its still the best thing that ever happened to us”.
Donall is now the sole owner of the company, having bought out business partner Micheál O’Donell some months ago. Both Donall and Micheál initially started up the website so that instead of travelling to view livestock before buying, farmers could view the livestock online. The company was formed as part of the LEAP (Limerick Enterprise Acceleration Platform) facilitating early stage entrepreneurs.
The website idea sparked a bidding war on the show in 2008, with Gavin Duffy and Sean Gallagher agreeing to give €50,000 in return for a 30% stake in the company. However, when the take up of the site wasn’t as expected, the investors returned ownership of the company back to Donall and Micheál, having given a third of the investment.
“We had to meet different criteria in order to draw down the investment but things didn’t go according to plan, the take-up wasn’t as good as we had hoped.
“The figures weren’t what we had hoped so they said they would write off what they had given us and that we could take back full ownership of the company. Looking back now, it as the best that anybody could have hoped for at the time. Initially, we were disappointed, we hoped they would come on board for the full amount,” recalled Donall.
“We had put 12 months of hard work into it and we were disappointed, there are things we would have done differently, maybe we were a bit early at the time for it.
“But as far as the business is concerned, both parties were very happy with the way things ended up. We are still very much in touch with Gavin Duffy and Sean Gallagher. In fact, I headed Sean Gallagher’s campaign in Clare during the election.
“I’m very happy we took part in the programme. Without doubt, they were a great help and even afterwards, when we took back the 100% of the company, we could still go back to either of them, listen to their views or get advice from them. They are both down-to-earth people and it’s still the best thing that ever happened to us. The exposure alone from it was great for the business. Because their relationship with the company is very strong, I suppose that’s why they wanted to come back and see how the company is doing,” he said.
With the original website idea not performing as well as expected, a new direction for the company was sought.
“In 2009, we had reached a crossroads and things weren’t happening the way we hoped so we decided to try different angles within the same sector. That’s how we got involved with livestock grooming products.
“We set about doing a lot of research and sourced 120 products initially. We developed a website with the help of Clare LEADER funding and in July 2009 we produced a 16-page catalogue online and it just took off from then.
“That has grown year in and year out and we’re in our fourth summer now, which is the busy period.
“We just got out and about. Our main competitor was in Northern Ireland so we targeted all the local shows and pedigree sales to get our names out there. It was just pure graft, getting people to know us and there was no one else in the South doing what we were doing. Then, in 2010, the company in the North was sold, which means we are now the largest suppliers of these products and one of the largest suppliers between here and the UK. We are now exporting to Europe and that is growing on a monthly basis. What started as a 16-page catalogue is now 90 pages,” he said.
“We also applied for a licence for selling veterinary products online and we are only the fourth company in Ireland to get that licence. We opened the shop in Ennis Mart in November 2011, broadening our range again. It’s a small unit but it’s in a great location in the mart itself and we have a new website going live. With the old one, we were limited in what we could do but now anything is possible. We have just short of 1,000 products available now, up from 120 just four years ago.”
According to Donall, moving forward and always looking for something new is key to success.
“We never want to rely on one thing.
“If we had stuck to just grooming products then God forbid, if there was some disease and the shows were closed for the season, that would be detrimental for our business.
“That’s why we have broadened out so when it’s a quiet time for shows, it’s our busy time for doses. It’s important for business in these times to maintain a steady cash flow and we are continuously looking for new products,” he said.
Donall is now hoping to expand the company even further through developing the lucrative UK market. “That’s four or five times bigger than the Irish market. I also want to broaden into other European countries.
“They are actually behind us in their experience of showing cattle so it’s very much a growing market and because of the website, it doesn’t matter where they are, we can still get the products out there.”