Complaints forum hopes to expand into British market: ThePost.ie


TCH Archives > Sunday Business Post > 2006/08/27 > Complaints forum hopes to expand into British market

Complaints forum hopes to expand into British market
Sunday, August 27, 2006 - By Elizabeth McGuane
Samantha Kotey was one of ten young entrepreneurs selected for last year’s Create Ireland training programme, which was set up by Enterprise Ireland to support new digital media companies.

The business plan she developed on the year-long course has turned her new online business,Giveoutabout.com.

The programme gave Kotey, 28, the chance to develop her idea for a website giving people a forum to complain about issues important to them - and perhaps do something to change them.

It gave her two days of training a week, free office space in the Digital Hub and a €500 monthly stipend to help get her new company up and running.

Kotey graduated from Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology two years ago, with a degree in interactive media, and designed the website herself. She launched Giveoutabout.com in June, followed by the launch of a sister site tailored for a British audience (giveoutabout.com/uk) earlier this month. Already, she says, the response to the site has been ‘‘amazing’’.

Kotey said she knew the idea had widespread potential, which is why she chose a dot.com rather than a dot.ie web address, which would more readily brand the site as Irish.

‘‘I know it needs to take hold here first though,” she said.

She has big plans for expanding the site.

‘‘I want to incorporate a mobile voicebox, so that people can call in or send photos that we can make part of a podcast,” she said.

‘‘And we’re starting a comedy corner, giving Irish comedians two minutes to do a rant that will be posted as a podcast on the site.”

She said other campaigns to get the public interested in contributing to the site would include viral campaigns, as well as having users post their digital photos and videos on the site. ‘‘Basically anything interactive to make it interesting and get people involved,” she said.

Kotey said that, while launching the business was relatively inexpensive at less than €5,000, the site’s development will need investment.

She and her team - which comprises a head of production and a newly-hired head of advertising, operating out of the Digital Depot on Thomas Street - are now hunting for investors.