ETEC 522 – September 2012

Pulse Learning

 Meet Jim Breen,

‘Celebrate your failures’
‘Entrepreneurial spirit is about feeling an idea and a desire, and being able to impart this feeling to others’

Listen to a podcast of Jim’s on what is an Entrepreneur, very handy for this ETEC522 here

Originally from the Rahoon Rd in Galway City, Jim established his company Pulse Learning in his young son’s bedroom in a suburban semi in Tralee in 1999. For the 1st year, the company was run on a second hand computer in that bedroom. In the intervening years, Pulse Learning has become a global leader in web based training solutions. PulseLearning has its Development Center Headquarters located at the Kerry Technology Park, Tralee, Co. Kerry, Ireland. Operating globally, the company also has offices in Limerick, the U.K., the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Before founding PulseLearning, Jim held senior management positions for the KOSTAL Group and Kleinhuis, where he introduced significant cost savings through the implementation of process improvement ideas and successfully established a German subsidiary manufacturing operation in Ireland.

His energy, clarity of vision, and people skills help to keep employees, investors, and business partners focused on exceeding expectations, whether dealing with customers or promoting PulseLearning’s outstanding corporate social responsibility program.

“It’s all about treating people with respect.”

http://www.ucd.ie/entrepreneurslive/2011/S6-EL2011/05/index.html

http://www.pulselearning.com/company/leadership/jim-breen/

http://www.youngentrepreneur.ie/programme/entrepreneurs-and-mentors/Jim-Breen/
Here is a success story which is born out of a person that is confident and has a focus in a very competitive business environnent. Jim says in the podcast above that deals are done and decisions are made with feelings. Not necessarily with statistics and numbers. This brings an important lesson for me in the entrepreneurial sphere, everything is not what it seems! If a company wins a contract, they might not be the best, might not be the most experienced but for the client offering the contract they are the ones that they feel can best deliver on the important criteria (I suppose back to what David Vogt was saying in relation to the ‘like’ factor for an venture pitch). From this I understand that a strategic focus and desire is both essential and necessary for success as it is from this that one gets the confidence to succeed.  However the method of implementing and executing this focus needs to be highly adaptable and flexible.

Stuart