In the first of a new series on start-up businesses in the Nexus Innovation Centre in UL, Liam Togher profiles Mosquito, an e-commerce enterprise which designs and builds software solutions.
THE scenario of a lengthy queue for lunch is a familiar one across restaurants, bistros, delis and takeaways in Limerick, but an app developed by e-commerce enterprise Mosquito could help people to enjoy their meal without the wait.
The Hungry Bungry app allows users to pre-order their meal and then simply go to collect it at the ready when it’s time to eat. Kate Basta-Zima, eMarketing Director with Mosquito, says that she has noticed such a situation at UL, where the Nexus Centre is located.
She says: “When we started we had mostly clients within the food industry. On top of that the queues in UL at lunch breaks are horrific and in the city centre it’s the same.
“We started thinking ‘Maybe there is something we could do about that’ and that’s how it popped into our heads so we started thinking about a software application.”
Mosquito was set up in April 2012 by Kate and her husband, Kris Zima, and develops software solutions for companies through the use of augmented reality, which gives customers a simulated visual of their product before they purchase it.
Kate realises that, no matter how much preparation you put into setting up a business, things are likely to work out differently to how you visualised them at first.
“As a company we should have a proper business plan for three years and everything but we’ve learned over this year that it doesn’t necessarily work this way.
“That changed, that evolved very quickly so we have a rough idea of what we want to do. We want to expand this product around Ireland and go further but we know that it may change.”
She finds that the community spirit of the businesses based in Nexus differs greatly from other workplaces and she believes that the sense of community is a huge plus.
“It’s completely different from working in other places. People share the experience. It’s not like everyone is holding to themselves. We share the information, it’s brilliant.”
Emma Sheehy, who is currently completing a marketing internship with Mosquito, also spoke highly of the unique community aspect of the enterprises in Nexus.
She said: “It’s great to come here initially and just be part of Mosquito but in the whole building everybody gets to know each other and I know people in loads of different offices and loads of different companies.
“There are meetings every week where everyone networks with each other. Even for contacts with the future it’s great. It really is like a community.”
via Nexus innovation series: Mosquito | Limerick Post Newswrite.
