Czech native Michaela Esperjesiova laughs when she recalls her first visit to Ireland. Following in the footsteps of many who came before her, she came to the north west to surf. “There’s not a lot of surfing in the Czech Republic,” she says of her landlocked country, “but when a friend told me about Bundoran and the surfing there, I came for a holiday and then decided not to go home!”
Since then, Michaela has settled in the north west, and, having signed up for the New Frontiers programme at ATU Sligo, she now has a growing business called The Ocean Apothecary, where she creates natural creams and oils, aimed primarily at the outdoor sports market.
“More and more people are surfing or swimming in the sea all year round, and I wanted to create lotions and creams that would help their skin recover after being in the ocean. Sea swimming is fantastic, but the salt and other minerals can unbalance the skin, so by applying natural remedies afterwards, this can help your skin to recover its natural balance.
Michaela has created her creams based on a recipe handed down to her by her grandfather ____, who was an important figure in her life. “He always believed in the healing power of nature and the natural remedies we find in our woods and countryside,” she says. “This was really important for me too, when I decided to start my own business. Everything has to be natural, to create products that can be absorbed by our skin, and to help recovery, to me it’s so important that these are in sync with our natural environment.”
The New Frontiers programme was set up at ATU Sligo to help entrepreneurs get on the first step of the ladder in terms of establishing a business and to progress from there. The programme provides both mentoring and office space, and to Michaela, this has been crucial in helping the progression of her business.
“I work remotely both from my home in Bundoran, and also from the hot desk I have at ATU. It’s really important, in the first place, to have a space that I can work, doing all of the administration that is part of the structure of any business. But by receiving mentoring support, this also helps keep me focussed and creates a timeline for growth that is realistic and attainable. It’s also a great advantage that there are a number of people on the programme too. We work in different areas but share many of the same challenges, so it’s good to meet and bounce ideas off each other, learn from each other’s experiences.”
The Business Innovation Centre at ATU Sligo, where Michaela is based, provides incubation space for businesses like The Ocean Apothecary, enabling them to develop, with the aim being to establish a foothold in the market and grow from there. As well as providing training and mentoring, the New Frontiers programme also enables participants to test their products through the provision of specialist equipment that otherwise would be outside of the financial reach of most startups.
“The programme has been really helpful in so many ways,” says Michaela. “First, the products have to be created, tested and improved. That consistency comes after months of product testing, and only then can you get it ready for market. Without programmes like New Frontiers, it would be very difficult for young entrepreneurs to get their products ready.”
Michaela mainly sells her products online, although she also delivers to some local retail outlets, including to Made in Sligo, a retail outlet on Wine Street in Sligo, where the emphasis is very much on supporting micro-businesses in the region. The day we filmed with Michaela, she began by mixing and then packaging her creams before delivering them herself to Made in Sligo. Apart from that, she has invoicing and other paperwork to deal with, not to mention the matter of promotion, so for her, like for many entrepreneurs, multi-tasking comes with the territory.
“My background is in graphic design,” she says, “and so, creating the brand, designing the logo and packaging were all things I was comfortable with. But there are so many other aspects to running your own business, and I am grateful that this support is available to me here in Sligo. The people at ATU are great, they help you as much as possible and by taking part in the second phase of New Frontiers, this will bring my business on to another level.”
The Ocean Apothecary is a business that is competing in a congested market, where a small team can often find it very challenging to compete with major international brands that create beauty products with huge advertising budgets behind them. But for Michaela, the ambition of developing her own brand is something she strongly believes in.
“One of the great strengths of the north west of Ireland is its natural beauty. The surf breaks we have here are second to none. People are getting into the sea in greater numbers than ever before. So it makes sense that products made locally, using raw materials that are sourced, harvested and blended here, will appeal to people who are interested in their natural environment. The ocean revives the soul, my products do the same for our skin.”
