Cian McAuliffe had the academic know how to get into UCD Commerce and the Good Business sense to drop out and start his own very successful London based made to measure suit business – ‘Beggars Run’
Give a brief description of your company.
Menswear label specialising in made to measure suits.
How did you get the idea/ concept for your business?
Love of clothes from an early age.
Give a brief account of your education background.
Studied a B.Comm/Int at UCD but dropped out in second year.
Did you always know/ever think you would become an entrepreneur when you were younger? Yes, I had a drive to make ‘millions’ from an early age, still working on that!
Is entrepreneurship a common trait in your family?
Not directly but my father had come close to setting up his own business.
Did you have prior knowledge of the industry before setting up your company?
Nope, I was an absolute green horn.
What was your previous work experience (if any)? Do you think this gave you an advantage when setting up your business?
Running bars, has helped with finding and keeping staff.
How did you initially fund your business? (self-funded, government funding, etc)
After putting in the initial R&D myself, I raised £5k from my brother, two cousins and a close friend.
Looking back, would you have changed the method of funding you chose?
Of course not, you can’t go wrong with interest free loans.
What difficulties, if any, did you encounter when securing funding?
None.
Did you encounter any financial difficulties in the first year of operation? If yes, what did you do to surpass them?
Initially had difficulty chasing payments from clients but that changed with having a ready payment solution.
What characteristics do you feel benefited you most when starting your business?
Determination, strong willed, refusal to listen to doubters, ability to adapt & guts.
To what do you attribute your company’s success/growth to?
Putting people and the experience first while also delivering a strong product.
What is your opinion on the importance of a professional network for an entrepreneur?
For someone like me, who has possibly, to my own detriment kept very much to myself, it allows a support network to develop and with that comes new opportunities.
Do you think entrepreneurship has changed in recent years?
It has become more accessible and established as a sought after career but the fundamentals remain the same.
Would you ever consider starting another company or involving yourself in new start-ups again? 100%, have a huge desire to test myself with another venture, apply new skills learnt and hopefully go towards the social enterprise field.
If you had one piece of advice for a new entrepreneur, what would it be?
Believe in yourself.
