Guest blog written by Chris Barrett, former founder and now Regional Programme Lead at NDRC and RDI Hub.

As I stood in the queue, about to pitch an idea that wasn’t even a fully formed idea yet, I had to think of a name. It had to be cool and catchy. And since this idea was a startup in the making, it meant substituting a regularly used vowel for one of the funkier relatives. We’re looking at you, Y.

The queue drew shorter, and more people passed on the sweaty mic. “Come on, think, for [redacted] sake!”

Ahead of me in the pitching sequence, founders proposed how their startups would fix Irish healthcare, solve the housing crisis - and one team even working on a cure for prostate cancer! People had MSc and PhDs - whereas the only letters I had after my name was “Jr.”, aka Junior.

The backstory: Sharing a name with my father only had real difficulties when Ireland’s national treasured postal service - An Post - arrived. A naturally curious man, he would often let curiosity get the better of him, opening letters clearly intended for his younger counterpart. It’s convenient that my invitation for this startup event arrived via email - or else a man often confused for Mick the Bull McCabe would have turned up for the free food.

Back to the inevitable pitch palaver… I had been dragged to this event by a “friend” (now seriously reconsidering his title). Time crept on and more impressive ideas pitched. Two people left. I gulped hard.

Brian, a software engineer with senior experience in Google was presenting his concept of: “an integrated platform to ensure elderly patients are no longer left in hospital corridors, suffering on trolleys for days”. I could have sworn he muttered the words “beat that” to me as I grabbed the damp microphone.

Like a rabbit caught in the headlights on a country road (a sign of good land, I was always told), I froze.

I stumbled my way through something about “sustainable furniture” and “fixing the nightmare of flat-pack assembly.” The audience looked bored. A woman yawned. Then, in a moment of desperation passion, I blurted: "So that’s me, Chris - from… Fox in a Box(?)... Furniture."

I had no idea how much that one off-the-cuff rhyme would change my life.

From Panic to Progress:

After that, something inside me clicked. The fear faded, and the work began. I threw myself into the idea, threw together a team, and as they’d say in North Kerry - we tore at it.

We started talking to people - anyone who’d listen. We pelted the streets of Limerick, visited furniture shops, and quizzed strangers about their thoughts on flat-pack assembly. Some cared. Most didn’t. But a select few were so frustrated by that infuriating-little-Swedish-instruction-man manual, the customer insights they willingly shared were absolute gold.

Somehow, in just a day, that pie-in-the-sky pitch had turned into something real.

We devoured workshops, built out the idea, and - most importantly - met mentors. One of whom, Emily Ross, didn’t just give me advice. She became my first customer. Emily’s words stuck with me, so after the event, I reached out. I promised her the best office desks she’d ever seen.

A few months later, I was in college, staying late, secretly building three desks from solid wood and bright yellow steel. When I finally delivered them, I couldn’t believe it - not just that they looked great, but that someone actually trusted me to make them.

That was it. That was the moment everything changed.

From there, things snowballed. I kept the name Fox in a Box Design and it developed into my full-time job. The back of my business card read “No Screws, No Glues.” I entered the competition for Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur and placed runner-up in Kerry, which provided me with funding to move the idea to Berlin. I kept working, delivering products internationally and then landed a spot on New Frontiers Phase 2. More awards came, and suddenly, this non-idea had turned into a career. Who knew?!

I kept working on my business for a few years, eventually opening up the doors to work for other, larger startups. I then set up my own adventure photography company, which brought me everywhere from the Arctic Circle to the Amazon in South America. I learned a great deal from those years, and now love that I can use that experience to help founders like me with the RDI Hub and NDRC.

Now, It’s Your Turn

Looking back, as I organise the next NDRC Startup Sprint, I feel a real responsibility to make sure every prospective founder gets their chance - because I know what’s possible.

So, if you’ve ever had a passing thought, a half-baked idea, or even just a gut feeling that maybe you want to build something - this is your chance. Your idea doesn’t have to be perfect - it doesn’t even have to be an idea yet. All that matters is that you start.

Join our next Startup Sprint edition on Saturday 28 March in Limerick’s Engine Collaboration Centre, led by RDI Hub. Apply by March 24th