New Online Start Up Planning Service Launched

Started in 2009, but only recently launched, Nubie.com helps you to start, fund, manage and grow your business – it’s a cloud-based platform for start-ups and high performing small businesses, with information and tools to help you succeed in business.

The web-based service aims to meet the immediate business needs of Irish “start-ups”, over 13,000 of whom are formed in Ireland each year (according to BOI’s Business Start-Up Barometer 2009).

It will provide start-ups with customised roadmaps tailored for the Irish market and online tools to research their idea, develop a business plan, check grant eligibility, seek funding and get off the ground quicker. As well as business planning, funding and forecasting, Nubie will also provide a range of related services including invoicing, customer relationship management and marketing.

The first thing that Nubie does is profile your skillset by asking six, fairly basic, questions such as ‘How computer literate are you?’ There are seven skills that Nubie profiles. These range from administration to financial and technical. Based on your answers Nubie creates a personal assessment of how ready you are to start a business and what areas you may need to improve on.

While in theory, this may sound like a great idea in reality we would question how realistic it is to determine how ready someone is to open their own business by looking at an online questionnaire of six questions.

Nubie.com is also offering a EUR 10,000 prize consisting of customised mentoring, business and marketing services for one Irish start-up. Entry can be made at www.nubie.com and is open to start-ups which have commenced operations in the last 18 months.

What do you think of this new service? Would you use an online tool like this or do you think that there is still no substitute for face-to-face business planning with an advisor?

For more info see – http://nubie.com/