Quality Thrives – Inspiration and Motivation for Startups and Entrepreneurs
by Startacus Admin
We all know how hard it can be to stay motivated, especially when you’ve just started a new business venture, especially if any spanners happen to land in the works, or even if you just have to change the whole idea! It’s hard work, and it never seems worth it. But for some, the goal of helping other entrepreneurs is the paramount point of business, - take for instance one of the startups featured in our Collab Space; “Quality Thrives”
We spoke to Brandy Shea, the Co-Founder of “Quality Thrives” to find out more about their plans, inspiration and seeing the States.
So, in a nutshell, What is ‘Quality Thrives’?
““Quality Thrives” is an upcoming web-series that focuses on documenting the passion, struggle, and dedication of 250 everyday entrepreneurs. Not the hot shots or “big-rigs”, but rather, the individuals who still face the struggles of everyday life, yet continue to 
pursue their passion and stay true to their roots. In our opinion, these are the individuals who provide quality for society, and we feel that their stories could really resonate with other aspiring entrepreneurs.
Another component to this project involves us documenting our own personal journey. We’re selling everything we own to pursue it and travelling over 8,000 miles within the next year (while also working full time as freelancers), so we’re anticipating quite a few hurdles that we’ll have to face ourselves - and we’ll be sharing all of it!”
That’s inspirational already, and the series isn’t even out yet! Tell us, what inspired you to undertake this impressive venture?
“A photographer named Brandon Stanton.
A few years ago, he started a project called “Humans of New York” and began photographing everyday people on the streets. He also asks a super deep, insightful question to each person he photographs, and their responses are just... incredible! The idea that we’re surrounded by these amazing people, doing amazing things, having amazing thoughts, is such a great feeling, and we’re hoping that introducing that concept of relatable-ness within the entrepreneur community provides the same level of comfort and inspiration.”
That’s a fantastic idea, so has spreading inspiration and stories, and giving back to the community something that you’ve always wanted to do?
“Absolutely! For the past few years, we’ve been running our freelance business, Mile One Creative, which provides branding services for startups and entrepreneurs, and the #1 thing that we struggle with the most is giving away our services for free. We have such a HUGE desire to help people grow and succeed, especially those who are trying to make it on their own without financial assistance, so we plan to continue utilizing that model through our efforts with “Quality Thrives”.”
So, from what you’ve told us on your Collaboration profile, your Co-founder Bryndan Thomas be travelling for around two years – how will you deal with life on the road around the US? The latest Funding Review from TechIreland reveals that Irish Startups raised €746M in the first-half 2022 but early-stage rounds have dropped to a five-year low. London-based SaaS startup Evorra has created a data marketplace enabling brands and agencies to build and scale their marketing audiences. Artist John Kerr set to exhibit a series of personal paintings at The Spot, the urban-art focused gallery in Derry as part of Culture Night 2022. The lowdown on customer behaviour analysis - what it's all about, the kinds of things that can have an impact on it and how to get it right. The innovative businesses participating in this year’s AI Accelerator, delivered by The University of Edinburgh’s Innovation Hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, the Bayes Centre are revealed. Edinburgh-based startup SmpliCare innovating how we care and age by exploring the use of AI-driven wearables to predict the risk of falls and other age-related health issues The lowdown on Haystack, the data insights and careers marketplace, connecting developers, designers and data scientists with innovative tech employers. Remote working with a difference - Jarvo is a startup enabling homeowners to share workspaces within their neighbourhood which remote professionals can book out by the day. The lowdown on Ryft, the London-based fintech and its innovative next day payout system for marketplace businesses and their merchants. New business event Invest2Scale aims to support Scottish scaleups by introducing them to investors and VCs based across the UK and beyond.
“To be honest, we’re anticipating A LOT of hardship, both mentally and financially - but we feel that we’re ready to face it head-on. This project has sparked feelings inside of us that we didn’t even know we could have...it’s like this amazing “high” that can only be felt through genuine human connection. I don’t mean to sound spiritual or like I’m just spitting out non-sense, but those feelings, along with knowing that we’re actually helping people, is worth every bit of struggle that we might face. So to answer your question - I’m sure we’ll have plenty of break-downs, plenty of arguments, and may even have to sleep in our car for a while, but we know we’ll survive. “
Read even more on Page 2
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
.png)
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- TechIreland publish their mid-year report on Irish startup and tech funding. 22nd Sep 2022 The latest Funding Review from TechIreland reveals that Irish Startups raised €746M in the first-half 2022 but early-stage rounds have dropped to a five-year low.
- University AI Accelerator programme announces new cohort companies 15th Sep 2022 The innovative businesses participating in this year’s AI Accelerator, delivered by The University of Edinburgh’s Innovation Hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, the Bayes Centre are revealed.
- New event connects Scottish scaleups with Global Investor community 13th Sep 2022 New business event Invest2Scale aims to support Scottish scaleups by introducing them to investors and VCs based across the UK and beyond.
- Next generation body armour startup Vikela Armour named winner of INVENT 2022 2nd Sep 2022 Vikela Armour announced as the overall winners of INVENT, a leading Northern Irish competition for innovative startups.
