Colm O.

Colm O.

Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland
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St Paul's, Raheny, Dublin

About

My first business failed! It was a €1m café business which failed because of an economic…

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Activity

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Experience

  • Carambola Graphic

    Carambola

    Wholly Irish owned Company, with national reach, headquartered in Limerick

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    Clare, Ireland

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    County Limerick, Ireland

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    Ireland

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    Limerick, County Limerick, Ireland

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    Mary Immaculate College, Limerick

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    Dublin and Limerick, Ireland

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    County Clare, Ireland

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    Ireland

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    University Limerick

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    Limerick, Ireland

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    Limerick, Ireland

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    Savoy Hotel, Limerick

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    Bewley's Cafe, Grafton St

Education

  • St Paul's, Raheny, Dublin

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Publications

  • Feeding Johnny - How to Build a Business Despite the Roadblocks

    Liberties Press

    Colm O’Brien’s story could be your story.

    He started out sorting cutlery at Clerys Rooftop Restaurant in Dublin. Now he owns Carambola Kidz. Founded in 2003, the company had turnover of €5 million in 2012 and now delivers more than 20,000 healthy lunches daily to schoolchildren across Ireland.

    In Feeding Johnny, O’Brien tells the story of his journey from polishing forks to running his own company and offers lessons on how you too can build your own business and achieve your…

    Colm O’Brien’s story could be your story.

    He started out sorting cutlery at Clerys Rooftop Restaurant in Dublin. Now he owns Carambola Kidz. Founded in 2003, the company had turnover of €5 million in 2012 and now delivers more than 20,000 healthy lunches daily to schoolchildren across Ireland.

    In Feeding Johnny, O’Brien tells the story of his journey from polishing forks to running his own company and offers lessons on how you too can build your own business and achieve your dreams despite the inevitable roadblocks.

    This is not the story of one of the charmed few, one of those high-flying billionaires who make success look easy. This is the story of a kid from Dublin’s Northside who sweated his way up the career ladder to a job managing Bewley’s Grafton Street café before deciding he didn’t want to be an employee for the rest of his life, working weekends and holidays.

    O’Brien’s first attempt at building his own business did not go well. He launched a Bewley’s franchise in Limerick, which was eaten by the Celtic Tiger, leaving him with massive debts. But he refused to give up.

    Instead, he started Carambola Kidz with an order for twenty-seven lunches, and woke each morning before dawn to make the rounds in his old delivery van, feeding Johnny. Today Carambola Kidz supplies 21,000 lunches every day...

    See publication

Honors & Awards

  • No 1 in Ireland for Excellence by an SME 2014

    Chambers Ireland

    Chambers Ireland honored Carambola Kidz by awarding it first place in the category, "Excellence in CSR by an SME" for 2014 for the extra-curricular work done through Carambola Kidz Foundation in client DEIS schools

  • Best SME in the Midwest

    Limerick Chamber

    Carambola.ie was chosen as the Best SME in the Midwest in November 2013

  • No 1 SME in Ireland for CSR 2013

    Business in the Community Europe

    Carambola.ie was awarded this great honour at a celebration in Brusseld for its extra-curricular work in client schools.

  • IPPN Preferred Supplier of School Lunches

    IPPN.ie

    IPPN.ie (Irish Primary Principals Network) awarded Carambola.ie the status of 'Preferred Supplier of School Lunches' in honour of the ethos of the organization throughout its first decade of business.

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