Consulting · Mentoring · Training
Enterprise support from people who have run the business.
Bridgewater is a strategy, training and mentoring group established in 2001. We deliver New Frontiers across five universities, mentor for eight LEO Organisations, and help founders commercialise, raise funding and grow.
Who we work with
Three audiences, one standard of delivery.
The clients who fund the work, the founders who sit in the sessions, and the programme managers who have to report on the outcome.
Local Enterprise Offices & Enterprise Ireland
Mentoring for eight LEO Organisations and the Enterprise Ireland national mentor panel. Clinics, Start Your Own Business and training delivered to specification, with paperwork returned in the format asked for.
How we work with LEOsOwner-managers and early-stage founders
Business planning, funding applications and one-to-one mentoring. Associated with €182m+ of client funding, with Pre-Seed Start Fund preparation a specialism of the practice.
How mentoring runsNew Frontiers & accelerator managers
New Frontiers Phase 1–3 delivered across six programmes at five universities — TUS, TU Dublin, ATU, MTU and SETU — with a named specialist on every workshop.
Facilitation detailThe difference
The mentor has done the journey.
Most enterprise mentoring is delivered by advisers who have advised. Bridgewater is led by Alan Carey — one of the few New Frontiers facilitators who has done it himself: kitchen table to international success and exit, past €5m in revenue, teams of 70+, and customers in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
That is the reference point in every session. Founders get commercial judgement, not theory. Clients get a mentor who can hold a room of experienced owner-managers.
Track record
Where we deliver
On the programmes that build Irish companies.
Current New Frontiers delivery across six programmes at five universities, alongside eight LEO Organisations and the Enterprise Ireland national mentor panel.
“Bridgewater’s ethos of building trusting relationships with programme participants matches our own.”
“A dependable and dynamic team — practical, user-friendly, and delivering positive outcomes for clients and their businesses.”
“Flexible and responsive to our needs — while producing quality outputs and strategic insights.”
Named referees are provided with any tender or proposal.
Business Challenger
Have your plan challenged before a funder does.
Business Challenger is our online business plan review tool. It scores a plan against the criteria banks and investors actually apply, and returns a section-by-section report with a 3D Score — the same lens we bring to a mentoring session, available on demand.
Founders use it before submitting to a funder. Programme managers use it to see where a cohort stands.
Visit Business Challenger
How an engagement runs
Four stages, every time.
Whether it is a single LEO mentoring assignment or a multi-day training programme, the sequence is the same.
Scope
Agree the objective with the client, whether that is an organisation or the business owner. Confirm what a good outcome looks like before the first session.
Diagnose
Review the plan, the numbers and the market position. Identify the gaps that will decide whether the business gets funded or grows.
Work the issues
Sessions focused on the two or three things that matter. Responsibility for the decisions stays with the client throughout.
Report
Written output the client can use, and file. Returned within the deadline set.
Looking for mentoring or training?
Tell us the programme, the cohort and the dates. We will come back with availability and an approach.
What we do
Five services, delivered by practitioners.
Bridgewater works across the enterprise development system in Ireland — mentoring individual businesses, training cohorts, and writing the plans and applications that go to funders.
Mentoring & coaching
One-to-one work with owner-managers and founders, on LEO panels and privately.
Mentors listen and challenge. The value is in the questions that expose the gap, not in handing over a template. Responsibility for the decisions and their implementation stays with the client throughout.
- LEO panel mentoring assignments
- Business Advisory Clinics
- Growth and expansion planning
- Owner-manager sounding board
- Investor and funder readiness
- Succession and exit conversations
Training & facilitation
Enterprise development training delivered nationwide, including New Frontiers.
One of Ireland’s most active New Frontiers providers — currently delivering across six programmes at five universities: TUS (Midwest and Athlone), TU Dublin, ATU, MTU and SETU. The full Phase 2 catalogue of 24 workshops, including a dedicated AI suite, each led by a named specialist. 1,300+ sessions delivered online since 2020.
- New Frontiers Phase 1–3 workshops
- Start Your Own Business programmes
- Workshop and bootcamp facilitation
- Pitch and presentation coaching
- Board and management team sessions
- Custom in-company programmes
Strategy & business planning
Plans written to stand up to the person assessing them.
Business plans compiled for clients nationwide, many integral to securing investment. The test applied to every plan is the one a reviewer or investor applies: is the market real, are the numbers defensible, can this team execute. Where a founder wants that test on demand, our Business Challenger tool scores the plan and returns a section-by-section report.
- Full business plans
- Financial projections and burn analysis
- Market and competitor assessment
- Route-to-market strategy
- International expansion planning
- Plan review and challenge
- Business Challenger online plan review
Funding & investor readiness
Applications, submissions and the preparation behind them.
Associated with €182m+ of client funding across grants, equity and debt, including €1m+ personally raised for an Enterprise Ireland HPSU. Pre-Seed Start Fund applications are a headline specialism — the structure, the evidence and the financial model an evaluator is actually scoring.
- Pre-Seed Start Fund (PSSF) applications
- Enterprise Ireland and LEO grant support
- Investor decks and teasers
- Financial models and cap tables
- Microfinance Ireland and bank submissions
- Due diligence preparation
Research & feasibility
Evidence for a decision, not a document for a shelf.
Feasibility studies, market research and sectoral analysis for companies, agencies and local authorities — the work that determines whether a project proceeds and on what basis.
- Feasibility studies
- Market sizing and validation
- Sectoral and cluster analysis
- Programme evaluation
- Policy and submission support
- Survey design and analysis
Sectors
Where the experience sits.
Not sure which of these you need?
Most engagements start with a short call to work out what the actual problem is. That call is free.
Who we work with
Dreamers, founders and programme managers.
Each of the three has a different test to pass. Below is what Bridgewater delivers against each.
01 / Local Enterprise Offices & agencies
Mentoring and training you can put on a panel.
Bridgewater mentors for eight LEO Organisations — Tipperary, Limerick, Laois, Kildare, Clare, Sligo, Westmeath and Wexford — and the Enterprise Ireland national mentor panel. Mentoring for Limerick LEO since 2008.
The work is delivered to specification: agreed objectives, sessions held to schedule, contact sheets and mentor reports returned in the office’s own format inside the deadline.
- Panels8 LEO Organisations, plus the Enterprise Ireland national mentor panel
- FormatsPanel mentoring, Business Advisory Clinics, SYOB, workshops
- ReportingOffice-format contact sheets and mentor reports, returned to deadline
- ProcurementeTenders / RFQ ready — tax clearance, PL / EL / PI cover and references on file
02 / Founders & owner-managers
A mentor who will tell you what is wrong with it.
Sessions are direct. The plan gets read the way a funder reads it, and the gaps get named — the market claim with no evidence behind it, financials that do not carry the story, a team structure an investor will read as key-person risk.
You leave with the issues identified and prioritised. Working out the fix is your job; that is what makes it stick.
- Typical workBusiness plan, PSSF application, funding submission, growth planning
- FormatOne-to-one, in person or online
- Written outputSection-by-section review with the actions marked
- Scale2,000+ founders supported; 1,300+ online sessions since 2020
- CostLEO-subsidised where you qualify — ask your local office
03 / Programme & accelerator managers
A facilitator who can hold the room.
New Frontiers Phase 1–3, accelerator and incubator cohorts. Currently delivering at TUS Midwest and Athlone, TU Dublin, ATU, MTU and SETU.
Content delivered to the programme’s learning outcomes, participant feedback collected, and a cohort-level brief back to the programme manager on where each founder stands.
- ProgrammesNew Frontiers Phase 1–3, accelerators, incubators, in-company
- Catalogue24 Phase 2 workshops, including a dedicated AI suite
- TeamSeven specialist facilitators under a single point of contact
- DeliveryFull days, half days, blended and online
- Cohort briefPositives, watch-outs and next steps per founder
References
Named referees, on request.
Programme managers and enterprise officers at the institutions and offices we currently deliver for will speak to the work. Contact details are provided with any tender or proposal.
New Frontiers programme managers
TUS Midwest and Athlone, TU Dublin, ATU Donegal & Sligo, MTU Cork & Tralee, SETU Waterford.
Enterprise officers and mentoring coordinators
Eight LEO Organisations, with mentoring for Limerick LEO running since 2008 and Tipperary and Laois since 2018 and 2019.
Ready for procurement
Tax clearance, professional indemnity, public and employer liability cover, health and safety and GDPR declarations all current and on file.
“Flexible and engaging, with a good understanding of our business needs.”
“Very open, flexible and engaging — our employees thoroughly enjoyed the programme.”
Track record
Built a business first. Advised after.
Bridgewater operates from Bridgewater House on O’Connell Street in Limerick, working with founders, companies and enterprise agencies across Ireland since 2001.
The team
Two partners, one point of contact.
Alan Carey
Entrepreneur, mentor and strategy adviser. 26+ years in corporate strategy, transformation and international growth, and 15+ years of continuous New Frontiers and LEO delivery. Chairs the Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration Centre at TUS and is registered with the EBRD as an International Adviser. BBS, MBA, CMC, FIMCA.
Bernard Carroll
25+ years in technical and quality roles across banking, financial services, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, utilities and aviation, currently on a quality assurance assignment with MSD. Bernard brings regulated-industry discipline to the practice — systems, documentation and delivery that stand up to an audit — and works alongside Alan on client delivery and programme operations.
Programme delivery is supported by a panel of seven specialist facilitators covering finance, marketing, HR, product and AI.
- BaseBridgewater House, 89 O’Connell Street, Limerick, V94 VN25, Ireland
- LEO panelsTipperary, Limerick, Laois, Kildare, Clare, Sligo, Westmeath, Wexford
- New FrontiersTUS Midwest & Athlone, TU Dublin, ATU, MTU, SETU
- SpecialismPre-Seed Start Fund applications and investor readiness
- RecognitionJudge, UCC Student Entrepreneur of the Year (2023–2026); sponsor, TUS Business Startup Awards (2023–2026)
- MentoredTUS Midwest Start-up of the Year 2026; National Enterprise Award county finalists (LEO Laois, LEO Limerick)
Recognition
Where the work shows up.
TUS Midwest Start-up of the Year
Mentored the winning founder through the programme and the award submission.
National Enterprise Award county finalists
Mentored county finalists for LEO Laois and LEO Limerick.
Judging and sponsorship
Judge for UCC’s Student Entrepreneur of the Year and sponsor of the TUS Business Startup Awards, each year since 2023.
“Bridgewater have provided me with ongoing support, and their advice on accounting, tax and general business matters has been extremely valuable.”
“The distillation and presentation of relevant small business analytics is superb, and the recommendations were insightful and challenging.”
Need references for a tender?
Named referees, insurance details and tax clearance are available on request for procurement submissions.
Contact
Tell us what you need done.
Planning a programme, looking for a mentor, or preparing a funding application — start with the detail and we will come back with an approach and availability.
- Phone061 348348
- Emailinfo@bridgewater.ie
- AddressBridgewater House, 89 O’Connell Street, Limerick, V94 VN25, Ireland
- HoursMonday to Friday, 09:00 – 17:30
Already referred by your Local Enterprise Office?
Include your LEO and the assignment reference in the detail box and we will schedule directly from there.
Training
Training programme offerings.
57 workshop modules across 10 functional areas, and 8 multi-session programmes. Everything here has been built and delivered for real cohorts — owner-managers, early-stage founders and enterprise programmes across Ireland.
On your dates
No fixed public calendar. Programmes are scheduled around your cohort, including evenings.
Half day, full day or evening
In person, live online or blended. Most modules run either way without losing the practical work.
Applied to your own business
Short teaching inputs, worked examples and exercises on the participant's own venture, not a case study.
Materials and access
Participants keep every template, and have facilitator access between sessions.
Browse by area
Ten functional areas.
Pick an area to filter the modules, or search the full catalogue below. Any module can be delivered on its own or built into a programme.
The catalogue
Every module.
Click any module for what it covers, what participants leave with, and who it is for.
Programmes
Multi-session programmes.
Where a group needs a full journey rather than a single workshop. Each is built from the modules above and adapted to the cohort.
Start Your Own Business
Six evening workshops covering the full journey from idea to a written plan, with a business plan template and worked examples throughout. Sessions are selected from a ten-workshop menu to suit the group.
- 6 sessions, typically 2-3 hours each
- Evenings, in person, online or blended
- Workbook, plan template and sample plan included
- Optional one-to-one mentoring per participant
Introduction to Starting a Business
A short, intensive session for people deciding whether to go further — what running a business involves, whether the idea works, and what a plan needs.
- Half day or full day
- In person or online
- Includes a guide to preparing your business plan
- Natural feeder into the six-week programme
Green Start Your Own Business
The Start Your Own Business programme rebuilt around a sustainability-led venture — sustainability as a business model, green funding, and turning a sustainability position into competitive advantage.
- 6 sessions over 6 weeks
- Hybrid: opening and closing in person, the rest online
- Evening delivery, 7pm-9pm
- Delivered previously for a county enterprise programme
Founder Development Programme
A part-time programme taking a founder from idea to a written business case and a pitch — delivered as weekday evenings or as two intensive weekends, culminating in a pitch night.
- 12 sessions, or 2 weekends plus a pitch evening
- Live online or in person
- Customer-discovery actions between every session
- Participants pitch throughout, not just at the end
Digital Marketing Programme
A practical digital marketing system a small business can actually run — website, SEO, social, video, design and AI — built session by session.
- 6 x 3-hour workshops
- Live online, up to 20 participants
- Participants leave with a 30-day content plan
- Templates, worksheets and an implementation checklist
AI for Digital Marketing Bootcamp
A short, practical bootcamp on using AI tools responsibly across marketing — prompts, content, repurposing and human oversight.
- 2 x 3-hour workshops
- Live online, up to 20 participants
- Built around free tool versions
- Prompt library and 14-day implementation plan
Business Planning Programme
A structured route to a finished, credible business plan — a workshop day on structure and content, then one-to-one clinics on your own draft.
- 1 workshop day plus one-to-one clinic time
- In person or online
- Plan template, financial template and sample plan
- Written feedback on your draft
Export Development Programme
A staged path to international markets — readiness, market selection, route to market, partners and the resourcing to deliver.
- Staged over several months
- Built around your target markets
- Combines workshops with one-to-one work
- Suited to businesses already trading domestically
One-to-one
Work with an expert on your own business.
Every module can be followed by one-to-one sessions applying the content to a specific business — the pricing model rather than pricing theory, your cashflow rather than a sample one, your pitch rather than a structure.
Sessions run online, one hour at a time, with the specialist who leads that module. This is a paid service and is booked separately from any workshop.
Book a one-to-one session- FormatOne hour, online, one-to-one
- Led byThe specialist who leads that module
- Typical useApplying a workshop to your own numbers, plan or pitch
- Written outputA short summary of what was agreed, on request
- CostPaid service — quoted on enquiry
Common questions
Before you ask.
Can a module be shortened or lengthened?
Most full-day modules run as a half day with a tighter scope, and several half-day modules extend to a full day with more hands-on work. Tell us the time you have and we will tell you honestly what fits in it.
Can we combine modules into our own programme?
Yes, and most clients do. A programme is usually three to eight modules sequenced around a group's stage. We will propose an order and say where the gaps are.
Do you deliver in person or online?
Both, and blended. Everything here has been delivered live online since 2020 as well as in the room.
What group size works best?
Twelve to twenty for a workshop. Smaller groups get more hands-on time; above twenty the exercises lose their value, so we would suggest splitting the group.
Do participants get materials?
Yes. Slides, templates and worksheets are shared before and after, and participants keep everything. Facilitator access between sessions is included.
Is content tailored to our sector?
Examples and exercises are matched to the group. Where a sector needs specific content — food, craft, retail, tech, green business — we build it in.
Who actually delivers the training?
Alan Carey leads and is the single point of contact. Specialist facilitators lead the modules in their own discipline — finance, marketing, negotiation, AI, HR. Named facilitators are not substituted without agreement.
Can we get one-to-one support as well as the workshop?
Yes. Any module can be followed by one-to-one sessions applying the content to a specific business. This is a paid service, booked separately from the workshop.
Enquire
Tell us what you need.
Whether it is one workshop, a full programme or a one-to-one session, start with the detail and we will come back with an approach, availability and a price.
- Phone061 348348
- Emailinfo@bridgewater.ie