Tangent Experts

At Tangent, Trinity's Ideas Workspace, we want to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs; and for up-and-coming entrepreneurs, we understand that the right guidance can be priceless. That’s why we have created Tangent Experts, a panel of experienced innovation and entrepreneurship professionals who are available to support student founders and help them begin their entrepreneurial careers. Available exclusively for Trinity students and their start-ups, our experts are ready to empower and inspire, ensuring our students can advance their ideas thanks to real-world industry insights.

Arrange a meeting with Tangent’s Entrepreneurship Team, who will introduce you to a Tangent expert that suits your needs. Book in with our Experts here.

Aisling Byrne

Expert in Tech for Good

Full Profile

Aisling is the founder and CEO of Nuw, the social network to swap preloved fashion. She graduated from Trinity in 2015 and worked in media before starting Nuw which now operates across Ireland and the UK. She is particularly interested in supporting impact businesses and female founders.

Alison Crawford

Expert in Investor Readiness

Alison joined Atlantic Bridge in 2017 where she works on sourcing, evaluating and executing investments, primarily for the University Bridge Fund. Alison is experienced in leading investments in various sectors including technology and has been a non-executive director for several early-stage and growing companies. Alison previously worked with KPMG Advisory and is a graduate of Business & Law at University College Dublin.

David Scanlon

Expert in Investor Readiness

Full Profile

David has been involved with digital technology and start-ups throughout his career. David spent over a decade working for Enterprise Ireland across a variety of roles, most recently involved with the innovative Start in Ireland programme, designed to attract HPSU companies to Ireland from overseas. David was a member of the venture team at NDRC, investing in and building some of Ireland's leading early-stage startups.

David Tighe

Expert in Fintech

Full Profile

Dave has spent 18 years in Retail Banking in Ireland after graduating from Trinity College and joining the Bank of Ireland Graduate Programme in 2000. David also holds an MBA from Manchester Business School and is a Chartered Banker with the Institute of Bankers. He has extensive experience across digital banking, the payments industry and innovation in financial products.

Gríana O'Kelly

Expert in Incorporation and Business Planning

Full Profile

Gríana O’Kelly advises Irish and international clients across many sectors on a broad range of corporate transactions including M&A, debt and equity investment, corporate restructures and joint ventures. Gríana also advises start-up businesses from incorporation through early seed funding up to consolidation of their business.

Jason Bradshaw

Expert in Incorporation and Business Planning

Full Profile

Jason is a Fellow Chartered Accountant, having qualified in 2002 and completed a Management study programme with Harvard Business School in 2008. Jason has more than 18 years of experience specialising in Corporate Finance and completed the second-highest number of transactions in Ireland in 2019. He has assisted clients in the areas of new business startups, mergers, fundraisings, acquisitions and disposals.

Machaela O'Leary

Expert in Startup Community

Full Profile

Machaela is a community builder, her strengths are in storytelling and bringing new opportunities to life. People buy your product, not because of what it does, but because of what you believe in. Machaela is a Trinity Alumna in Computer Science, Linguistics and French, she's the co-founder of an HPSU-backed EdTech Startup, and is the current Campus Manager for Talent Garden, Europe's largest network of coworking campuses.

Niall Murphy

Expert in Branding

Full Profile

Niall Murphy is an advertising creative. The way he explains this to his mammy is that he writes the words that the people in the ads say, but he is not actually in the ads. He has worked in three (or as he would say on his CV ‘many’) of Dublin's advertising agencies (or ‘top advertising agencies') and now manages the in-house creative team in Paddy Power Betfair.

Shane Kerins

Expert in Tax

Full Profile

Shane is a Senior Tax Manager in PwC Dublin, with a focus on providing tax consulting advice to private clients, private businesses and entrepreneurs. He is also heavily involved with PwC's a start-up/scale-up team. Shane assists companies with tax planning opportunities, consulting and compliance matters, including various issues relating to start-ups and scaling companies.