Podcast Ep 323: Tekenable founders Nick Connors and Peter Rose talk about their epic journey from a business collapse more than 20 years ago to employing 200 people in an AI-first business today.
It is often when all seems lost that something amazing can happen. Around 25 years ago Nick Connors and Peter Rose were, like many thousands of others in the tech world at the time, witnessing the aftershocks of the dot.com crash. It was a day in February and the two colleagues found out the business they were working for – Digital Channel Partners – was going under.
“Nine customers had active projects and agreed to continue working with us, which gave us the foundation to start Tekenable,” Connors recalled.
“The curiosity that started the business is still there. That’s the part I find most exciting – not where we’ve been but where we’re still going”
In essence, their business Tekenable was born out of necessity rather than ambition. But it became something more.
As Digital Channel Partners went under, the pair decamped from leafy Dublin 2 to a dingy office in Ballymun. And with characteristic humility the two men began building a business that a quarter of a century later now employs more than 200 people and has revenues of more than €20m a year.
Curiosity is key, but this time it’s different
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A love of technology and an insatiable curiosity has been the hallmark of Tekenable’s journey
“At our core we’re technologists, and that has stayed true for 25 years,” Connors explains. “The pace of change has really accelerated in the last decade, and our customers rely on us to stay ahead of that change and translate what’s new into practical business value.”
That curiosity that kept Tekenable alive through the bust years has carried it through every major technology shift since – from cloud computing to low-code platforms and now AI. It has deep expertise across Microsoft, Salesforce, AI and industry specific platforms.
Characterised by a focus on solving real business problems through pragmatic tech adoption, the company works with clients to modernise legacy systems, unlock value from data and embed AI in everyday operations.
While tech firms like to claim that each new wave is unlike anything before it, both Connors and Rose are more measured when it comes to AI. While it is genuinely different, it is not just down to the technology.
“It’s the speed of adoption,” Rose points out. “ChatGPT has made a complex technology accessible to everyone, and AI entered businesses from the consumer side first. We’ve never seen adoption happen this fast.”
Rose argues that this speed of adoption is bringing risks with it. Organisations are scrambling to catch up with their own employees. Strategies are being written in real-time and, in most cases, quite poorly.
How to win at AI
“Too many organisations build what I’d call ‘technology toys’. Without a business case, sponsorship and change managements, these projects simply don’t deliver lasting value.”
These projects quietly die when they fail to connect to a business outcome. The tech may wor,k, the implementation does not.
Connors draws a parallel with early cloud adoption, though this time around he thinks the stakes are higher. “Cloud affected the IT department. AI affects every employee and every function. The change management cycle is an order of magnitude higher.”
Rose is quite direct about the anxiety being stoked around AI in terms of job losses and imperfections in the tech like hallucinations. The framing of the debate, he thinks, is unhelpful.
“AI should be treated like a human assistant that requires oversight. It needs governance, review and process controls – just like any person in a professional role does.
The problem is not the technology, it is the tendency of organisations to deploy it without the same scrutiny they would apply to a new hire.
Among Irish businesses Connors says the early use cases have clustered around productivity and customer experience – in effect using AI to help people to do more rather than replace them.
“Most Irish organisations are using AI to improve personalisation, to reduce friction in customer journeys, to let their people focus on higher value work. The conversation about cutting jobs is much less prevalent than the headlines suggest.”
He explains: “Most Irish organisations are using AI to help people do more – improving customer experience, personalisation, and productivity rather than cutting jobs.”
Ireland’s real AI opportunity
While Ireland has done very well out of foreign direct investment and is home to the global headquarters of most Silicon Valley tech giants, Rose says this gives the country infrastructure and talent but believes a more durable advantage lies elsewhere.
“Ireland’s real opportunity is in intellectual property, governance and responsible AI use. Not just in hosting infrastructure.”
This will be given particular impetus as the EU’s AI Act begins to shape compliance requirements. Companies that have genuine expertise in building AI systems that are explainable, auditable and legally sound, will be part of a rising tide.
Connors points out: “The question for businesses is not whether to use it, but how to use it well.”
Tekenable recently announced a research partnership with Trinity College and for Rose this is a milestone for the company.
“It helps us to explore new approaches, strengthen our innovation lab and bring deeper insights to our customer solutions. It is something we are genuinely proud of.”
The partnership, he believes, reflects a broader shift in how Irish tech companies are positioning themselves – less as implementors of tech made elsewhere, but more as contributors to the intellectual property and its commercial development.
Reflecting on how two colleagues who faced redundancy in the wreckage of the dot.com bust with just nine clients went on to build a solid, scaling business, Connors says the heart of it is curiosity.
“Curiosity is fundamental. Technologists are always interested in what’s coming next, and we actively encourage that mindset internally. We do have people whose role is to look at emerging technologies and assess where the business should go. Not everyone enjoys that level of change, but those who stay really thrive on it.
“Many of our people have been with us for decades. The curiosity that started the business is still there. That’s the part I find most exciting – not where we’ve been but where we’re still going.”
Rose adds: “I love the challenge and the journey. It’s been an exciting ride. And it’s far from over.”
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Listen to the ThinkBusiness Podcast for business insights and inspiration. All episodes are here. You can also listen to the Podcast on:
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Spotify
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SoundCloud
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Apple
