Robbie Skuse Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

As explained in September: We Do Things Differently at Kollect. Naturally this can cause a bit of extra work but it also ensures that we stand out from the crowd. And what better crowd to stand out from than the 17 shortlisted county finalists of Ireland's Best Young Entrepreneur 2017? On November 24th, Kollect Co-founder and CSO Robbie Skuse had this privilege as he won the top prize in both Waterford's Best Established Business and Waterford's Overall Winner in the 2017 Young Entrepreneur awards.

Robbie the Young Entrepreneur

Just as abandoning convention in search of a more engaging and innovative alternative is Kollect's philosophy, it can equally be applied to Robbie's own journey. After studying business information systems in Cork, Robbie embraced the uncertain world of entrepreneurial business. At twenty-two he rejected a promising role within one of Ireland's biggest consultancy firms in order to chase his own ambitions. Then as faithor some dragons-den-styled overlord of small businesswould have it, he met the ambitious pair of John O'Connor and John Hegarty and the on-demand waste disposal company Kollect, eventually, became a hard-won reality.“It's been all go since I finished college and I haven't really had a chance to catch my breath, but that's the kind of sacrifice you have to make if you want your company to take off. Some weeks will beat you up more than others, but you can't let that overwhelm you. I've found the key is to look back over the week at what I've achieved and count the milestones.Now 25 and with the Kollect ranks swollen to 14, it's fair to say that Robbie has had an unusual journey. Yet it is one of his own design and as he advances to the regional final of Ireland's Best young Entrepreneur 2017, he has another prestigious milestone to count among his accomplishments.