We see our relationship with our customers as personal, once you choose us we act like our livelihood depends on your complete satisfaction
IGate was born in 2009 when Paddy and Stephen were made redundant due to the economic downturn.
With zero seed capital and all the financial pressures of family life in modern Ireland, we had a challenge on our hands. Through hard work, determination & perserverance, we rallied hard to find our feet and started to build our business.
It was a good time to enter the market as many customers were focusing on value and streamlining, as a result they were open to doing business with a new service provider who could deliver this.
However, customers still demanded good customer service and ease of ordering so they could concentrate other priorities. And so we identified the need to offer an online ordering service that would set us apart, and an office team who would cherish our customers the way we do!
Paddy Richards
After leaving School at an early age, I worked very hard to achieve very little. Realising my errors I returned to adult education. In 2001 I started working with a company that would eventually lead me to building my own engineering business and employing 30 staff in 2007.
Unfortunately, like most companies by 2009 the recession lead to the closure of the company and a sense of despair as my wife & I just had our 4th child and we were jobless. So it was time to pick myself up, brush off the past and keep moving forward.
Later in 2009 with little or no money Stephen & I started IGate. It was probably one of the toughest times to start a business and the odds were against us, but with determination and hard work we soon started to grow. We attribute our success to a strong work ethic, developing a strong focus on our customer service ethos, and being open & honest with our customers.
We have achieved a lot since 2009 but we are only at the beginning of our journey. We aim to continue the growth with each year that comes & create more employment opportunities.
We like to offer something different to our customers than the status quo. I play guitar, enjoy family time, triathlons and design/art.
Stephen Rooney
Since studying Business at School I had a vision of someday setting up a business for myself, with this in mind I went on to earn a BSc in Business in D.I.T. & graduated in 2002. But to my disappointment I found that the business world was not awaiting my arrival with open arms, the hard work was only beginning.
The jobs that followed were far from enterprising, but with a mixture of skills picked up from different industries I finally put them together to establish IGate with Paddy in 2009, and it was the best move we ever made. At the start I had to be an all rounder, but now with a team of staff to share the load I like to focus my time on business development & strategy.
I’d like to think we had success because we listen to people & see things as they do, we don’t leave anything to chance & we don’t make presumptions. We are forever grateful to each & every customer for helping us grow this business & we work hard to make sure we give them the best service possible in return.
As a husband & father of two lovely little girls I strongly believe in the value of a healthy work/life balance. My hobbies include triathlon, caravanning & music.