Pictured: Eimear Cahalin, co-founder of Vivid Edge.
Eimear Cahalin, co-founder of Vivid Edge.
Vivid Edge has developed a pioneering ‘Energy Efficiency Service’ model for large organisations. Co-founder Eimear Cahalin is an experienced CFO who has worked in multinational organisations and in successful early stage to high growth stories across both financial services and green energy sectors. Before founding Vivid Edge, Eimear was previously CFO of Mainstream Renewable Power and was involved from its early days in building the company into a leading global renewable energy player.
What was your first job?
A week’s work experience in school got me a summer job at the stock exchange which I absolutely loved – I can still remember the names of all the team I worked with. My highlight was sending the closing share prices to RTE for the lunchtime and evening news every day. I went on to have a summer job at the Munich stock exchange. My first permanent job was my accounting traineeship at Arthur Andersen.
What would you regard as your greatest achievement to date?
Raising €30 million for a company I co-founded. Raising money for someone else’s business is great, but for a business I’d co-founded was such a kick.
In three words or less, how do you define success?
Contentment.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Probably something I took from the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz; when people are angry, they are usually feeling either guilty or worried. It’s an insight that’s been of enormous help to me both personally and professionally.
How do you motivate yourself and your staff?
I set big goals, but I’m not prescriptive in how they are achieved. I’ve always been lucky to work with very smart people, and those people want a balance of guidance and autonomy, which I strive to achieve. I also share as much information with my team as I can, so they understand the “why” of what we are working towards, and not just the “what”.
How do you relax?
When I’m not up the hills on my bike, I’ll be hiking, reading or at the theatre. But almost always with other people – cycling is all about the craic at the coffee stop and even lots of my reading will be for the inevitable glass of wine and chat with the bookclub girls!
What’s your motto?
Growth happens just beyond the edge of your comfort zone.
What are your aspirations for the future of the business?
We are helping climate change through energy-efficiency-as-a-service. Our customers get to accelerate energy efficiency projects that fall outside their immediate capital budgets or have longer paybacks than internal investment guidelines allow. We’re making a social impact and building an international business. Our aspiration is to have created the model that others will follow.
