Without a doubt, this fine Wednesday (May 11th, 2022) has been my favorite day thus far. On paper, it sounds quite boring—a walking tour of Dublin’s financial district and a site visit with a local marketing agency—but it was so much more than that.
Shortly after I devoured some incredible fruity pancakes, we traveled to Dublin’s financial district where we went on a journey with Dr. Darren Kelly to learn about old vs new Ireland in the context of business, people, and culture. During the session, he gave us an interactive history lesson (which was enriched by several personal anecdotes) on what Ireland once was and how it became what it is today—a thriving country. Where our Plus3 Ireland group is staying is in the middle of one of the older parts of Dublin’s city center, and the differences between where we live and places we’ve visited just a few minutes away are astonishing. For example, I noticed that there are many modern buildings that have been built or are still being built, of which a good portion of the people who live nearby come from outside Ireland. Considering that many of the companies occupying those spaces (I.e., Google) are looking to hire young people, it doesn’t come as a surprise that nearly 1/3 of Ireland’s population is under the age of 25.
It just so happens that in the afternoon, the local marketing agency we visited (Thinkhouse) specializes in youth and digital culture and is run by a team of young professionals, including Billy Bunzari (whom we found out is a celebrity) and Laura Costello, with a wide variety of backgrounds. In a sense, I feel that Thinkhouse is representative of how Ireland has changed in the past few decades—and not just demographically. I believe the main benefit of the new wave of things in terms of business, people, and culture is that it will help Ireland grow economically at an exponential rate. As a leading independent marketing agency, it is clear that Thinkhouse helps others do just that (grow) except through non-traditional methods (I.e., working towards a B Corp certification).
From the day’s activities and experiences, my primary takeaway is to take advantage of everything you can (obviously without overextending/overwhelming yourself), because things can change, and they can change in the blink of an eye (as we’ve seen in Ireland). Really, it’s a good rule to follow in any context!
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I am back with another interesting tidbit (3/?) I’d like to share. Thinkhouse has a team of 50 who work with clients all over the world, ranging from international companies (Amazon, Heineken, etc.) to national governments.