#TerrierMade: Ciarán Mahon (CAS’20) and his pivot from sustainability to startup education
Motivated and ready to tackle some of the world’s biggest sustainability challenges, Ciarán Mahon (CAS’20) and his teammates realized that they had the passion to solve problems but were lacking the hard skills. Now, almost two years later, meet Rilla, their software that allows ventures to collaborate and learn how to build a new startup.
INNOVATE@BU: How do you create innovation? What new idea are you working on?
CIÁRAN MAHON: Our venture is Rilla – an analytics and learning platform for innovation centers.
The software allows ventures to collaborate with mentors, follow innovation pathways, and learn how to build a startup. It allows for innovation centers to become more scalable and accessible.
Tell us, how did Rilla begin?
Rilla was started about a year and a half ago. We were four college students who wanted to build businesses that focused on addressing sustainability problems. Unfortunately, these ideas all failed because we were never taught how to be entrepreneurs and innovative. We did not know what to do and lost time writing useless business plans.
Our mission is to bring easily accessible and high-quality entrepreneurial learning content into the world. We believe education is the foundation of progress. In order to address the world’s greatest challenges of climate change, sustainability in business and migration flows, everyone needs to be able to innovate.
That is why we created Rilla.
What has been the biggest challenge or obstacle you had to overcome in your role or for your new venture? How did you do it? What did you learn from the experience?
The biggest challenge in my role has been time management.
As the COO of Rilla, I spend a lot of time talking to our stakeholders and working with potential clients. It can be difficult to manage your time as it affects other people.
It is also important to pay attention to school and not get too distracted with the venture. To overcome this challenge, I break my work up into 15-minute intervals and write everything I am doing in a journal. It has taught me the power of reflection and how it can be used for self-improvement.
What advice would you give to someone starting their own innovation journey right now?
Focus on how you create value. It is the single most important thing about your business and understanding how you do that is essential for success.
What has been the biggest win so far?
This summer we ran a successful BETA with the Innovate@BU summer accelerator cohort. In the near future, we are looking to partner with organizations in the creation of video content.
It is very rewarding to move your venture forward and hit the milestones you set. Our team is very excited and optimistic about the near future.
What meaningful impact are you hoping to create from this venture or project?
Success for our team means every person in the world has learned about innovation and entrepreneurship. They will take this knowledge and use it to build ventures that are sustainable, inclusive, and ethical.
What resources have been most helpful to you?
The staff of Innovate@BU has been amazing in connecting our team with resources and helping move our idea forward. Without them, our idea would be nowhere.
When you’re not working on Rilla (and doing school work), what do enjoy doing?
Hiking, playing music with friends, going out to dinner, and reading!
