Fast-growing Mayo firm Skillko aims to double revenues this year

Skillko, a Co. Mayo based digitisation business, expects to double its revenues in 2024 to €2 million. The company manages the process for checking if staff have the requisite skills and certifications required to meet compliance requirements in different sectors.

Skillko was founded by Brendan Maloney and Dermot O’Connor in 2017. The business is based in Westport, Co. Mayo, and has 20 staff. The company is entirely self-funded and had revenues of €1 million in 2023.

“The compliance process for the utilities and construction sector is broken. There are hours lost to it, particularly for on-boarding supply chain partners. We set out to revolutionise how these sectors enable a safer workforce,” Maloney told the Business Post.

The idea for the business grew out of a meeting between Maloney, who was working in the utilities sector, and O’Connor, a co-founder of Boxever, in a pub in Westport. The two felt there was a pain point they could work together to address.

“We’re bootstrapped and we have sold organically to customers. We’ve a good product-market fit. What has started to happen is that word of mouth has spread. It’s an interconnected industry. It gets around quick that a company is using our services and that has spread positive sentiment amongst the customer base,” O’Connor said.

“We are also starting to find that the problem we solved for utilities and construction works in other industries. The distribution sector for example, where Fastway is one of our customers, or the facilities management sector, where we work with Sensori FM, have the same needs.”

While not taking on any outside investment, the business has been supported by Enterprise Ireland in expanding its reach.

“Enterprise Ireland engaged with use initially through the Local Enterprise Office in Mayo. Brian Sheridan, our account manager, has been really good to use. We’re in the high-potential start-up unit (HPSU). Obviously, we’re non-equity for them but they brought us onto the programme,” Maloney said.

“They’ve helped us look at markets outside Ireland and the UK. They have brought us to the Nordics and other markets they are working in. North America is an important growth market for us and they have a huge established network there.”

The company aims to have 40 staff by the end of 2025 and is confident it can reach 100 staff within the next five years.

“We’re moving quickly. We’re not doubling staff year on year but we are close to it. About 30 per cent of our business is UK-based at the moment and we’re pushing hard into it to grow that share,” O’Connor said.

“After that, the plan is to look at expanding into the US or Canada as well while growing in our established markets.”

This Making it Work article is produced in partnership with Enterprise Ireland