Connected Magazine

Mike McGearty: A lot of people don’t realise how successful Ireland has been in the travel space

Mike McGearty is chief executive and co-founder (along with Bobby Healy) of Meili, a new travel tech start-up that has raised €15 million to date. Prior to establishing Meili, he led Cartrawler

Mike McGearty, chief executive and co-founder, Meili. ‘No consumer should ever know who we are. We’ve built the technology for our customers . . . It’s important that they, rather than we, own the relationship they have with consumers.’ Picture: Patrick Bolger

What makes a company successful? There is no magic ingredient but timing is often a critical factor in determining whether something will work or not. So for example, both Bobby and myself joined Cartrawler at a period when airlines were looking to grow ancillary revenues and car rental companies brands weren’t as consolidated as they are now, and consumers were adapting to online. That was a perfect moment. Five years either way and it might ...