Aerogen: The exposure that you get on a European level is amazing!

What does it mean to you to win the European Business Award?

The European Business Awards are Europe’s largest business excellence awards, so winning for me is both a recognition and endorsement of all the years of effort that has gone into creating a truly great company. To have grown from a small company operating over a local butcher shop in Co.Galway, Ireland to one that is now selling in over 75 countries and helping millions of patients worldwide, to get this sort of European recognition makes us really proud of what we have achieved so far.

 Has it changed anything for your business - will it change anything in the future?

We have had a lot of great coverage from winning the European Entrepreneur of the Year award. We are seeing increased traffic to our website from lots of different countries. Our social media channels have also shown huge levels of engagement. I think it also helps with the overall motivation and positive energy in the company to know that we are being recognized internationally for our work.

What did you gain from going through the Awards process?  For example, did writing the application focus you on your business strategy?

It was very beneficial as it brought different team members together and encouraged us all to focus on our success to date and how we have managed to do that. Often you get so caught up in the day-to-day that you don’t ever stop for a minute to focus on everything that you have achieved so far.

Did the networking opportunities during the completion allow you make any new relationships/contacts/partnerships or clients?

Yes, it was great to meet so many inspirational people that are so passionate about their companies and what they do on a day to day basis. We are in contact with a couple of other companies since the event, so let’s see if anything comes out of that.

Would you recommend other businesses in Europe to apply? If yes why?

Definitely! The exposure that you get on a European level is amazing. You get the opportunity to meet with some of the best business men and women from across Europe and it really helps you to reflect on what you have achieved as a business so far.

What top tips would you give to a new company regarding:

• The entry form:

Get as many people in the team as possible to contribute. Our submission was very much a team effort and I believe this enabled us to create an interesting but yet factual entry.

• The video entry:

We had good fun creating the video. Prepare as much as you can for it, but don’t work religiously off a script. I think it’s important to let your passion come across in the video but still keep focused on the questions at hand.

• The public vote:

Utilise your existing contact base and your own employees to start getting the word out there.. Reach out to people across all channels – email, social media, press etc. 

Why do you think the European Business Awards are important?

I think the fact that over 32,000 companies were reviewed in the 2015 / 2016 awards says a lot about the importance of these awards. They are the biggest, most prestigious business awards in Europe and with the great team of people working behind the scenes I think they are only going to continue to grow in significance. 

Aerogen is the world leader in aerosol drug delivery specialising in the design, manufacture and commercialisation of high performance aerosol drug delivery systems within the Acute Care market. www.aerogen.com