Killeshandra man goes global

An Irish software firm founded by a Killeshandra man and making waves in the financial world is set to be the number one across the globe. Barracuda FX, CEO Kieran Fitzpatrick told The Anglo-Celt this week that he has very ambitious plans for the company, which develops risk management software for foreign exchange trading in banks. He has just completed a global deal with one of the world's largest banks and hopes to double his staff of 20 in the near future. The company's software is now used in no less than 40 countries and has a strong pipeline of future business. Advice His advice to other entrepreneurs in County Cavan and beyond is to have confidence in themselves and their product. "Do your homework and know your market. Never be afraid to stand up and go out there and be proud of what you are doing. Sometimes we don't value enough what we do." He also pointed out that for people starting out, they should talk to as many people as they can. "The more people you talk to, the more insight you will glean into refining your idea and avoid the mistakes that other people have made." Mr. Fitzpatrick said that Cavan people have excellent capabilities and many of the people he went to school with are in top jobs in Ireland and globally. Barracuda FX When asked where he saw his own company in ten years, Kieran said that they have very ambitious plans. "Our mission is to be the number one in the world in our field. We absolutely believe that we can achieve that goal." The company's main product is an order management system that automates foreign exchange trading according to instructions or triggers set by the bank. The software can capture thousands of instructions and monitor all market moves. There are four trillion dollars traded every day in the foreign exchange market. "If you are a trader sitting watching the market and you have got currencies all over the world and they are moving 20 times a second, - it is very hard to keep track of all of that. We aggregate all the trade flow that is coming into a bank and allow them to know what the risk is and how to cover it. In some cases this can actually be automated," he explained. Barracuda's technology helps banks trade this Foreign Exchange order flow more efficiently. Kieran told The Anglo-Celt that there is a lot of interest in the product since the company was founded in 2009. "We are really only coming to market with it now - we have spent two years developing it - our next stage is to take it to the market. London is the main hub for foreign exchange, followed by New York and then in the Far East Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo. We will be developing the brand and developing our positioning in the market." Kieran is married to Sharon Bergin from Cavan town and they reside outside Killeshandra. They lived in Dublin for a duration and then moved back to the Killeshandra area four years ago and they have one son Ruairí and one daughter Orla. With the aid of modern technology and communications, he regularly does conference calls from his office at home in Killeshandra to places all over the globe including Hong Kong and New York. Kieran Fitzpatrick went to primary school in Killeshandra and then onto St. Patrick's College in Cavan. After doing his Leaving Certificate in St. Patrick's College, he joined Irish Life and while there did a B.Sc. in Computer Science in Trinity College. He worked in Irish Life for a number of years developing programmes for the Investment Management Division, fund pricing, and actuarial systems. He then joined a hedge fund in the International Financial Services Centre and later a financial technology software company. He also did an MBA in the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School. The company won the €100,000 top prize in the Inter Trade Ireland Seedcorn competition last November. "They recognised us as the best high growth start-up company in Ireland. It was a fantastic achievement in just our second year. There was very tough competition and it is great recognition for our company to win the award," he said. "It is a global market and from the very beginning, we have always been a global company. The opportunity in Cavan or Ireland to take a company with a strong product and establish a real global presence is as strong now as it ever was," concludes Mr. Fitzpatrick.