At 27, Cairan O’Toole can be described as a rising entrepreneur whose business ‘footprint’ is already plainly visible both here in Guyana and in Canada. Born in Guyana in 1984, Cairan is the son of Dr Brian O’Toole, an Irishman who had made his home in Guyana some years earlier and who is now the Director of both the School of Nations, one of the more prominent privately-run schools in Guyana and Nations University.
Having completed his primary and secondary education in Guyana Cairan left for Canada to pursue higher studies in the field of engineering and where he gained both Bachelors and Masters degrees.
Upon completion of his studies in 2008, Cairan, along with his wife Lua, returned to Guyana where, over the next few years, he established several companies which today comprise the O’Toole Group of Companies. The group comprises Lu Ca Designs, Lu Ca Design Copy and Print Centre, Phonebook gy, Satellite Cabs, and Talisman Printing.
The design and printing enterprises within the group of companies reflect Lua’s particular creative skills.
In 2006, prior to returning to Guyana, the two had set up their first company,
Lu Ca Design in Canada.
Cairan’s accomplishments as a Guyanese entrepreneur are attributable to his experiences in Canada. He says that even as he and Lua were engaged in building and running Lu Ca designs they were actively considering how their experiences could be applied here.
Three years building a client base in Canada provided the O’Tooles with an invaluable storehouse of knowledge which was to prove critical to their entrepreneurial pursuits in Guyana. Having formally established a business base here they continued to maintain their enterprise in Canada where they had established an important client base. Lu Ca Design is now part of the local O’Toole Group which operates out of premises located at 120 Parade Street in Kingston.
O’Toole says that the creation of each of the companies was preceded by a careful analysis of the local environment, particularly, issues of demand and competition. Each company was intended to provide an enhanced quality of service in sectors which they considered to be deficient. Where the principals within group personally lacked the skills and experience, extensive research was undertaken and relevant skills recruited. Equally importantly, they sought to establish companies that would have synchronistic relationships. Lu Ca Design, for example, having recognized the need to control the quality of its designs, set up Talisman Publishing.
The Lu Ca Design Copy & Print Centre was, similarly, the result of a search for higher standards. It incorporates basic copying and printing services and allows for the electronic submission of jobs along with specifications relating to printing materials and other specifications. Discussions with clients, however, led to the recognition that the inclusion of a delivery would further enhance the quality of the service, lending to the creation of Satellite Cabs, a service that utilises Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to enable clients to secure cabs quickly. Through its GPS system, the company is able to track the location of each vehicle in real time; it ensures driver and client safety.
The most recent addition to the O’Toole Group is groundbreaking digital telephone directory Phonebook.gy (www.phonebook.gy) with over 1,200 businesses listings. Again, the advent of Phonebook.gys was also the result of a decision by Cairan that information should be made available, online, to the general public, free of charge. After reviewing similar services, and making adjustments to enhance accessibility to the clients, a team of software engineers and graphic designers in Europe and Guyana developed the site to match international standards for online directories. Those standards include advertisements, pictures and videos. The software has undergone rigorous testing and is available via computers or mobile phones. Further, it is being constantly improved through peer review and customer feedback.
Cairan says that he has learnt several valuable lessons from his entrepreneurial pursuits in Guyana including the need to thoroughly understand client perspective. To meet client needs Cairan advocates ongoing interaction, openness and a preparedness to act on advice that could enhance the quality of service provided. The O’Tooles are also driven by a desire to enhance efficiency and to develop through innovation. “Putting the advances of technology to the advantage of the business world and ultimately to the benefit of clients,” is one of Cairan’s primary preoccupations. As a keen observer of the North American business culture, Cairan says he is constantly considering ways in which some of these can be applied in Guyana to support the growth and development of business here.
