Axis Consulting provide strategic partnership and consultation to pharmaceutical companies seeking access to the market. We caught up with Business Operations Lead, Caroline McNeill to find out how working from a Connected Hub has helped the business gain access to crucial industry supports. 

With a team spanning Dublin, Galway and Edinburgh, Axis now operate a hybrid working model for the majority of their Irish-based team in Galway Hub, Platform94. 

Part of the Connected Hubs network, this Hub specialises in working with companies who have ambitions to scale. ‘We previously had an office in Dublin, but we decided not to renew our lease recently’ Caroline explains. ‘And we have an anchor here in Platform94, where myself and two others presently work from.’ 

‘The team in Platform94 are so helpful’, she continues. ‘We are Enterprise Ireland clients now and the team in the Hub really supported us with that.’  

‘We had been with the Galway Local Enterprise Office, and we’ve progressed to this next stage as we are looking to scale in the UK. Brenda our founder is now based in Edinburgh, and we are currently on a recruitment drive to expand the team and hire more senior roles in the UK.’ 

Platform 94 recently opened a new extension to their hub, supported by Enterprise Ireland.  ‘As part of our company's expansion’, explains Caroline, ‘we took up new offices in this space, which is brilliant.’ With a focus on a highly specialised area of healthcare, the company work regularly with a network of consultants throughout Ireland and the UK. But having a base where the team can meet regularly to collaborate and check in has proven to be highly beneficial. 

‘We have a small core team, so we regularly aim to bring everyone into the office for meetings. And when they come in, they feel the same as us; they understand that wider connection to the other businesses based here in the Hub,’ Caroline says. 

‘At the moment, I personally come in five days a week. I found working from home full-time quite isolating, and what’s great about the Hub community is there are a lot of other businesses who are also growing.’ 

‘The Hub team run monthly breakfast meetings for all the companies, where they bring in specialist speakers on everything from accountancy to scaling, and that is so helpful.’ 

Along with gaining insight from visiting experts, Caroline cites the access to shared on-the-job learnings as an essential benefit of the Hub environment. 

Caroline says: ‘You get the chance to connect when you’re grabbing a coffee downstairs and to hear from other people how they’ve approached different problems and share knowledge about how they’ve succeeded in one area, or to celebrate their success.’ 

‘You can learn and be inspired by everyone, and that is really invaluable.’ 

From companies who need dedicated space for regional teams or who want to scale in new locations, the Connected Hubs network has a variety of dedicated spaces and teams available to help. Find out what sort of space would suit your business here.