Conor O Connor

Conor O'Connor is a Managing/General Partner of Enterprise Equity Venture Capital (EEVC), Ireland's longest-established venture capital firm (founded 1987). He joined Enterprise Equity in 1991 and was appointed Chief Executive in 1996, and has spent effectively his entire career in the corporate finance and venture capital field. A Chartered Accountant, he completed his professional training with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Dublin before moving into venture investing.

Over his career he has led, structured and negotiated numerous venture capital investments and has corporate-advisory experience spanning flotations and mergers and acquisitions. He sits (or has sat) as a director on the boards of several EEVC investee companies, giving him a hands-on, governance-level role in the firm's portfolio. Outside of Enterprise Equity, he has represented the O'Connor family on the boards of Arnotts Holdings Ltd and Arnotts Ltd (the historic Dublin retailer).

He has been a prominent figure in the Irish venture ecosystem, serving two terms as Chairman of the Irish Venture Capital Association (IVCA) and representing Ireland on the board of the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA/Invest Europe). Under his leadership, EEVC has grown to roughly €100 million in funds under management and has invested in close to 90 companies. The firm's team is led by O'Connor alongside partners including Tom Shinkwin (Dublin) and Frank Walsh (Cork).

• Stage: Backs early-stage, high-growth technology businesses — from seed through to growth/expansion capital — and provides follow-on funding across multiple rounds (EEVC has made 300+ capital tranches across ~90 companies).
• Check size: Roughly €250k–€2m per company, with capacity to reinvest as companies scale.
• Sectors (in the firm's own words): "IoT/ICT, big data, enterprise B2B, SaaS, wireless/mobile, FinTech and MedTech enterprises."
• What makes them say yes: Irish-rooted companies with credible international/global growth ambition and a scalable technology product. EEVC emphasizes hands-on governance and strategic support (board seats, active guidance) rather than passive capital.
• Syndication: The firm actively co-invests, citing "investment syndication experience with North American and European investors" to expand deal capacity and connect companies to overseas markets — e.g., its partnership giving Irish startups a direct route into the 500 Startups accelerator.