The first came just two months after they had established the business. No sooner had they moved out of Tuohy’s spare bedroom in Castleknock and into a serviced office in Santry than it was destroyed by fire. “It was a catastrophe for us,” said Tuohy. “We hadn’t got around to getting insurance.”
The fire burnt a big hole in their start-up fund: IR£10,000 (about €12,700) that the pair had collected when they took redundancy from a multinational firm. They also lost their only PC and some basic furniture, but were determined to keep going with their fledgling business.
Tuohy and Field moved back to Castleknock. “In an entrepreneurial business, you tend to learn from your mistakes,” said Tuohy. “The biggest lessons come from your biggest mistakes.”
These days, Tuohy leaves nothing to chance. His business, Nightline, which specialises in the movement of high-value goods, now has about 200 staff and engages a further 150-200 drivers, who are self-employed. Nightline operates out of 10 facilities around the country, servicing some 1,000 customers — including the multinational company whose redundancy payout gave Field and Tuohy their initial capital.
In the early days, Tuohy and Field took turns manning the office, driving the van and using their trendy new Panasonic mobile phone. “We could only afford one phone,” said Tuohy. “It cost about €1,000. We even took out a lease payment plan over three years to pay for it. About a year later, we took the plunge and bought a second one. It was a big investment decision at the time.”
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Their big break came in the form of a postal strike. “This gave us an unexpected but great boost in business at the very beginning,” said Tuohy.
Within two years, the pair had taken on their first employee, Caroline, to handle administration work. She still works there, though only part-time, as she is now married to Tuohy and they have two small children. “In 1998, we had 10 employees; that grew to 25 in 2000. By then, we had moved into a new warehouse and office near Dublin airport.
“Growth in the first 10 years was quite slow and measured,” said Tuohy. “Then, in 2001, we went for broke with a big nationwide expansion, and the following few years saw huge growth in our business.”
Nightline has invested heavily in new technology, including state-of-the-art satellite navigation systems. Since 2001, every driver in its team has had a hand-held computer, enabling them to send data back to headquarters. The firm has just invested another €500,000 in upgrading its technology.
“We have our own security department with special equipment to monitor vans, satellite tracking and anti-hijacking systems,” said Tuohy. “But we don’t like to talk about it, in case criminals find out how we operate.”
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Recently, a customer asked Nightline to send its trucks to Britain to pick up a consignment of high-value packages. “They were very nervous that they might be stolen or that the trucks might be hijacked.”
They needn’t have worried. Offering a service that is both high-tech and reliable is what keeps Nightline’s customers coming back, says Tuohy, even though it is not always the cheapest option. This, he says, is what differentiates Nightline from its rivals.
“We put a huge emphasis on customer service, with almost one manager for each big account. We send customers reports on a daily basis.”
Tuohy, 38, says he gained much of his business acumen from an AnCo (now Fas) course that he “spoofed” his way onto at age 18, by pretending he had a plan to open a shop. “The course, on how to start a business, covered everything from cash flow management to marketing. I finished it, but I didn’t start the business. I don’t think any of us did, but the training was superb and it stayed with me.”
With no qualifications beyond an Intermediate Certificate, Tuohy got a job as a driver delivering parcels — taking his first step towards becoming an entrepreneur.