- Niall Donnelly
-
Niall Donnelly 
Niall DonnellyBorn Navan, County Meath, Ireland Occupation Entrepreneur
Niall Donnelly is an Irish entrepreneur and principal of Arrogant LLC which is based in Los Angeles, California. He is owner of several nightclubs and Rock n Roll bars in London and has built a name for himself both sides of the Atlantic as a major force in the entertainment, media and nightlife industry.
Early life and education
Niall was born in Mullagh, County Cavan and grew up in Navan, in County Meath, Ireland. He attended St. Patrick's Classical School (Navan), and went on to earn a degree in Geography and Politics at University College Dublin, where he served as an Entertainments officer. He started his first business at age twelve, a tennis academy that earned him £30 per week.[1][2]
Career
Donnelly began his entrepreneurial career in real estate, buying and selling properties and converting houses into flats. In 2005, Donnelly purchased a building on London’s Chapel Market and converted it into Anam Cocktail Lounge. Gaelic for “Life & Soul” Anam was nominated for the Time Out Best Bar Award in 2005[3] and also The Evening Standard Bar of the Year Award in 2006.[4] From this he went on to build a group of successful Rock n Roll bars and entertainment venues in the London area.
In addition to his bar and nightclub ventures, Donnelly has a number of investments and ventures in New Media, Property Development and Television in the UK and United States under his holding company Arrogant LLC.[5] In 2008, Niall acquired streaming video website Newsplayer, along with business partner Brendan Morrissey. The site provides web access to historical news footage, including the onscreen interview archives of former board member Sir David Frost.[6] In January 2009 The Irish Entrepreneur and The Irish Times called Donnelly one of the top 10 “Irish Entrepreneurs to Watch” worldwide, citing his creativity and record of success both sides of The Atlantic.[7]
In Feb 2011 Donnelly opened the first-ever US Rolling Stone magazine venue at the Hollywood and Highland Complex in Hollywood, CA. Rolling Stone LA is a multi-level space encompassing more than 10,000 square feet (930 m2) in a blend of equal parts restaurant, bar, lounge and upscale private-event space.[8][9]
Most recently Donnelly launched Bevvy.com, "Gilt for Nightlife"[10]and was nominated in the "Top five Irish Entrepreneurs" by Smarta.com. [11] Bevvy was named in the "Top 100 Brilliant Companies in the US" by Entrepreneur Magazine in June issue 2011. [12]
References
- ^ The Irish Post, "In Profile: Entrepreneur Niall Donnelly", December 2, 2009
- ^ University College Dublin Students' Union ([1])
- ^ "Anam: The coolest Irish bar in London". The Irish Post. August 17, 2005. http://archives.tcm.ie/irishpost/2005/08/17/story3066.asp.
- ^ Campion, Charles (March 8, 2008). "Vote for your favorite drinking den". standard.co.uk. http://archives.tcm.ie/irishpost/2005/08/17/story3066.asp.
- ^ Roberts, Randall (December 4, 2009). "Rolling Stone Magazine to Open Hollywood Club/Restaurant in the Summer of 2010 (?!)". LaWeekly.com. http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/news/rolling-stone-magazine-to-open/.
- ^ Newsplayer (Newsplayer)
- ^ "100 Greatest Self-Made Irish Entrepreneurs", Irish Entrepreneur, Volume 8, Issue 1, January 2009
- ^ Burke, Roisin (December 13, 2009). "Builder ready to roll with Rolling Stone". Independent.ie. http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/builder-ready-to-roll-with-rolling-stone-1973125.html.
- ^ Vincent, Roger (December 4, 2009). "Rolling Stone to launch restaurant chain in L.A.". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/04/business/la-fi-rolling-stone4-2009dec04.
- ^ SF Gate (Jan 12, 2011). "Rolling Stone LA Founder Launches Group Buying Website Bevvy.com for the Nightlife and Beverage Industry". The San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/01/12/prweb4963334.DTL.
- ^ Rebecca (March 17, 2011). "ST. PATRICKS DAY SPECIAL: The Top 5 Irish Entrepreneurs". Smarta.com. http://smarta.com/blog/2011/3/st-patricks-day-special-the-top-five-irish-entrepreneurs.
- ^ Amy Cosper (June, 2011). The Top 100 Brilliant Companies "Top 100 Brilliant Companies in the US". Entrepreneur Magazine. http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219670 The Top 100 Brilliant Companies.
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