Former Connacht rugby star to start Frankman grooming product business

TERENURE based businessman Michael Swift made the cut from 450 applicants, to be one of 22 companies involved in the AIB Irish Times Start-up Academy.

The former Connacht rugby player and his wife Gill Blake Swift are behind the venture Frankman, in what he calls a “straight talking male grooming range that cuts through the bullshit.”

Grooming products are not the first thing one associates with a burly second row enforcer who played for the western province 269 times, but Swift has already made inroads off the pitch.

Last November, he was also one of the recent graduates who completed Phase 2 of the New Frontiers programme at the Synergy Centre in IT Tallaght.

After graduation, Swift moved the business base to Terenure Enterprise Centre, not far from where he and his wife live.

Frankman will begin trading in July in-store and online.

“Our range of five innovative hair styling products (priced between €7-€9.50) allows guys to achieve the look they want without a degree in hair styling,” said Michael.

“Frankman is frank in how we interact with our end users, it’s inspired by normal guys.”

This is the third year of the AIB Irish Times Start-up Academy, which began at the end of February.

The final 14 start-up companies are taking part in the eight-week accelerator programme, which aims to develop the companies, through networking, entrepreneur mentoring and training.

At the end of their eight weeks, Swift and his fellow finalists will pitch to a judging panel to try to win a prize worth €200,000 to their business.