#FollowDulaBio
Danielle Gallagher
Founder DúlaBio
How would you describe yourself in 6 words or less?
Happiest when in the sea!
What prompted you to start your business?
I really wanted to contribute to solving huge, urgent challenges in unique ways. I had been coming to the end of an intense work period in academia and was feeling a bit disconnected from the reasons I pursued science in the first place, I also wanted a big life change and a way to reconnect to the place I'm from in Donegal, and to nature and society in general. So I started DúlaBio in 2018 in an effort to promote the value that exists in coastal communities with the resources already there (specifically seaweed cultivation potential), and to create opportunities for community-led mitigation, by lowering carbon emissions and nutrient waste in certain food systems and processes.
Can you tell us a bit more about you?
I'm a scientist, with specialist training in genetic engineering, biotechnology, and microbiology - though have been dipping into many diverse fields since starting DúlaBio and as part of a growing group of seaweed and food system innovators, particularly agriculture, aquaculture, and food systems. I'm also an EU climate pact ambassador, and research fellow in climate science in TCD. I think being grounded in science as well as climate justice has really helped my journey with DúlaBio so far, It's kept me on the right path and stands to remind me of the impact I've wanted to create with this work from the beginning. It also serves as a reminder that this is just one small piece in a huge transformation that's needed to lower emissions in our society, and what synergies there are which are relevant to have the right impact.
Fill us in on your current female founder journey and what would you like to share with the AwakenHub community?
It's been a rollercoaster! Both fun and scary, but what has been great is looking back at how far we've come from an idea in a relatively short space of time, that we've stayed true to our goals, and have seen how many people are engaged in this application for community resilience in Ireland, for transformation and mitigation. It can be hard to stomach the suggestion that this could be used in any way for greenwashing, or business as usual - something we all have to be aware and careful of - but it's a reminder to always question the decisions we make, and to have a long-term, systemic view of where and what the impact will be from those decisions. Staying focused on that tends to attract allies on the journey with you - who see how it can be applied in the right way, which is why we've gotten anywhere today. I’d recommend working on a problem you believe in and care strongly about to anyone, it makes the difficult times and sacrifices more bearable - and the chances of finding that flow and the right people much higher. I’m very grateful for this time, for the learning and agency it’s brought me and the people I’ve met along the way.
How has being part of the AwakenHub community helped your business?
It’s been amazing, very supportive, and generous in sharing knowledge, resources, time. It also provided a sense of community for everyone during the pandemic which was wonderful, and so important going forward - especially as a solo founder. And simply having people believe in you is worth so much, especially in the early days: the steam founders run on when things get tough.
Have you an ‘ask’ which we can share with fellow #Awakenhubbers?
We’d be really grateful for any connections and spreading the word across the community - particularly in the direction of small-scale farming with short supply chains, or aquaculture businesses that want to diversify. We're working on more pilots this year, but If anyone out there is interested in developing this with us further, we'd love to speak to them.
Follow Daniele
Twitter @DulaBio
Danielle Gallagher Linkedin
