Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻

Dad 👶 👦 Founder PRELO (Acq) - Ex Intercom - Creator @knookstories ✨Reimagining children's stories - one child at a time.

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

@hthieblot Championship Manager 01/02 🔥

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

Hello people of Cork 😃📚

[Knook @knookstories]

A tiny superhero has been spotted on the rooftops of Cork... ❤️

Gliding over the swans at The Lough, past the spires of St Fin Barre's and the gates of UCC, leaving glowing storybooks on windowsills and doorsteps across the city 📷

Who sent them? We can finally reveal it.....

[Knook @knookstories]

A tiny superhero has been spotted on the rooftops of Cork... ❤️

Gliding over the swans at The Lough, past the spires of St Fin Barre's and the gates of UCC, leaving glowing storybooks on windowsills and doorsteps across the city 📷

Who sent them? We can finally reveal it.....

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

@davidfromkansas I would extend this to the model optionality - it’s UX friction (and a little bit lazy) asking a user to select what model they want. The ideal experience should be the right model gets triggered under the hood per job to be done - is there a reason this isn’t the default UX? 🤔

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

"Certainly we have been taxed and burdened in a way we never expected, But we can't throw in the towel. We can't use being a parent as an excuse. On the contrary, because our kids are watching us, we have to keep pushing ourselves. We have to transcend the bitter math. We have to keep growing. We can't give up on ourselves or our interests."
(extract from @RyanHoliday The Daily Dad - 29th June)

As a dad, I've felt this 'bitter math' so many times since I launched @knookstories

The 5am starts before the house wakes up. The 9pm–midnight sessions when the house is quiet after the kids are asleep. Wondering where the frig I am going to muster the energy from to go at it again tonight.

Starting a company while raising young kids often feels like there just aren't enough hours in the day.

But my hope is that my kids see a dad who stays curious, keeps learning, and who is working on something that hopefully has a positive impact on the world.

To all the mums and dads who are staying curious, even when absolutely shattered I salute you - keep it going! 🙇‍♂️

PS. If you are working on any projects or learning something new when the kids are asleep I would love to know more. Feel free to share in comments 🙂

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

What a cool video by our friends over at Kilrush Credit Union - an incredible effort by them supporting kids in their community with their very own personalised Knook books - huge congrats and well done to Fiona Walsh, Claire Neylon and the team 👏 👏

[Knook @knookstories]

Books. 📚 Books. 📚 Books.📚

Look at what our partners at @kilrushcu pulled together this week.

What an incredible Book Drop by them:
🏫 17 schools.
📚 Hundreds of books.
👦 👧 Hundreds of smiling kids right across West Clare.

Every one of them holding their own story👇

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

@rememberlenny It took me way too long to get this 😅

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

@doganuraldesign Very high quality - we use it to allow parents to edit image details on their kids personalised stories - it’s great

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

A huge congrats to everyone at @intercom (aka Fin) on the $3.6bn acquisition by Salesforce. 🚀

It's been really cool seeing all the stories and reflections from current and former Intercomrades over the last few days. I spotted a post from @MarkHuqhes that inspired me to share my own little Intercom story. 😊

Back in 2017, I started my first startup, PRELO. To say I was green would be the mother of all understatements. I REALLY hadn't a clue what I was doing.

So I blindly sent @destraynor a DM asking if he'd entertain me for a chat. To my shock, he replied and invited me into the office. I've never actually told him this before, but that conversation had a much bigger impact on me than he probably realised. 🙇‍♂️

Fast forward a few years, and luckily I had the chance to go and work at Intercom. The main reason I joined was because I felt I had some kind of debt to pay for that first meeting, but selfishly I also wanted to see first-hand what a great product company looked like.

In many ways, I found that period challenging. I felt a little lost about who I was and what I wanted to do after my first startup. But even with that said, I learned so so much:

What stuck with me most:
• What good product building actually looks like. The place was FULL to the brim of incredible Irish talent.
• Being obsessed with the job the customer is trying to accomplish
• The importance of actually talking to customers - over and over again (I know, what a shock 😅)
• Sweating the small details - every interaction with the product matters
• Asking for help is not something negative - its to be encouraged

I've carried all of those lessons with me into @knookstories

I'm so happy for everyone involved. There has been so much blood, sweat, tears and risk with the repositioning to Fin, poured into building Intercom.

I also think we'll look back on this as a significant moment for the Irish startup ecosystem.

Not just because of the companies started by Intercom employees now and in the future, but because of the next generation of young founders all over the country who get to see what's possible when a homegrown Irish company builds something really world-class. Well done to everyone involved! 🚀

PS. A special shoutout to all my friends in the Messenger group - I miss ya's. Hope you enjoy the celebrations 🍻

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

@boconnorchest @ballsdotie A very close second 😏

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

@destraynor Big congrats Des - unreal news and delighted for all the Intercom crew 👏

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

One thing I've become increasingly interested by recently is what happens when great kids characters become personal.

For decades, children's media has been largely one-size-fits-all.
- Every child watches the same episode.
- Reads the same story.
- Meets the same characters.

But what happens when the character stays the same and the story changes for every child?

Imagine a child going on an adventure with Bluey - Not reading about Bluey's day - Their day.

Imagine Peppa Pig helping Jimmy solve a problem with a friend. Exploring space together. Going on a treasure hunt through Jimmy's local town.

Learning new things through an adventure that feels like it was created specifically for him.

What's exciting to me isn't just the technology behind it. It's the possibility it creates for the amazing storytellers, illustrators, and character creators.

For the first time, it feels possible for a single character to appear in millions of unique stories while still feeling personal and inclusive to every child experiencing them.

The character stays the same. The adventure becomes personal.

I think we're going to see some incredibly creative people build things in this space over the next few years.

Curious - is anyone experimenting with this today? @OfficialBlueyTV @peppapig @Disney

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

@realBobbyHealy Thanks a million Bobby 🙇‍♂️

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

This one is very cool for us at @knookstories

- A big welcome to @MannaAero to the Knook Book Drop 📚🚀

I've been a huge fan of what the team at Manna are building for a long time. It's amazing to see an Irish company leading the way in innovation and showing the world what's possible in drone technology.

At Knook, we're always looking for new ways to get children excited about reading. So when the opportunity came up for children to receive their very own personalised storybook delivered by 'spaceship', we couldn't resist. 😊

A huge thank you to everyone at Manna for getting behind this, and a special shout-out to Rachel Rutherford, Stuart O'Callaghan and @realBobbyHealy for all the hard work and support in making it happen.

The mission to help more children fall in love with reading is only possible because of partners like this. 🚀📚

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

@elonmusk @AJamesMcCarthy @elonmusk we (@knookstories) are helping kids fall in love with reading books - would you like to invest?

(We are early but signals are strong 😉)

[Tommy Courtney 👨‍💻 @TommyC15]

Things you love to see 😉 @knookstories #knookbookdrop

[Knook @knookstories]

Another brilliant local organisation has joined the Knook Book Drop 📚

We’re delighted to welcome Dundalk and Carrickmacross Credit Union as the latest sponsor supporting personalised storybooks for primary school children in their community.