The fintech, which is led by co-founders James Fahy and Ciara Walsh, provides a cashless platform that streamlines tipping processes in the hospitality sector.
Between carrying out hands-on tasks to knowing how to deal with both happy and frustrated customers, there is often more than meets the eye when it comes to hospitality jobs.
After all, let’s not forget the ringer many of those in the Irish hospitality sector went through both during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. In short, you need to be a very disciplined and driven person to succeed in this sector.
It is for this reason that Irish start-up JustTip developed a cashless tipping platform to allow for its users to express their gratitude to hospitality workers.
JustTip was founded in 2021 by James Fahy (who is also its CEO) and Ciara Walsh. Initially set up in Fahy’s bedroom, the Dublin-based start-up is used by more than 600 merchants and 13,000 employees in both Europe and the UK, according to the company.
“JustTip predominantly operates in the hospitality sector to provide clarity and transparency on tips left by customers for staff,” Fahy said. “As well as ensuring tips go directly to staff, JustTip brings businesses fully in line with tipping laws in the EU and the UK.”
Fahy said the platform is completely modular with multiple products that can be used in tandem or by itself. These, he said, are designed to make tips and service charges simple and quick to process. “This is all due to our orchestration layer, TINA, which has been built around collection, allocation and distribution of tips, as well as logging everything to keep businesses in line with legislation.
“JustTip works with businesses of all sizes across industry; from takeaway and casual dining, to Michelin star locations,” he said.
Noticing a ‘headache’ for employers
Fahy and Walsh first established the company when they were both 19 years of age. “We had just finished secondary school at the time, and we identified a problem that employees, employers and consumers faced: what happens after a tip is left, and how do we know it goes to the right person? At the same time, Covid-19 had accelerated the move away from cash, which was the main source of tipping.”
He added that employers were getting stuck with the “headache” of allocating tips out to staff, as well as staying compliant with legislation. “I noticed this particular issue in October 2021 when I was in a restaurant where I wanted to leave a tip but [I] had no cash and no facility to leave an electronic tip; and the idea of JustTip was born.”
Spotting this gap in the market, he brought the idea to Walsh. “As well as being long-time friends, we also knew we had complementary skills and would be able to fill gaps in knowledge for each other.”
Now, as the business enters 2025, JustTip employs a team of 15 workers across both Ireland and the UK, and according to Fahy, it achieved 300pc year-on-year growth last year.
On top of this, JustTip launched two new products in 2024, and the company was named the overall winner of the 2024 Enterprise Ireland Student Entrepreneur Awards. And the success just seems to keep on coming. The company has raised €2.1m over the past three years, including a €1.1m funding round in December last year in order to fuel its planned expansion into the UK.
Fahy said that JustTip’s short-term goal is to push further into the UK, as well as the EU, by servicing its network and growing our user base.
“As more countries implement legislation similar to the Irish and UK governments, which were passed in 2022 and 2024 respectively, the long-term goal is to enable businesses to complete tasks effortlessly and efficiently,” he said. “As the hospitality sector continues to embrace and implement new technology, JustTip wants to enable staff to earn more as well as bringing more products to employers to reduce admin work as well as saving costs.
“We will continue to raise as we grow so we can accelerate our start-up journey and continue to bring on new team members who will help us grow.”
Making mistakes early proved advantageous
Fahy also didn’t shy away from discussing the challenges that have come JustTip’s way. “As a young founding team, raising funding and finding the right team to build the company have been our biggest challenges to date. We were lucky to build a great network of advisers around us to help with mistakes.
“As well as that, making mistakes early and learning fast the hard way has been extremely beneficial for us – a line that I was told when I was starting JustTip was ‘Fail fast, fail forward and fail cheaply. If you succeed, you have a lean business and you are ahead of where you were when you began’.”
He also praised Ireland’s start-up network. “We have managed to make an incredible network even at such a young age. There are so many events on that you can meet people at, and so many grants and opportunities provided by the likes of Enterprise Ireland.”
Fahy added that there are also several great independent networks, and that Walsh in particular has “found the female entrepreneur networks across Ireland and the UK invaluable”.
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