What if you never had to hand out a paper business card again? That’s the vision Laura Maher has been building towards for the past four years. As the founder of SmartCards.ie — Ireland’s first digital business card — this Tallaght entrepreneur is quietly changing how professionals network, and she’s only getting started.
The press release below was created by TU Dublin marketing students during the WorkIQ PR & Media Workshop 2026.
SMART move by Tallaght Entrepreneur
Laura Maher makes the initiative to launch Irelands first digital business card.
(Tallaght, 13/04/2026) – Laura Maher, Tallaght entrepreneur founder of SmartCards.ie began her journey five years ago when inspired by digital cards in the UK. She was influenced to start her business seeing the inconvenience of paper cards at events.
In her beginning she moved from a management course to a letting agency during the Celtic Tiger. This is when she found her desire to get into sales. From there on she shrived in this sector, from finding a product people were talking about it non-stop in the UK. She decided to bring this idea to her homeland by producing the cards in house in WorkIQ. This decision shaped the future of digital business cards in Ireland.
In Ireland she set her mission out on bringing this information to the public and possible clients. This process was more difficult than set out to be. Trying to sell her product came with complications, she explained to clients what the main process was, so that they understood what a smartcard was. From her own words Laura said, “I want comfort confidence and curiosity using smart cards”. This process became easier to understand for companies and made the products not only grow but exceed limits beyond expectation.
Laura has set out on a new mission, to introduce a new physical smart card for hospitality purposes in Ireland. She plans to do this through affiliate marketing. The purpose of this is to make it easier for tourists access the likes of restaurant and other hospitality purposes.
From producing smart cards in-house at WorkIQ to now targeting the Irish hospitality sector, Laura Maher’s journey is a masterclass in spotting a gap and running with it. Read more founder stories from the WorkIQ community.
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