One of the highlights of last year's Open Coffee calendar in Limerick was the visit by local entrepreneurs Patrick and John Collison, two of the co-founders of Auctomatic, a company which develops tools for power sellers on eBay. Just 6 months previously, Patrick had taken leave from his first year studies at MIT and John, who was 16 at the time, was a transition year student at Castletroy College in Limerick. Within a few months, they had been accepted by the US startup bootcamp fund, Y Combinator and, on the suggestion of their new investors, they joined forces with a UK company and moved to San Francisco where Auctomatic was born. Just a few weeks ago, the Collisons made national headlines when Auctomatic was sold to Canadian company Live Current Media, and Ireland acquired its newest, and youngest, self-made millionaires. In this interview, Patrick talks about the history of Auctomatic, and his new role as Director of Engineering at Live Current Media. He explains his belief that moving to Silicon Valley gave his startup a better chance of success than if they had remained in Ireland. And he answers the question whether, at 19, his startup days are behind him?! Thursday 10th April 2008 Conn O Muineachain