Written by Iarla Muldoon.
Orreco is a Sligo start-up bio-technology company that has been making waves all around the world of sport in recent years, working with teams such as the Dallas Mavericks and Newcastle United, individual athletes such as Padraig Harrington and Sonia O’Sullivan as well as many other top level Olympians and athletes.
The company originally started with an idea to allow elite level athletes to grasp a more insightful knowledge of their bodies and their recovery cycles through sophisticated blood sample testing to predict periods of iron deficiency.
Brian Moore, CEO of Orreco, joined us live from LA on Wednesday's OTB AM this to share his story with us and how his Sligo startup has become a 'ten-year overnight success.'
Sonia was so far ahead of her time, there were often elements that we dealt with with her back in the day that maybe athletes still haven’t caught up with yet
Moore roots the emergence of Orreco in an idea that came to him while the Sligo native was completing his PHD in Brunel University London.
"We had a simple idea," Moore recalled, "[that we could] use advanced blood testing to pick up iron deficiencies maybe 10 weeks to 12 weeks before they actually manifest.”
Piquing the interest of Irish Olympian Sonia O'Sullivan, Moore and his colleagues found an athlete marked her relentlessness to learn and improve.
"Sonia was so far ahead of her time," Moore explains, "there were often elements that we dealt with with her back in the day that maybe athletes still haven’t caught up with yet."
Recently, Orreco have found themselves working with Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks and the array of young, exciting stars plying their trade with the Texan club in the NBA; Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis two of the best known young players who are the focus for Moore and his colleagues.
Recalling how he forged the links with Cuban and his NBA team, Moore revealed how a chance (albeit a carefully structured one) led to great reward.
"I actually sent a cold email to him," Moore explained.
"I did take a day to draft it but when I pressed send he came back within 40 minutes.
"It kind of shocked me [that] a man with the amount of business interests he has, that he could respond to an email that quickly, my inbox is a mess!”
Brian Moore goes into greater detail about Sonia O'Sullivan, his work with the Dallas Mavericks and Newcastle United, as well as dealing with criticism in the interview you can watch above.
