Sweetspot Sourcing directors Fiona Craul and Susan Dempsey
Business & Finance highlights some of the top movers and shakers in Ireland.
What is it? Sweetspot Sourcing is a product-sourcing business. Clients use their expertise to find products and the factories that can make them. Sweetspot offers a full-service solution of design, sampling, manufacturing, quality control and delivery. Their client base is over 100 companies, and these vary from national to multinational brands, public sector, retail outlets, marketing and print agencies. Who’s behind it? Sweetspot was founded in 2012 by Susan Dempsey and Fiona Craul. Previously, Dempsey worked in international sales for a lighting company, while Craul was working in China for an Irish importer. Their head office is in Naas, Co. Kildare, and in 2013 they opened an office in Fujian, China.
How is it funded? Their business model is self-financing, and the plan from the beginning was to build up slowly, to minimise overheads and build up a cash reserve in the business. They availed of support through the local enterprise offices and recently received an Innovation Voucher through Enterprise Ireland. Future plans? Their immediate plans are to focus on sales, and the target for 2016 is turnover of €1.5m. They are also producing their own range of retail products that will provide an additional revenue stream and are utilising their EI Innovation Voucher by working with the National College of Art and Design to develop this range. They are recent finalists in the Small Firms Association Awards. 
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