Link! Best Business Plan Award Winner
The Link! Best Business Plan Award for 2009 has been won by 'Happy Threads'. Photo Daniel Plewman, Happy Threads and Pat Lynch, Chairperson of Dublin City Enterprise Board presenting the Precious Link! Trophy (sponsored by http://www.precious.ie/).
Happy Threads (www.happythreads.ie) provides personalised garments through the importation of garments and providing a personalisation service (embroidery of names and logos). This embroidery service is carried out in Ireland. Additional items, such as fashionable ergonomic work footwear, are also offered. New products will constantly be sourced (such as medical theatre hats) as there will be ongoing market research into all areas of professional garment requirements. A website has been designed so that new products can be added and removed as required. Exclusive distribution rights for Ireland and UK for a number of brands is currently being negotiated.
Daniel Plewman, a chartered engineer, manages and operates the business and Dr. Abigail Moore, a paediatric dentist, acts as a consultant. Both promoters have many contacts in the healthcare industry.
During recent travels in the United States (January 2009), Daniel became aware of the offering of personalised fashion scrubs to healthcare professionals. Scrubs are tops and trousers worn by many healthcare professionals. Personalisation services such as embroidering a name and logo are offered by some US e-retailers.
Daniel’s wife, Dr. Abigail Moore, purchased some of these products through the internet, getting them shipped to a colleague’s house in the United States as the on-line stores do not ship to Ireland or the UK. Many of her colleagues subsequently expressed an interest in these garments, stating that nothing of a similar nature is currently available in Ireland.
The garments are stylishly fitted, have a quality feel to the material and are available in a large range of styles and colours and were delivered with a personalised name and tooth logo. Happy Thread’s research of a sample of healthcare professionals confirmed that the current selection of garments available in Ireland was found to be unflattering, uncomfortable and of limited choice.
A business name was registered and various manufactures were contacted. Currently happythreads supplies 3 brands; koi, Alegria and Hejco They are supplied through a website (www.happythreads.ie) and traditional distribution channels (direct sales). The UK market will be also be supplied through a (www.happythreads.co.uk) with similar products subject to licence. In addition exclusive distribution rights are being negotiated, which will allow the company to distribute to retail outlets.
Best Business Plan - 2nd Place
GRIP Communications (www.membergrip.com is Dublin-based software company providing development of bespoke, database-driven software systems and applications. GRIP Communications is incorporated as a limited liability company.
Jaroslaw Woznica and Milena Woznica are the company promoters and its major shareholders.
Since February 2008 GRIP Communications’ team have been working on the design and development of the company’s first fully owned software product. memberGRIP is web-based membership management solution helping member-based organisations to transform the way they manage and communicate with their members.
memberGRIP is dedicated to all organisations which need to efficiently manage their
members including business clubs and associations, professional and trade societies,
industry associations and guilds, hobby, leisure, sport clubs, etc.
memberGRIP provides three major benefits:
- It allows organisations (and their admin staff) to be more organised and effective in managing and communicating with their members
- It gives organisations (and their admin staff) more time to engage with their members and bring them closer to the organisation
- It helps organisations to keep their members happy, increasing members retention and bringing more new members
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Photographer: www.declancassidy.com