Enterprise award exceeds the expectations of sisters
By Maurice Garvey
TWO sisters from Tallaght have won a share of the second annual AIB Women in Enterprise programme.
Kilnamanagh sisters Wendy Slattery and Tracy Leavy, established The Beauty Buddy in 2017 – a data analytics company for the beauty and cosmetic industry
Wendy Slattery and Tracey Leavy from The Beauty Buddy
Now based in Kildare, their business operates out of an incubation hub on Maynooth University campus.
After winning the AIB programme, the sisters will share winnings of €40,000 with fellow finalists Flowithme, Advanced Technical Concepts, Chupi and Dooley’s Hotel.
The Beauty Buddy gathers data for beauty brands and retailers through a TripAdvisor-type App, where users can rate and find products they’ve used or want to use.
They recently raised €340,000 from investors that included the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Almost 80 companies took part in the AIB Women in Enterprise programme, an eight-month initiative that kicked off in December 2018.
Wendy Slattery said the academy “exceeded our expectations and I would recommend any female CEO or MD to apply to participate.”
Wendy and Tracy availed of previous opportunities to develop their business via New Frontiers, NDRC/PorterShed, Enterprise Ireland-led training, Google Adopt a Startup, DCU Ryan Academy Female High-Fliers and AIB Growth Academy.
The Beauty Buddy App has been in the hands of almost 1,000 ‘Beauty Buddies’.
These have been with Beauty Buddy from the start, testing and trying to break the app as new versions were released.
The sisters’ vision for Beauty Buddy is to be the ‘go to App for all things beauty and cosmetic’.
