Local entrepreneurs highlight merits of midlands as base at Founders Friday event

A packed Founders Friday event in Mullingar last week showcased the strength of entrepreneurship in the midlands, as two leading businesss people shared how they built and scaled successful enterprises.

The event, held on Friday April 17, upstairs at Canton Casey’s, featured Denise Buckley, founder of Sugar Plum Sweetery in Mullingar, and John Mee, co-founder of Athlone-based software company Sidero.

The evening was hosted by Ronan Berry, and the opening remarks were from sponsors, Tom Griffith of MidlandJobs.ie, Catriona Duffy of Local Enterprise Office Westmeath, and David Gleeson of AllPro Recruitment.

A theme throughout the evening was the shared background of both speakers, who grew up on farms, where hard work and resilience were part of everyday life and later shaped their approach to business.

Sugar Plum Sweetery is a brand built around customer experience and the idea of “making memories sweet”. Drawing on more than 16 years in luxury retail, Denise explained how understanding why customers buy and how they feel in a space became central to the business.

Despite initial scepticism, Denise launched the business in 2022 and focused on creating a shop inspired by a sense of wonder. Constant product testing and a focus on innovation led to rapid growth, and demand was increasing by more than 500 percent at peak periods as the business went from producing a handful of products per hour to thousands per day.

At one point, demand created a six-week waiting list, forcing rapid expansion, investment in machinery and increased staffing levels.

John Mee described his career as a “pinball machine”, where progress often came through unexpected changes in direction. He described early setbacks, including a key investor pulling out at the last minute, which led to a move into services.

That led to the growth of Sidero, which grew from a small team to 240 employees and was acquired by GlobalLogic, part of the Hitachi Group, in 2023.

A lesson from John’s experience was the importance of hiring the right people, and the company became known for an ability to recruit quickly and build strong teams, including internationally.

Both speakers highlighted the challenges of recruitment, costs and maintaining quality during periods of rapid growth.

Denise also emphasised the importance of understanding margins and financial performance at all stages of the business.

The midlands as a place to build a business was also a theme, as both speakers highlighted the growing talent base, strong community networks and the role of institutions such as TUS and major employers in supporting business growth.

Founders Friday is an AllPro Recruitment event; and this one was in collaboration with MidlandJobs.ie and LEO Westmeath. Organisers said IT reflects the growing momentum of business activity in the region. “There is a huge amount of talent and ambition across the midlands, and events like this are about making that visible and giving people access to real founder experiences,” they said.