Profitsflow Delivers with “Best in Class” Accreditation

Profitsflow, whose Headquarters are located in Wexford Enterprise Centre, was recently awarded the coveted All-Ireland ERP Solution Provider 2021 accreditation, signifying it meets the highest standards of service and trust.

Profitsflow was founded in 2009 by current CEO Tadhg Henderson. With a background in implementing enterprise IT solutions, Tadhg saw opportunity in providing a fully turnkey, end-to-end and personal service to the manufacturing & field service sectors in the provision of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

Now officially recognised as ‘Best in Class’, the All-Ireland ERP Solution Provider 2021 accreditation is overseen by the prestigious All-Ireland Business Foundation, whose adjudication panel is chaired by Dr Briga Hynes of the Kemmy Business School at the University of Limerick and Kieran Ring, CEO of the Global Institute of Logistics.

Dr Hynes said the accreditation, which is now held by over 350 firms, is needed by the thousands of small and medium businesses which operate to their own standards, but have nothing to measure them by. “We evaluate a company’s background, trustworthiness and performance, and we speak to customers, employees and vendors,” she said.  “We also anonymously approach the company as a customer and report back on the experience. The business goes through at least two interviews and is scored on every part of the process against set metrics.”

Commenting on the award, Profitsflow’s CEO Tadhg Henderson said “This is the culmination of many years’ hard work. This accreditation proves what we already know, that we provide a truly excellent service to our customers in delivering their projects. Every single member of the Profitsflow team past and present has played a part in ensuring we are recognised by our customers and suppliers as Best in Class.

Congratulations to all the team at Profitsflow! Another local business making a huge and far-reaching impact. You can find out more about this award-winning Wexford-based company on www.profitsflow.com

Tánaiste Announces Funding for Enterprise Centres to help combat the effects of Covid-19

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, today announced €8.24m in grants for 95 Enterprise Centres around the country under Enterprise Ireland’s Enterprise Centres Fund.

Under the Powering the Regions – Enterprise Centre Scheme, Wexford Enterprise Centre received €144,395 in funding. This Fund, which was launched in August, was open to both not-for-profit and for-profit enterprise centres which have seen their income significantly impacted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic we eligible to apply for grants ranging from €10k to €150k.

The funding announced today through Enterprise Ireland will ensure that the enterprise centres, many of whom have been negatively impacted by Covid-19, can sustain their businesses, pivot and further develop their services to support the next wave of Irish start-up companies.

Wexford Enterprise Centre, an independent, not-for-profit organisation, is home to 32 startups and SMEs. The grant will used for capital improvements to the building, a business support plan and a health and well-being programme for the resident businesses and their employees. Wexford Enterprise Centre will also invest an additional €36,000 to meet the cost of the plan.

Under the strategy, measures to increase the health and safety features in the building include the installation of ‘touchless’ facilities on all doors and taps and the construction of a high-tech studio to facilitate online meetings and conferences.

An extensive business support plan is also in progress and encompasses three components: a ‘triage’ programme, to identify and provide support to businesses at risk of not making it through the crisis by identifying their needs and then providing them with a team of specialists to help them recover from the brink; a ‘Pro-Team’ project, which pairs relatively new Entrepreneurs with older, more experienced business leaders to mentor and take an active role within the start-up companies; the third programme, the ‘Ark Sessions’ is a series of forums for additional training and development purposes. A health and well-being programme will also be established to form a holistic approach.

Enterprise Centres are embedded in communities in every county in the country. They provide space and training for entrepreneurs, allowing them to work remotely, access training and advice, and network with other business leaders. Wexford Enterprise Centre, which officially opened its doors in 1989, was the first of its kind in Ireland and is recognised as pioneers in the field of social enterprise.

Welcoming this announcement, Chief Executive of Wexford Enterprise Centre, Brendan Ennis said, “Small businesses by their nature combat challenges on a daily basis, so in many ways they are best placed to tackle the challenges this pandemic brings. But to do this, they need support, guidance and time. This grant enables us to provide those businesses located here at Wexford Enterprise Centre with that opportunity and we are grateful to Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for their robust support for the SME and start-up sector in response to the Covid-19 crisis. In particular, I wish to thank Enterprise Ireland, who throughout the years of various economic ups and downs, has helped to establish, develop and nurture an environment for enterprise centres across Ireland to thrive.

Following opportunity: David Dempsey, Co-founder of Salesforce Europe and Board member of Wexford Enterprise Association recounts his career path.

We are led to believe that a traditional career path includes finishing secondary school, going to University and studying a particular subject and then continuing in that field for the rest of your working life. But many career paths are less straight forwarded and are instead guided by opportunity, curiosity and drive.

David Dempsey is an original co-founder of Salesforce Europe, bringing Salesforce into Europe in 2000. He is also a proud Wexford man and is one our dynamic, voluntary Board members with Wexford Enterprise Association who lend their energy and expertise for the betterment of Wexford.

We often measure ‘success’ based on a person’s present position. However, it is probably better to measure it by how they arrived in their present position. Opportunity, curiosity and drive are key.

David’s road to ‘success’ not only included business experience, but invaluable life experience. David left school at 16 to go to work for An Post and would eventually be introduced to the field of IT while working there. After being made redundant, which proved to be opportunity in disguise, he went to work with Oracle and spent 11 years there gaining experience in the rapidly changing world of IT. It was only after reading an article in Business Week magazine that he and two of his business colleagues got an idea to set up Salesforce in Ireland. The very example of an Entrepreneur.

David tells his story in more detail in the Irish Independent https://bit.ly/3kpU1Sv

Photo by Mary Browne