Cyd Connects, founded by Aisling Connaughton, is a women-led sustainability consultancy, that supports businesses of all sizes, both established and new, with their sustainability strategies and reporting.

 “We help businesses become a force for good, which we believe all businesses can be.

 My background includes a long and enlightening journey in the beauty industry, working in PR which included sustainability, marketing, and communications at L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, Clarins, and Liz Earle. This part of my career opened my eyes to the huge amount of greenwashing going on. There’s a lot of it in the beauty industry today, though my experience at Liz Earle showed me it didn’t need to be this way.”

 After a career change which saw Aisling join Huawei, as part of the PR team, she began to notice that businesses that didn't have a sustainability strategy had a crisis strategy instead. 

"There was something about this that needed to change, so I decided to come back home and do a full-time master's in sustainability. I just knew I wanted to help businesses become part of the solution instead of the problem.”

Becoming Self Employed

Connaughton, who attended Cambridge Judge Business School, was inspired to take the leap into becoming an entrepreneur after taking part in the inspirational and empowering Rising Women Leaders Programme.

 “I was incredibly lucky to get a scholarship to Cambridge Judge Business School in the UK where I was part of an insightful and much-needed programme. 

In this program, I learned how excluded women had been from the economy in very recent history. So much so that in the UK & Ireland women couldn't even set up bank accounts in their own name until the 1970s. They needed to get a man to underwrite it. 

 For such a long time, women were completely excluded from the economy, which means that now, while we do have equality and equity and the opportunity to set up businesses, we often lack confidence, with imposter syndrome holding us back.

 By learning about all of this and realising what holds women back in business, it dawned on me that I also had the same fears. I decided that wouldn’t do. So after the program, I took the plunge and set up my own business.”

Communication to Make a Difference

“I believe what makes Cyd Connects different is that we don’t only help businesses with sustainability reporting, but we also help them communicate it.

Rather than producing a sustainability report that sits in a drawer, never to be read, we work with the company to find the best way to get the information through the communication pillars of the business, meaning it has the power to truly change things. This is where my background in communication makes a real difference to the businesses we support.

We sit down with the marketing team or business leaders and ask the big questions: How can we help sustainability drive your business goals? How can we help it give you a competitive advantage? How can we help it drive sales and help you take a leadership position?”

Challenges & Opportunities

“Our biggest challenge was that when we launched we were a service-based business, which means it's time for money. To solve this we launched a digital product. This product helps start-ups and SMEs become B Corp certified.

Our greatest opportunity is a big one, it’s that we’re a sustainability-driven business. This is a new sector and is growing at an exciting rate. I believe that every business is going to need help with this, so there’s a real opportunity here.”

Refining Their Business Model

“When we first started the business, we worked with any company that needed help, regardless of industry. But with time and experience, we’ve learned where we can add the most value and make the biggest impact. So, we’ve refined our focus, targeting specific sectors and being more selective about who we work with.”

Stand Out Moment

For Aisling, overcoming her fear of public speaking stands out as a moment she is most proud of.

“I’d always had a fear of public speaking. I've had a long corporate career, but I'd always feared standing up and speaking in front of a group. I used to encourage my team to do most of the speaking instead of me. This changed when I set the business up, I was invited to give a TED talk on the topic of; “What does Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Have to do With the Climate Crisis?”

This was my moment to get over my fears. I had to just go for it, and so I did just that. Now I speak all the time. I've given another TED talk and I get invited to speak at various things and I've realised that I'm actually quite a good public speaker.

Sometimes, the things you’re best at are the very things you’re most afraid of. I knew I was on the right path when I saw my fears but was brave enough to step forward and overcome them anyway.”

LEO Supports

Cyd Connects has been awarded several LEO supports including;

• Priming Grant
• Green for Business
• Mentoring

 “The Priming Grant for our business it turned out to be so much more than just funding - though that was, of course, incredibly important too. We sat down with our Business Advisor, Paul McGabhann, and he had us do so much work to get the grant. I’ll admit, at the time, I was a bit frustrated by how much effort went into the application. But looking back, all that work we put in to secure the funding has been incredibly useful.

Creating a solid strategy, all that business planning, and having someone critically review our work have all helped to sharpen our sword. Sometimes, especially in the early stages, you need another sword to help sharpen your own.

 All the information and documents we worked hard to pull together have since been used time and time again for other challenges and opportunities within our business. So, as well as getting the funding, the knowledge and understanding of our business strategy has gotten us to where we are today. 

 We've also been on a wonderful leadership training programme covered by Optimum Results, which I highly, highly recommend. LEO has offered us invaluable support and opportunities, and when those opportunities come along I think people should really go for them.”

Plans for the Future

“Simply put, we’re looking to expand the business globally. We currently have business in the UK and Finland, and now we're looking at ways we can expand into the US.We want to find and work with businesses that have the power to make a big impact through sustainable change.” 

Advice for New Entrepreneurs

“You have to look at what your fears are and overcome them. As I recently discovered, the thing you’re most afraid of may just be one of your biggest strengths and by avoiding it you could be holding yourself back. 

The second thing is; done is better than perfect, so just get going!”

Contact

Tel: 00353 87 479 0032

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