Hello everyone!
We have some exciting news to share. Sunstone won Best Professional Services (Less than 10 Employees) at the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Chamber Business Awards last week at the Royal Marine Hotel.
We can now say our company and technology are officially ‘multiple-award winning,’ which feels pretty incredible to type.
Normally this is the part where people talk about feeling humbled, but we’re going to spare the cliches and tell you a story instead.
One of the coolest moments of the night actually happened before the ceremony. We were chatting with a few of the other finalists about what we do when someone asked, “How did you guys do all that with such a small team?”
Then more questions followed, not in a “surely you had to have outsourced this” way, but out of genuine curiosity. People really wanted to know how we pulled it off, how something that looks large on the outside is being built by such a small team on the inside.
It was surreal in the best way to realise that people can already see the scale of what we are building, even with fewer than ten of us behind it.
We’re very lucky to have a team that shows up with that level of care. Not because anyone is watching, but because they want the quality to stand on its own. That’s the part that feels the most special.
What this award is really about
A lot of tools in this space are built on the idea that more data = better. MORE DASHBOARDS, MORE METRICS, MORE DATA!!!
We wanted to build something different. Something that is easier to understand and actually useful, not just impressive in volume.
For us, the real question is always: does this help someone make a better decision? Does it actually change what they do next?
MAPS makes sure people are looking in the right place to begin with. SaleSight then helps them focus on the companies that are genuinely a good fit, not just the ones that look nice in a report.
It is not about having more data. It is about having the right data, the kind that actually moves a decision forward.
When teams use our tools and walk away saying, “I never would have thought of that, this changes everything,” it confirms that what we are building is making a real difference.
A small team that builds close
What makes our team special is that everyone brings something different, and we are all actually part of the whole thing from beginning to end. Nobody is just passing work along or doing their tiny slice. We figure it out together and build it together, and when it lands, we all feel it.
We still have Friday coffee every week and play Heardle, and it is just fun building things with people you actually know and enjoy working with.
We will grow, of course, but this part is staying. The small team feeling, the shared voice, and the sense that the product reflects the people in the room.
Thank you
We really want to thank the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Chamber of Commerce for recognising our work and for creating such a supportive space for local businesses. We are also grateful to Business Plus dmg media for sponsoring the category and to the Royal Marine Hotel for hosting such a lovely evening.
We were proud to stand alongside the other finalists. There is so much talent and creativity in this county and it feels good to be building among people who care about what they are doing too.
A meaningful milestone
We are still early in our journey, but this award feels like a little moment of “yes, people see what we’re doing!” The whole idea behind Sunstone has always been clarity over noise, depth over volume, and quality over quantity. Being recognised for that approach means a lot.
We are grateful for the support, and for everyone who has believed in us so far!
— Roger (Founder & CEO), Aisling (Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer), and the entire Sunstone team
