Claire and Iona soft-launched their first set of resources with their adult swimming group during 2023, which required a small amount of investment, but at the start of 2024 they were able to use the profits to print their follow-up product. The resources are tried and tested with swimmers before they get them professionally printed, and they have responded to feedback to make the final products as brilliant as possible.
Once they started creating resources, they could see opportunities far faster than they could meet them; Swim Sets have their advanced adult resources in development and are also building a set that supports the teaching of the children’s curriculum. Claire’s younger clients have had first-hand experience of trialling the prototypes and helped them understand what they connect with best.
‘When we entered the Spark business plan competition, we didn’t know whether anyone else would be interested in our idea. Our resources have transformed the way we train and teach, and our own swimmers love them, but getting such constructive input at the presentation day was a fantastic confidence booster for us. The people we’ve met at Spark have helped us to think more critically about how we can reach a far wider audience and improve swimming lessons for many more swimmers and coaches.’
Spark have also highlighted the exciting possibilities for the future of their business and have encouraged them to dream big! The networking event for the competition was helpful to meet other innovators and learn from their experiences, and we’ve also had a 1:1 session to think through how to present our pitch.
Iona’s coming months will focus on finishing her degree, but they are both keen to continue their relationship with Spark as their business grows over the next few years.
