‘A true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer’. Sarah Jones is living proof of this. Bitten by the bug at just 14, Sarah set up a profitable eBay business importing items from across the globe and selling in the UK, igniting a love for e-commerce and developing an acute business mind in the process.
Four years later, a degree in Economics at Edinburgh University beckoned, which not only heightened Sarah’s financial acumen, but also her highly competitive nature! Her placement at Deloitte London in the retail M&A team led to an international secondment in the Middle East just a few years later.
Which is where the Mini Exchange story really begins, and to a point, where Sarah the CEO figure emerges. Described by her friends, as “a relentless enterprise of fresh ideas and innovations” she’s never lost the thirst for clinching a business deal first hand and is a self-confessed workaholic. Her phone is never off, her mind is always active and her passion to drive the business forward is unrivaled.
Spotting a gap in the market on arrival, Sarah secured funding for Mini Exchange in a matter of months, growing from an exchange platform for parents to a hugely successful e-commerce venture in just two years.
Never one to rest on her laurels, in 2016, Sarah turned her attention to growing the brand portfolio to include- “At Home” and Pre/Post Pregnancy “Get Fit” categories, thus paving the way for Mini Exchange to evolve and become the destination providing Everything For Mums. A natural extension for the online portal, a brand refresh followed in early 2017 to establish this as the core proposition of the business, focusing on top categories and products required by the modern mummy. Introducing Sprii.com- the shopping hub loved and trusted by mums in the Middle East.
Awards & Accolades for Sprii.com and Sarah Jones Small Business CEO of the Year Award, a listing in Arabian Business’s 50 Most Influential Brits in the UAE, the E-Commerce Enterprise Agility Award and was selected for Google’s prestigious BlackBox accelerator program in Silicon Valley in 2015. 2016 proved equally successful, winning ‘Online Business of the Year Award’ at the Gulf Capital SME Awards and appearing on Forbes Middle East’s ’50 Of The Most Promising Start Ups’ list.
For more information visit: www.sprii.com