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A Sharp Eye website, started two years ago by two Greenwich women, grows in popularity even as its founders face hurdles in their efforts to stay current.
"We really knew nothing when we started. It was the steepest learning curve, and now we're facing another one," co-founder Nancy Ireland said. She and co-founder Ginny Day financially support the site out of pocket, but they are looking for advertising to expand.
"Advertisers want websites with a certain level of sophistication," said Ireland. "Our site was set up simply, so now we're redesigning, technologically speaking, to better serve our readers."
Two years ago, Ireland and Day were tossing around business ideas. "My daughters introduced me to lifestyle newsletters for teens and twenty-somethings, but we couldn't find anything in that vein for the demographic of women over 35," said Ireland.
A Sharp Eye centers around four themes the women are passionate about. "In the Know" covers home, health, technology as well as family and friends. "Doing Things" is entertainment, travel and outings. "Shopping" suggests the perfect gifts and covers fashion, home and personal luxuries. "Greater Good" includes the green scene, philanthropy, volunteering and celebrates the efforts of others.
"Our audience, mainly women, are 35 and older, well-educated, smart, well-traveled, sophisticated and busy," said Ireland. "They value their privacy, want to stay current, but don't spend as much time surfing the Internet. We see ourselves as editors of all that information they need to stay current."
Ireland and Day update the site with articles three times a week and write every day. Each edits the other's pieces before they are published. As the site says, their aim is to "Be cutting edge, be current, be clever."
To keep current, Ireland says they need to delve deeper into social networking and interactivity. "We're about to have a whole new look in the next few months," she said.
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