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The Entrepreneur Experiment

Gary Fox

Discover how world-class entrepreneurs, elite thinkers, and peak performers master success in business, body, and brain.

Every week, I sit down with extraordinary people to explore how they build thriving businesses, maintain peak physical health, and cultivate sharp, resilient minds.

Together, we’ll discover the habits, systems, and experiments they use to create their unique formulas for success.

Join me as you learn how to build like a founder, train like an athlete, and think like an artist—so we can all find our formula for success.

This isn’t just a podcast; it’s a blueprint for a new kind of founder—one who balances ambition with wellness, hard work with mental fitness, and success with purpose.

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  • 30 episodes
  • weekly
  • Avg 50 min
  • English

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  • S31 · E527
    Thursday · 1 hr 30 min

    The Uncomfortable Truth That Entrepreneurs Ignore - Dan Kiely

    Dan Kiely built one of Ireland’s great entrepreneurial success stories. Alongside Linda Green Kiely, he transformed Voxpro from a small Cork business into a global company working with some of the biggest technology companies in the world. But what did that level of success actually cost? In one of the most open conversations we have had on The Entrepreneur Experiment, Dan talks about the sacrifices required to build a company of that scale, the obsession that drove him, his relationship with Linda, cracking America, building powerful networks and eventually selling Voxpro. Then came the part nobody prepares founders for. Dan remembers looking at €45 million in his bank account after the deal and realising he had never felt more miserable. We talk about identity after an exit, addiction, giving up alcohol, learning to be present, men's mental health, his relationship with success and why he is now going back to the classroom to become a better coach and listener. Dan also explains what he looks for when investing through MASV, why Irish founders need to think globally much earlier and why relationships remain one of the greatest competitive advantages in business. This is a conversation about building a huge company. But more importantly, it is about what happens to the person who builds it. Show Notes In this episode we discuss: 00:00 Dan and Linda's extraordinary partnership 00:42 Why Linda was the original venture capitalist 04:30 Building a company valued at €150 million 05:42 What success actually cost Dan 10:00 The hidden pressure behind public success 15:00 Why Dan fought for the idea of “operational beauty” 20:40 Our growing addiction to Reels 25:30 AI will either serve you or you will serve AI 35:45 Why Irish founders need to go where their market is 40:30 Why your network is everything 46:10 Why Voxpro was “50% business and 50% show business” 50:08 Ireland's complicated relationship with failure 52:40 How America changed Dan's mindset 59:30 Addiction, ambition and giving up alcohol 01:01:13 Becoming more present and getting to know himself 01:06:15 Why every entrepreneur needs to understand their exit 01:10:50 Life immediately after selling Voxpro 01:11:27 “I had €45 million in my bank account and I've never been so miserable in my life” 01:15:00 Finding a new identity and creating MASV 01:19:10 Men's mental health and helping other founders 01:20:00 Why Dan has gone back to education 01:25:00 Linda's next chapter and using fashion to create impact Guest resources Dan Kiely on LinkedIn MASV

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  • S31 · E526
    October 8 · 1 hr

    Everyone Told Her Not to Build Peanut. She Did It Anyway | Michelle Kennedy

    Michelle Kennedy was told to build another dating app. She knew dating. She had worked at Badoo and Bumble. It was the obvious move. Instead, she built Peanut. Michelle created Peanut after becoming a mother and experiencing first hand how isolating that transition could be. What began as the product she wished existed has grown into a global community connecting women through motherhood, fertility, menopause and some of the most important stages of their lives. But the journey started unusually. Michelle raised investment before she had a product or a team. At that point, she essentially had herself, an idea and a deck. She then made another unconventional decision. Rather than slowly expanding from London across the UK, she went directly after the US market, launching into cities including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In this episode, we unpack how she did it. Michelle explains why she deliberately targeted America, what she would do differently if she were raising money today, and why taking institutional investment so early created lessons she only understood later. We also explore one of the most important but least discussed advantages in business: your network. Michelle openly admits that she spent much of her early career without understanding networking at all. She explains how she eventually realised that relationships were driving opportunities all around her, and how founders can build a network intentionally rather than simply collecting contacts. We discuss the difficult balance between founder instinct and data, why listening to every piece of advice can damage a company, and how Michelle learned to distinguish useful feedback from pressure to follow trends. Michelle also explains why she believes great consumer founders need taste, why experimentation is fundamental to building products, and why a catastrophically bad experiment can sometimes teach you far more than a small improvement. We explore Peanut's mission beyond technology and why Michelle believes real world human connection will become even more valuable as AI becomes more powerful. Michelle also shares Peanut's work around matrescence, the biological, psychological and emotional transition into motherhood, and the company's wider mission to make women's experiences better understood. And finally, Michelle shares the three qualities she believes have been most important to her success as an entrepreneur: grit, passion and team. In this episode • Why Michelle built Peanut after becoming a mother • Why people encouraged her to build another dating app instead • Raising VC funding before having a product or team • Why Peanut attacked the US market from the beginning • What Michelle would change about her fundraising strategy today • The funding challenges still facing female founders • Why founders need to filter advice • The danger of following trends instead of your customer • How Michelle learned the importance of building a network • Why relationships can become a hidden advantage in business • Combining founder instinct with data • Why great consumer founders need taste • How to run experiments that actually teach you something • Why a dramatically unsuccessful experiment can still be valuable • AI and the increasing importance of real human connection • Peanut's work around matrescence • The Village Fund and helping mothers connect in real life • Michelle's three ingredients for entrepreneurial success: grit, passion and team About Michelle Kennedy Michelle Kennedy is the founder and CEO of Peanut, a platform designed to connect women through different stages of life including fertility, pregnancy, motherhood and menopause. Before founding Peanut, Michelle worked in the dating industry at Badoo and was involved in the early development of Bumble. She launched Peanut in 2017 after experiencing first hand the need for better connection and community following the birth of her first child. Learn more about Michelle and Peanut Peanut https://www.peanut-app.io/ Download Peanut through the Apple App Store or Google Play. The Village Fund https://www.peanut-app.io/village-fund Peanut and Coterie have created a six figure fund designed to help mothers turn online connections into real world meetups and communities. Book recommended by Michelle Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth https://www.angeladuckworth.com/grit/ Michelle describes Grit as a phenomenal book and recommends it for founders. The book explores Angela Duckworth's research into why sustained passion and perseverance can matter more to long-term achievement than talent alone.

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  • S31 · E525
    October 1 · 1 hr 15 min

    From No Idea to a $25M Raised in 3 Years | Mark Hughes co-founder Solidroad

    Mark Hughes started Solidroad in Dublin in 2023 with his co founder Patrick Finlay. There was just one problem. They did not actually know what they were going to build. Three years later, Solidroad has gone through Y Combinator, built offices in Dublin and San Francisco, landed major enterprise customers and raised a $25 million Series A. In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Mark breaks down exactly how it happened. We go inside the early search for product market fit, how they got their first customers, founder led sales, getting into Y Combinator after multiple attempts, moving his life to San Francisco and the extraordinary speed at which Silicon Valley operates. Mark also tells the story of meeting First Round Capital on a Saturday, meeting the partnership on Sunday and effectively having the investment agreed by Monday. We then get into AI. Mark explains how AI has completely changed the way he works as a CEO, why he believes repetitive work is most at risk, why customer support will remain a combination of humans and AI, and how he is effectively building an AI powered operating system around his company. Finally, we talk about the biggest mistake he has made building Solidroad and the lesson he would give his younger founder self: Move faster. A fascinating conversation about ambition, fundraising, sales, AI, Silicon Valley and what it really takes to build a venture scale company. —- Our Sponsors: Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment Podcast: https://www.mrgaryfox.com/podcast —- CHAPTERS 00:00 Meet Mark Hughes and Solidroad 01:52 From Dublin startup to a $25M Series A 03:09 Why Mark became a second time founder 04:30 Starting a company without knowing what to build 06:01 How they searched for the right problem 07:49 The moment they realised they had something 09:09 Funding the company before Y Combinator 11:39 Revenue as the North Star 15:01 Why timing matters in startups 17:00 How Solidroad found its first customers 19:37 Mark's founder led sales playbook 24:28 Why moving to San Francisco changed everything 24:59 What Y Combinator actually does 26:33 Inside a typical week at YC 28:31 Getting into YC after multiple attempts 31:24 The personal cost of moving to San Francisco 34:38 What happens after Y Combinator 36:22 Inside YC Demo Day 37:27 Meeting First Round Capital 38:50 Saturday meeting, Monday money 39:53 Building a $6.5M seed round 42:10 Landing major enterprise customers 42:49 Why money raised is the wrong success metric 43:10 Why Solidroad raised again 44:56 Will AI take our jobs? 46:30 Why customer service will remain human 48:56 The jobs most exposed to AI 49:40 How an AI powered CEO works 52:42 Has Claude overtaken ChatGPT? 54:04 Raising the $25M Series A 59:05 Mark's advice for founders raising money 1:00:41 Dublin versus San Francisco 1:02:52 What comes next for Solidroad 1:03:59 Mark's biggest mistake 1:07:02 Quick fire 1:10:22 Why face to face sales will win in an AI world 1:13:37 The advice Mark wishes he had earlier 1:14:08 Speed is everything

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  • S31 · E524
    September 24 · 1 hr 10 min

    The Real Reason I Left Dragons’ Den | Sara Davies

    Sara Davies built the business that changed her life. Then she had to fight to save it. In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Sara tells the story of what happened when Crafter’s Companion, the company she founded from her bedroom, ran into serious trouble and ultimately entered administration. She talks candidly about buying the business back, the brutal 18 months that followed, and what it feels like when the company that has defined so much of your life suddenly becomes the source of enormous pressure. This is not simply a story about business recovery. We talk about the decisions and warning signs that founders can miss when a company is growing, including the uncomfortable reality of doing around £20 million in revenue while struggling for cash. Sara also opens up about stepping away from Dragons’ Den, the pressure of trying to be a founder, investor, television personality and mother at the same time, and reaching the point where she knew something had to change. We explore ADHD, hyperfocus, motherhood, guilt, resilience, investing and the psychology that has allowed Sara to keep moving forward through some of the most difficult periods of her career. In this conversation: • What really happened inside Crafter’s Companion • How a business can generate huge revenue and still run into cash problems • Why Sara decided to buy her company back • The toughest 18 months of her business career • The founder mistakes she can now see more clearly • Why she stepped back from Dragons’ Den • The pressure of combining ambition, business and family • Sara’s experience of ADHD and hyperfocus • How she evaluates entrepreneurs and investments • What difficult periods have taught her about resilience This is a very different side of Sara Davies. It is a conversation about what happens when success becomes complicated, when the business you built needs saving, and how you rebuild both the company and the founder behind it. The Entrepreneur Experiment is about one central idea: Build a better founder, not just a better business. —- Our Sponsors: Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment Podcast: https://www.mrgaryfox.com/podcast

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  • S31 · E523
    September 17 · 1 hr 14 min

    James Haskell: The Hard Truth About Success, Reinvention & Life After Rugby

    James Haskell has spent most of his life performing under pressure. He won 77 caps for England, toured with the British & Irish Lions, played professional rugby around the world and then had to figure out who he was when the game stopped. Today, James is an entrepreneur, broadcaster, author, DJ and co-host of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby. He’s also building Blackeye Spirits alongside Mike Tindall and Alex Payne. But this isn’t really an episode about rugby. It’s about building a better founder, not just a better business. We talk about why self-awareness may be the ultimate competitive advantage, how elite sport teaches you to handle brutal feedback, why ambitious people struggle to recognise when enough is enough, and how James rebuilt his identity after rugby. We also get into focus, saying no, buying back your time, therapy, accountability, personal branding, choosing business opportunities, the creator economy, why information is becoming free and why implementation is becoming more valuable. James is candid, funny and completely unfiltered throughout. If you’re ambitious, stretched across too many things, or trying to work out what success actually means to you, there’s a lot in this one. In This Episode We cover: What professional sport teaches you about business Why “you can lie to everyone else, but you can’t lie to yourself” How to receive feedback without letting your ego get in the way The four things James believes you can actually control Why achievement can leave high performers permanently unfulfilled The difference between chasing outcomes and mastering process What Eddie Jones taught him about excellence Reinventing yourself when your first career ends Why James started preparing for life after rugby at 20 Learning to say no to opportunities How he decides which businesses and projects deserve his time Why he refuses most equity-only deals Authenticity, personal branding and protecting audience trust Why information is becoming free but implementation will remain valuable Therapy, mental performance and changing your emotional state His approach to focus, batching and avoiding distraction Why even a former professional athlete pays someone to keep him accountable Buying back your time Defining how much money is actually “enough” Turning The Good, The Bad & The Rugby from a podcast into a media business Why modern podcasts need to think beyond audio Building Blackeye Spirits and the mission behind the Blackeye Rugby Fund Links & Resources James Haskell: official site covering his rugby, books, music and other projects. James Haskell official website (https://jameshaskell.com/) The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: James hosts alongside Mike Tindall and Alex Payne; the show describes itself as the world’s biggest rugby podcast. The Good, The Bad & The Rugby (https://goodbadrugby.com/) Blackeye Spirits: James, Mike Tindall and Alex Payne’s spirits business. The brand says its Rugby Fund aims to eventually invest £1 million annually supporting injured players, research, risk reduction and recovery. Blackeye Spirits (https://blackeyespirits.com/ James’s books: What A Flanker, Ruck Me and Approach (With)out Caution are all featured on his official site.

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  • S31 · E522
    September 10 · 1 hr 19 min

    Her Last Words Changed His Life. Then He Built a Business Helping Thousands | Danny Buckley

    This is one of the most personal founder stories we’ve recorded on The Entrepreneur Experiment. Danny Buckley is the co-founder of ADHD Now and a 2026 EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. But the company exists because of a far more personal story. Danny spent much of his life struggling with distraction, emotional dysregulation, anxiety and a lack of structure without understanding why. His wife Simone believed he had ADHD. Danny dismissed it. Then life changed completely. After years of serious health challenges, Simone became critically ill. The day before she died, she told Danny that life was short, that he needed to stop inflicting suffering on himself, get help for his ADHD, understand who he was and back himself. Danny eventually followed her advice. His diagnosis at 32 gave him a new understanding of himself, but getting there exposed another problem: accessing ADHD assessment and support was extraordinarily difficult. Danny saw an opportunity to change that. Together with his co-founders, he built ADHD Now around a simple idea: people should be able to get answers in weeks rather than wait years. We unpack how they found clinical capacity, built the technology and processes, generated demand, scaled the team and created a service that expects to see 13,000 patients in 2026. But this conversation goes far beyond business. Danny speaks openly about grief, becoming emotionally available for his son, sobriety, faith, asking for help and learning to live with structure and discipline. We also explore why ADHD appears so frequently among entrepreneurs, how hyperfocus can become both an advantage and a liability, and why Danny eventually had to recognise that not every exciting business opportunity deserved his attention. His personal framework is beautifully simple: desire, hard work and help. And each morning, he returns to his Three Cs: Connection. Compassion. Contribution. This is a story about what happens when you finally understand yourself, accept what you cannot control and put your energy into what you can. As Danny puts it: “Life is short. Enjoy the life you’ve left.” IN THIS EPISODE Danny’s experience of living with undiagnosed ADHD The final conversation with his wife Simone that changed the direction of his life Why he travelled to the UK to receive his ADHD diagnosis How diagnosis brought structure, discipline and emotional awareness into his life Why getting a diagnosis is only the beginning Turning his own experience into the idea for ADHD Now The stranger Danny met outside the hospital who would later back the business How ADHD Now went from idea to launch in a matter of months Recruiting clinicians when the healthcare system was already at capacity Using technology and systems to reduce friction for patients Why private providers may form part of the solution to healthcare waiting lists The relationship between ADHD, hyperfocus and entrepreneurship Why Danny bought two bakeries while scaling a healthcare company Learning when ADHD-driven curiosity becomes distraction Danny’s formula of desire, hard work and help His Three Cs: Connection, Compassion and Contribution The moment at EY Entrepreneur of the Year when Danny finally felt proud of himself Why he rejects the idea that founders have to be miserable to succeed Faith, fatherhood and redefining what success means Why “action removes anxiety” Our Sponsors: Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azure26 🔗 Links & Resources: ADHD Now: https://adhdnow.com/ie Danny Buckley on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danibuckley90 Danny Buckley on LinkedIn: https://ie.linkedin.com/in/danny-buckley-84840b2a0 Book recommendation – Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss: https://amzn.to/4dshO2a Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment Podcast: https://www.mrgaryfox.com/podcast

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  • September 5 · 7 min

    EE521 - Mentor Moment: Laura Dowling - Why Consistency Beats Virality

    Building a trusted brand rarely comes from one viral moment. It comes from showing up consistently, solving real problems and earning people’s attention over time. In this Mentor Moment, Laura Dowling shares how she built credibility by making complex health information easier to understand and creating content that genuinely helped her audience. It’s a valuable lesson for any founder or creator trying to grow a brand: trust compounds, consistency matters and meaningful impact will always outlast a temporary spike in views. 🎧 Listen back to Laura’s full conversation in Episode 466 of The Entrepreneur Experiment for more on her journey from pharmacist to educator, entrepreneur and trusted voice in women’s health. Follow and subscribe so you never miss a Mentor Moment. *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

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  • S31 · E1
    September 3 · 1 hr 38 min

    EE520: Thomas Carty - From 300 Boxes to Nationwide Retail | How He Built Thirst

    In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with professional heavyweight boxer and Thirst co-founder Thomas Carty to unpack how he built one of Ireland’s fastest-growing hydration brands while pursuing a career in professional boxing. The idea began with Thomas’s own search for a convenient electrolyte product to support his training. When the brand he relied on stopped shipping to Ireland, he decided to create his own. Within just ten weeks, Thomas and his business partner had developed and self-funded their first 300 boxes—but producing the product was only the beginning. After pharmacies, health shops and supplement stores refused to stock them, Thomas loaded the boxes into his car and began selling them one at a time to coffee shops and saunas across Dublin. Today, Thirst works with more than 20 distributors and is stocked across Ireland in hundreds of cafés, vending machines, gyms, forecourts and major retail groups. Thomas shares the reality behind that growth: the uncomfortable early sales, the importance of moving quickly, how founder-led content helped build trust and why the right business partner allowed him to balance building Thirst with training up to 11 times a week. If you have an idea you’ve been waiting to launch, this episode is a practical masterclass in product development, distribution, founder-led marketing and getting started before everything is perfect. 🎧 Show Notes: In this episode, we cover: 🥊 How Thomas’s Olympic ambitions led him into professional boxing 💡 The sauna conversation that sparked the idea for Thirst 🤝 Finding a business partner with complementary skills ⚡ Developing and self-funding the first product in just ten weeks 📦 Starting with 300 boxes across three flavours 🚪 What happened when pharmacies and supplement stores refused to stock the brand ☕ Creating a new route to market through coffee shops and saunas 🚗 Driving across Dublin to sell one box at a time 📱 Using social proof and founder-led content to build trust 🎙️ The podcast appearance that created a major spike in sales 📈 Growing from one distributor to more than 20 🛒 Designing packaging specifically for convenience and retail 🏪 Expanding into hundreds of cafés and vending machines across Ireland ⏱️ Why speed has become one of Thirst’s greatest advantages 🧠 Balancing a growing company with 11 boxing and training sessions each week 📓 The physical diary Thomas relies on to manage his life and workload 🌍 Why export—not launching a canned drink—is the next priority 📣 Why social media remains the most powerful free tool available to founders 🚀 What Thomas would do differently if he were launching Thirst again 🔥 Why blind faith and hard work form his personal formula for success 💬 “The secret sauce is graft. There’s no secret.” – Thomas Carty 🔗 Links & Resources: Thirst: https://thirstlife.com Thirst on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thirst.life Thomas Carty on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_thomascarty Thomas Carty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-carty-775516162 Book recommendation – Relentless by Tim Grover: https://timgrover.com/relentless/ Our Sponsors: Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment Podcast: https://www.mrgaryfox.com/podcast

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  • August 9 · 6 min

    EE519: Mentor Moment: Mark Breen - Opportunities Rarely Arrive Planned

    The biggest opportunities in your career rarely arrive with a perfect plan. In this Mentor Moment, Mark Breen, founder of Safe Events Global, shares how saying yes, staying open to unexpected opportunities and being willing to follow where the work led helped shape his career. It’s a powerful reminder that progress is not always linear. Sometimes, the next step only becomes clear after you take it. 🎧 Listen back to Mark’s full conversation in Episode 463 of The Entrepreneur Experiment for more on his journey, the growth of Safe Events Global and the lessons he has learned along the way. Follow and subscribe so you never miss a Mentor Moment. *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

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  • August 7 · 56 min

    EE518 - Jeff Dodds: The Formula for Scaling a Global Sport to 400m+ Fans

    In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Jeff Dodds, CEO of Formula E, the electric motorsport championship that has grown from no established fan base to more than 400 million fans worldwide. Jeff takes us inside the rapidly expanding business of global sport and explains how Formula E is combining close-combat racing, world-famous manufacturers, sustainability, social media and entertainment to build the next generation of motorsport. He shares the unconventional story of how he moved from leading Virgin Media O2 into Formula E, what he discovered during his first month as CEO, and why he keeps a game of Snakes and Ladders behind his desk as a reminder of the realities of running a scale-up. Jeff also reveals the leadership principles that shape Formula E’s culture, including the three qualities he looks for in every team member: energy, optimism and accountability. He explains how obsessive behaviour can become a competitive advantage, why leaders must focus on what they can control, and how Formula E uses immediate post-race debriefs to turn lessons into action. From managing his energy while travelling for six months of the year to balancing competition, training and recovery, this is a fascinating conversation about leadership, performance and building a global sports platform. For founders, CEOs and anyone trying to scale an ambitious organisation, this episode is packed with practical insights. Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🏎️ How Formula E grew to more than 400 million fans worldwide 💰 How the business of global sport actually makes money 📱 The role of creators, social media and entertainment in growing a sport 🔥 Why obsessiveness can become a competitive advantage 🪜 Jeff’s “Snakes and Ladders” approach to leading a scale-up ⚡ The three traits behind high-performing teams: energy, optimism and accountability 📝 Formula E’s “I like, I wonder” post-race debrief system 🔋 How Jeff manages energy, travel and recovery as a global CEO 🚀 Why first-mover advantage still matters in business Links and Resources Connect with Jeff and Formula E Formula E official website (https://www.fiaformulae.com/) Formula E on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/formula-e/) Jeff Dodds on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jedodds/) Formula E on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiaformulae/?hl=en https://www.youtube.com/@FIAFormulaE *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

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  • August 2 · 8 min

    EE517 - Mentor Moment: Ryan Casey - Build the Brand Before You Build the Business

    ou don’t need a huge budget to prove that an idea can work. You need creativity, resourcefulness and the willingness to start. In this Mentor Moment, Ryan Casey, founder of C11 Recovery, shares how he began building the brand with limited resources by creating recovery boxes, tapping into his network and finding smart ways to test demand before scaling. It’s a practical lesson in building momentum without waiting for perfect conditions, using partnerships to create opportunities and proving the concept before making bigger investments. 🎧 Listen back to Ryan’s full conversation in Episode 462 of The Entrepreneur Experiment for more on the story behind C11 Recovery and the lessons he has learned building the business. Follow and subscribe so you never miss a Mentor Moment. *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

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  • July 30 · 1 hr 17 min

    EE516 - From €237 in the Bank to Building a Global Accessibility Company | Stephen Cluskey

    In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Stephen Cluskey, CEO and co-founder of Mobility Mojo. At 18, Stephen broke his neck in a freak accident and was paralysed from the neck down. After years focused on rehabilitation, a six-hour wait for an accessible taxi inspired his first business and ultimately led to the creation of Mobility Mojo. Stephen shares how the company survived with just €237 left in the bank, adapted when Covid shut down the hospitality industry and evolved into a global workplace accessibility platform used by major organisations. This is a powerful conversation about resilience, purpose, product-market fit and why the people who survive are often those most willing to adapt. 🎧 Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🔥 The accident that changed Stephen’s life at 18 🎯 Using small goals to navigate recovery 🚕 The inaccessible taxi experience that sparked his first business 💶 Reaching just €237 in the company bank account 🌍 The conversation that transformed Mobility Mojo’s business model 🦠 Pivoting when Covid shut down the hospitality industry 🏢 Building a global workplace accessibility platform 📈 Raising investment and winning major enterprise clients ♿ Why accessibility goes far beyond ramps and bathrooms ⚖️ Combining social impact with a profitable business model 👥 The importance of team, perseverance and adaptability 💬 “It’s not the strongest that survive; it’s those that adapt.” – Stephen Cluskey *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

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  • July 26 · 6 min

    EE515 - Mentor Moment: Dan Lawrence: Recovery Is the Performance Multiplier

    What if the key to performing at your best isn't working harder—but recovering better? In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with performance coach Dan Lawrence to explore the science behind sustainable high performance. Drawing on years of experience working with elite athletes, founders and executives, Dan explains why recovery isn't a reward for hard work—it's what makes peak performance possible. They discuss the hidden cost of chronic stress, the importance of sleep, nutrition and movement, and why the world's highest performers treat recovery as seriously as training. Dan also shares practical strategies to improve focus, resilience and long-term performance without burning out. Whether you're building a business, leading a team or simply trying to perform better in your everyday life, this conversation is packed with actionable insights you can start applying immediately. *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

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  • July 23 · 1 hr 19 min

    EE514 - Emmet Savage: 12 Years of Struggle, 12 Days to Breakthrough | My Wall St

    In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Emmet Savage, co-founder of MyWallSt, to talk investing, AI and the reality of building a business over the long term. Emmet shares the framework he uses to identify exceptional companies, why the best investors often do less, and how early bets on companies like Netflix and Tesla shaped his approach. He also reveals how MyWallSt went from being close to collapse after 12 years in business to generating the equivalent of 12 years of revenue in just 12 days. This is a conversation about patience, conviction, optimism and staying in the game long enough for everything to change. 🎧 Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🔥 Emmet’s formula for success in business and investing 📈 How he identifies companies with long-term growth potential 🧠 Why emotion can help and hurt investors ⏳ The power of buying well and holding for decades 🚀 His early investments in Netflix and Tesla 🤖 Whether AI is a bubble or a generational opportunity 🌌 Why space and Rocket Lab excite him 💰 How MyWallSt achieved 12 years of revenue in 12 days ⚠️ Why hustle culture gives founders the wrong message 🌱 How optimism and persistence kept the business alive 💬 “The route to success is one mistake after another, staggered by the occasional blistering winner.” – Emmet Savage *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment Links and Resources Emmet Savage and MyWallSt MyWallSt: https://www.mywallst.com/ Learn by MyWallSt: https://www.learn.mywallst.com/ Prophet by MyWallSt: https://www.mywallst.com/prophet_landing Emmet’s investing journey: https://www.mywallst.com/chief-investor-letter Investicon 2026 Investicon takes place in Dublin on 27 August 2026, bringing together leading investors to share the companies and investment themes they believe have the greatest long-term potential. Tickets and event information: https://www.investicon.ie/ Listener discount mentioned in the episode: Use the code GARY200 for €200 off.

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  • July 19 · 7 min

    EE513 - Mentor Moment: Jenny Johnston - Your Network Is Your Greatest Asset

    Success isn't just about what you know - it's about who you surround yourself with. In this Mentor Moment, Jenny Johnston, founder of Azure Communications, shares why the strongest careers and businesses are built on genuine relationships. From asking for help to creating opportunities for others, Jenny explains why generosity, trust, and investing in your network can open doors that talent alone never will. Whether you're building a business, growing your career, or looking to expand your circle, this conversation is a powerful reminder that your network is one of your most valuable assets. 🎧 Enjoyed this Mentor Moment? Listen back to the full conversation with Jenny Johnston in Episode 458 of The Entrepreneur Experiment, where she shares the story behind building Azure Communications into one of Ireland's leading communications agencies, the lessons she's learned as an entrepreneur, and why relationships remain at the heart of lasting success. Follow and subscribe to The Entrepreneur Experiment for a new Mentor Moment every week, plus full conversations with world-class founders, creators and leaders. *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

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  • July 16 · 1 hr 35 min

    EE512: The Food Founder’s Playbook - Matthew Collins, on Scaling Without Losing Quality

    In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Matthew Collins, founder of The Sibly Food Co, the Irish snack brand that began with a €143 food shop and a stall at a local Christmas market. Matthew shares how he went from making brownies, rocky roads and cheesecakes in his parents’ kitchen to building a brand stocked in approximately 800 outlets nationwide. Along the way, he taught full-time, baked through the night, delivered products shop by shop and even packed Sibly’s first Aldi pallet under his uncle’s carport. He reveals the pivotal decisions that transformed Sibly from a college side hustle into a national food business: leaving teaching, finding a business partner with complementary strengths, moving away from short-shelf-life cheesecakes, winning a Grow with Aldi contract and reinvesting everything back into the company. Matthew also breaks down the reality of scaling a food brand, from pricing and distribution to shelf space, rate of sale, hiring and protecting product quality as volume increases. With Sibly recently producing 32,000 pots in a single week and targeting €3.5 million in sales this year, this is a practical masterclass in building a consumer brand one shop, one customer and one small improvement at a time. For founders building a food business, consumer brand or bootstrapped company, this episode is packed with honest, practical lessons from someone still deep in the journey. 🎧 Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🎄 How a €143 food shop and a local Christmas market started Sibly 🍫 Finding the gap between bland “healthy” snacks and heavily processed sweet treats 🏠 Growing the business from Matthew’s parents’ kitchen and a purpose-built unit in their front garden 🎓 Baking and delivering at weekends while working full-time as a teacher ☎️ The phone call that convinced Matthew to leave teaching and commit fully to Sibly 🤝 How he identified his weaknesses and found a business partner with experience in sales and finance 💶 Why Matthew was initially undervaluing both his products and himself 🚐 Building distribution through cold calls, shop visits and door-to-door selling across Cork and Kerry 🍰 Why Sibly moved away from cheesecake pots to focus on scalable, longer-life energy balls 🛒 Packing the company’s first Aldi pallet under a carport and winning a Grow with Aldi contract 📦 What happened when an order for two pallets quickly became four and then six 📈 Growing from approximately 1,000 pots a week to between 6,000 and 8,000 almost overnight 🧠 Why Sibly’s first major hire gave Matthew the headspace to pursue bigger opportunities 🗺️ The importance of building distribution geographically rather than expanding everywhere at once 🏷️ Understanding rate of sale and why getting onto a shelf is only half the battle 🥣 Why clean ingredients and consistent quality have become central to the Sibly brand 📱 Building consumer demand through community, social media, sampling and word of mouth 🏪 Growing to approximately 800 outlets across Ireland 🚀 Producing 32,000 pots in a recent week while maintaining the same product quality 💰 Sibly’s targets of €3.5 million in 2026, €5 million in 2027 and close to €10 million by 2028 🌍 Why Matthew wants to saturate the Irish market before pursuing international expansion 🔁 The power of compounding and moving the business forward by a millimetre every day 💬 “Compounding sounds fancy, but it’s pushing it a millimetre forward every day.” – Matthew Collins 🔗 Links and Resources Connect with Matthew and Sibly The Sibly Food Co website (https://thesibly.ie/) The Sibly Food Co on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/siblyfoodco/) Matthew Collins on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mattzzer/) Learn more about Grow with Aldi (https://www.aldi.ie/grow) Books Mentioned How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-collins-classics-dale-carnegie) The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne (https://shop.penguin.co.uk/products/the-hearts-invisible-furies-by-john-boyne) Shoe Dog by Phil Knight The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (https://www.thesecret.tv/products/the-secret-book/) *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

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  • July 12 · 7 min

    EE511: Mentor Moment: Connor Martin - Knowledge Is Useless Without Action

    Most people don't fail because they lack information. They fail because they never act on it. In this Mentor Moment, Connor Martin, founder of The Essence Vault, shares why rapid implementation has been one of the biggest drivers behind his company's extraordinary growth. From testing ideas quickly to challenging conventional thinking around customer acquisition and scaling, Connor explains why speed beats perfection every time. If you're an entrepreneur, creator, or someone who finds themselves stuck in planning mode, this episode is a powerful reminder that progress comes from action, not another course, book, or podcast. 🎧 Enjoyed this Mentor Moment? Listen back to the full conversation with Connor Martin in Episode 452 of The Entrepreneur Experiment, where he shares how he built The Essence Vault into one of the UK's fastest-growing fragrance brands and the mindset behind scaling at speed. Follow and subscribe to The Entrepreneur Experiment for a new Mentor Moment every week, plus full conversations with world-class founders, creators and leaders. *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

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  • July 9 · 1 hr 28 min

    EE510: The 2026 Social Media Playbook for Founders with Michael Corcoran

    In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Michael Corcoran, former Head of Social at Ryanair and co-founder of Slice Social Consultancy, for a no-fluff masterclass on the state of social media in 2026. Michael breaks down why social media has become more fragile, more volatile and harder for brands to win on, but also why there is still a massive opportunity for founders who think differently. From the death of follower-first thinking to the danger of building your business on “rented land”, Michael explains why the brands that win are not the ones copying trends, chasing outrage or posting more for the sake of it. They are the ones with a clear strategy, a sharp point of difference and the discipline to build memorability over time. Gary and Michael dig into what strategy actually means, how founders can find their “aha” moment, why functional messaging rarely builds a brand, and how small businesses can use creativity to punch above their weight. If you are a founder, marketer or creator trying to build a brand in a crowded market, this episode is your playbook for standing out, being remembered and refusing to play the same game as everyone else. 🎧 Show Notes: In this episode, we cover: 🔥 Why Michael believes social media is on “fragile ground” in 2026 📱 Why followers matter less than attention, creativity and memorability 🏗️ The danger of building your business on rented land 🧠 What strategy actually means without the corporate fluff 💡 How to find the gap, problem or opportunity your brand can own 🥤 Why a protein brand should not just make workout and recipe content 🎯 The difference between creating impressions and making an impression ⚡ How Liquid Death reframed the water category by behaving like an energy drink 📈 Why founders need to look at company, category, customer and culture 🏋️ Why functional claims rarely build brands: emotion does 🧓 The overlooked opportunity in the “grey market” for health, wellness and protein brands 🎬 The Moneyball lesson every small brand needs to understand 💰 How time, budget and team shape your social media execution 🚀 Why small brands must think, behave and execute differently to win 💬 “You don’t build brands with function. You build brands with emotion.” – Michael Corcoran Links & Resources Michael Corcoran LinkedIn: https://ie.linkedin.com/in/michaelrichardcorcoran Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mc_so_me/ Slice Social Consultancy https://www.instagram.com/slice_social_consultancy/ *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment Mentioned in the episode (not affiliated) No Bullsh*t Strategy by Alex M H Smith “Liquid Death” (brand) Moneyball https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/ Join Gary’s weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/40TgDkq

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  • July 5 · 4 min

    EE509: Mentor Moment: Dan Murray-Serter - Turn Your Customers Into Your Best Marketing

    What if your best marketing strategy wasn't paid ads, but the stories your customers tell? In this Mentor Moment, Dan Murray-Serter, co-founder of Heights, explains how authentic customer advocacy became one of the company's biggest growth drivers. From Stephen Fry becoming Heights' very first paying customer to building campaigns around genuine customer experiences rather than celebrity endorsements, Dan shares why trust always outperforms hype. If you're building a brand, marketing a product, or wondering how to stand out in a crowded market, this episode is packed with practical lessons on storytelling, credibility, and creating marketing that people actually believe. 🎧 Enjoyed this Mentor Moment? Listen back to the full conversation with Dan Murray-Serter in Episode 456 of The Entrepreneur Experiment, where he dives deeper into scaling Heights, raising investment, building one of Europe's fastest-growing health brands, and the lessons he's learned along the way. Follow and subscribe to The Entrepreneur Experiment for a new Mentor Moment every week, plus full conversations with world-class founders, creators and leaders. *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

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  • July 2 · 1 hr 34 min

    EE508 - Niall McGarry: Joe.ie, Fabric Social, and Selling to the World's Biggest Ad Agency

    In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Niall McGarry, the founder of Joe.ie, Her.ie and Fabric Social, fresh from one of the most significant Irish founder exits of the year. After building Joe into one of Ireland and the UK’s best-known digital media brands, Niall started Fabric Social in the aftermath of the pandemic. What began in Ireland in 2021 became a UK-focused social-first creative agency that grew from roughly €2 million to almost €16 million in revenue and from 20 to 120 people in just 24 months, before being acquired by Publicis Groupe UK. This conversation is a deep dive into how Niall spotted the shift from follower-based social media to interest-based, trend-led vertical video, and how Fabric helped major brands like Curry’s and Subway show up with personality, speed and cultural relevance online. Niall also opens up about why he moved his family to the UK to crack the market, the difference between building a media company and an agency, how to know when it is the right time to sell, and why founders need obsession without becoming emotionally trapped by the business. If you are building a company, trying to understand modern social, or thinking about what it really takes to create and exit a business, this episode is packed with lessons. Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🚀 How Niall built Fabric Social from 2021 to its acquisition by Publicis Groupe UK 📈 Growing revenue from roughly €2 million to almost €16 million in 24 months 👥 Scaling the team from 20 to 120 people during Fabric’s biggest growth phase 📱 Why TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts changed the game for brands 🧠 The shift from follower-based social to interest-based algorithms 🔥 Why brands now need “platform specificity” instead of one personality everywhere 💬 Fabric’s approach to “community nourishment” and comment-led brand building 🛒 The Curry’s and Subway social media case studies that helped put Fabric on the map 🎯 Why Niall hired “mavericks” who understood meme culture, trends and tone of voice 🌍 Why moving to the UK was critical to building a bigger business 🏙️ Why Irish founders should not overlook London and the UK market 💰 How recurring agency revenue made Fabric a more attractive acquisition target 🧾 The difference between building a media business and building an agency ⏱️ Why the best time to sell may be when every metric is pointing upwards ⚖️ Why your business is not your baby, and why emotional detachment matters 🔑 The role of obsession, timing and problem selection in founder success “You need to create a degree of separation quite quickly and you need to keep clinical and controlled about it.” - Niall McGarry *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment Links & Resources Fabric Social – Niall McGarry’s social-first creative agency, working with brands including Currys, Subway, Ocado and Sky: https://fabricsocial.com/ Publicis Groupe UK acquisition announcement – Publicis Groupe UK announced the acquisition of Fabric Social in April 2026: https://www.publicisgroupeuk.com/news-and-views/news/publicis-groupe-uk-acquires-fabric-social-to-create-powerhouse-pr-social-and-influencer-offering/ Niall McGarry on LinkedIn – Founder of Fabric Social and previous founder of Joe.ie / Joe Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niallmcgarry/

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