The Entrepreneur Experiment

A true entrepreneur can take a concept that has been around for hundreds of years, completely reimagine it from the ground up and improve it 1000x. This is what Chris Lauder is done with his school. This week's guest started a hugely successful grind school that he has transformed into full-time school. Learn how Chris started in a local parish hall and has transformed that into a campus that now serves over 3,500 students per week.

Running one business is tough. So how do you run two simultaneously while continuing to have a balanced, happy life?  This week I chat with James Brogan who is managing to do it all through well-executed planning and a huge amount of self-awareness.  James is the founder of PepTalk and Legacy Communications and also played sport at the highest level, winning an All-Ireland with the Dublin footballers.  

In just 7 years, Jack Teeling made Teeling Whiskey a global brand and built one of Dublin's best tourist attractions at his distillery in the Liberties. In this episode, we uncover Jack's path from the trading desks of one of Ireland's biggest banks to building the first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years & establishing Teeling Whiskey as a global brand.

After his rugby career was ended by a serious injury, Gary Lavin jumped straight into his entrepreneurial journey. Fast forward to 2019, and his drinks brand VITHIT sells 25 million units across the globe. In the middle, he faced every challenge imaginable and almost lost everything. Gary is a no-nonsense entrepreneur who shares the real reasons why his brand become a global success. 

Millions of people have consumed Garret's products but you would never know! This is because Garret started one of Ireland's largest commercial bakeries from very humble beginnings in his apartment kitchen. He has since launched Krüst Bakery and is now embarking on his biggest adventure so far, moving to New York to launch his latest venture, Parkpnp in the US.  

Dan Nugent symbolizes everything that The Entrepreneur Experiment stands for. He started his business with his partner, Sacha, for less than €1000, bootstrapped it from day 1 and has scaled it globally in less than 2 years. The duo started Ambr Eyewear in 2017 from their kitchen table. The company began with just 3 frames and two years later have over 35 styles.  Ambr started selling blue light glasses to help with problems caused by spending so much time staring at phone and laptop screens. It has since morphed into an eyewear brand that covers everything from blue light to prescription glasses.  In this episode we chat about: - How there is never a perfect time to start a business - Why limits and restraints can actually help an entrepreneur - How to source and select manufacturers and partners - The unsexy side of e-commerce success, SEO & content - Why the influencer business is imploding      

Shane Ryan is the brains behind one of Ireland's fastest-growing food brands, Fiid. In less than 12 months, Shane has gone from an idea in his head to seeing his product stocked in outlets right across Ireland. That’s not the whole story however, as his rapid rise to success came at a great cost to him personally. He quit a highly promising international hospitality career to start delivering meals on his bike around Dublin city. That startup almost broke him, financially and emotionally as he strived to make it a success. The chat with Shane has been one of the most honest and revealing conversations I’ve had with a fellow entrepreneur around the area of mental health. Hope you enjoy the episode and please do get in touch with feedback and comments.

Sonia Deasy is the co-founder and CEO of skincare company, Pestle & Mortar. Founded in 2014, Sonia and her husband, Padraic, have grown it into a global brand in just 5 years.  Pestle & Mortar is now listed in stores such as Liberty London, Arnotts, Avoca, FaceGym, Harvey Nichols, and Bloomingdales. Irish-owned and based in Naas, Sonia & Padraic have created a local company with global ambition. In this episode we discuss: - The lightbulb moment for creating the company - Sonia secrets for PR success & how to tell your brand story - How she managed to get her products listed in global stores - What it takes to go live on QVC to over 100 million people - Balancing a work/marriage partnership. - Why you should have global ambition  

James started his first company with just €500 which was borrowed from his wife after losing his job in the 2008 financial crash. This small investment launched a catering empire that spanned coffee shops, Mexican food outlets, and corporate catering. He then lost it all. We hear how James bounced back by becoming the Barista Baron and how he is now on the way to creating a global coffee business. James is now the owner of The Dublin Barista School, 9th Degree Coffee and soon to be launched, World Barista Institute.

Most people take home some terrible souvenirs from their holidays. When he was just 22 years old, traveling around Thailand, Caolan Cullen discovered the idea that would become his future business. Caolan is the founder of Arctic Stone Ice Cream, who were the first people in Ireland to make hand-rolled ice cream that is completely customizable. Named as one of the best young entrepreneurs in Ireland in 2019, he is creating his own ice cream empire here in Ireland. He is a modern-day Willy Wonka, capable of making ice cream to any flavour you can dream of. In this episode we discover: How you can find business ideas in the most unlikely of places The steps to taking action once you discover your idea The secrets to making ice cream in every possible flavour How Caolan bootstrapped and crowdfunded his early venture. The brand deals that are driving a huge part of his business His effort to set a Guinness world record