The Entrepreneur Experiment

Recorded live at The Sugar Club, this special edition of The Entrepreneur Experiment brings three standout Irish founders on stage for an honest, high-energy conversation about building modern businesses in public.Aine Kennedy, founder of The Smooth Company and newly crowned EY Entrepreneur of the Year, shares how she launched her first product with no budget, built everything herself, with the help of her family, and turned documenting the journey on TikTok into 150 million organic views, now shipping to 70 countries worldwide.Nadia Adan, founder of Ashford Motors, breaks down how she went from a small yard and a handful of cars to creating one of Ireland’s most recognisable automotive brands - by obsessing over customer experience, moving faster than traditional dealers, and using social media to build trust at scale.Rounding out the panel, Jack Pierse, co-founder of Wayflyer and now Bold Golf and Happy Stack, reflects on launching a fintech at the start of COVID, scaling to €100 million per month in lending, the realities of hypergrowth, and what he’s doing differently this time. From viral content and community-led growth to staying lean, moving fast, and learning the hard lessons of scale, this live episode is packed with real-world insight, plenty of humour, and unfiltered founder stories. An entertaining and insightful listen for you! Show NotesHosted by Gary Fox, with Aine Kennedy, Nadia Adan, and Jack PierseRecorded live at The Sugar Club, DublinHow Aine Kennedy launched The Smooth Company from scratch and built a global brand by documenting the journey onlineTurning TikTok into a growth engine: 150 million organic views and customers in 70 countriesWhy building in public — without gatekeeping — is changing who feels able to start a businessNadia Adan’s rise from a small car yard to one of Ireland’s most recognisable automotive brandsUsing customer service, flexibility, and speed to outperform traditional main dealersDealing with online trolls when reputation and real-world sales are on the lineThe Wayflyer origin story: launching during COVID and scaling to €100M per month in lendingThe realities of hypergrowth, rapid hiring, and the lessons learned the hard wayWhy Jack Pierse is building his second company, Happy Stack, slower and leanerA candid, entertaining live discussion on growth, community, and staying adaptable in modern businessLinks & ResourcesThe Smooth Company – https://www.thesmoothcompany.com/Ashford Motors - https://www.ashfordmotors.ie/Happy Stack – https://www.happystack.com/Bold Golf - https://bold-golf.com/—— Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly inspiration on Business, Brain and Body, as well as exclusive events, courses and more, straight to your inbox. It's free! https://www.mrgaryfox.com/subscribe-1 --- Visit my partners Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo—-Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.

How do you build a powerful business network when you’re starting with no members, no brand, and no shortcuts?In this Mentor Moment, Trevor McFarlane, founder and CEO of EMIR, shares how he built one of the Middle East’s most influential private CEO networks — starting with a single event, a lot of nerve, and an obsession with trust and curation.Trevor explains why optics matter, how credibility compounds over time, and why protecting the integrity of a network is far more valuable than short-term revenue.🎙️ To hear the full story — including how EMIR scaled across the region and the lessons Trevor learned along the way — listen to Episode 411 of The Entrepreneur Experiment.💡 If you enjoy these short Mentor Moments, don’t forget to follow or subscribe to the podcast for more founder insights every week.—— Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly inspiration on Business, Brain and Body, as well as exclusive events, courses and more, straight to your inbox. It's free! https://www.mrgaryfox.com/subscribe-1 --- Visit my partners Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo—-Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox welcomes back Matthew Coffey, co-founder of Squid, Ireland and the UK’s largest local loyalty network with 550,000+ users and nearly 2,000 independent businesses.What began as a simple tap-for-coffee reward app has evolved into a powerful loyalty and payments infrastructure - and now Squid has launched Wave, a universal points currency described as “air miles for the high street.” You can now earn points in one brand and redeem them in another, all by linking your everyday spending cards.Matthew breaks down how Squid integrated with global giants like Square, raised over €10 million, and is now preparing to expand Wave across Europe as a new rewards-powered payment rail. He also shares the founder lessons he’s learned, from communication to fundraising to scaling fast without losing trust and integrity.If you’re curious about loyalty, fintech, payments, or the realities of scaling a startup into a European network, this episode is essential listening.Show NotesIn this episode, Gary chats with Matthew about:How Squid grew from free coffee stamps to 550,000+ users and almost 2,000 independent businesses.Why Matthew & Katie focused on coffee shops to build a two-sided network from scratch.Introducing Wave — “air miles for the high street” where you earn across brands automatically.How card-linking with Visa/Mastercard/Amex enables one-touch loyalty.The impact of integrating with Square to give independents big-brand loyalty and data tools.The journey from early-stage startup to raising over €10m, including a €1.7m+ crowdfunding round.The North Star metric Squid tracks: the total free product given back to users.Squid’s two-step scaling playbook for Europe: launch loyalty locally, then layer Wave on top.Why 2026 will be the “year of payments” as Squid builds a rewards-driven payment rail.Matthew’s biggest founder lessons: communicate better, expand earlier, trust technology, and be relentless.Links & ResourcesDownload Squid on iOS / Android: https://tr.ee/WFmx4sOqmR—— Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly inspiration on Business, Brain and Body, as well as exclusive events, courses and more, straight to your inbox. It's free! https://www.mrgaryfox.com/subscribe-1 --- Visit my partners Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo—-Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.

What happens when a founder opens the company’s books to every single staff member — salaries, P&L, everything?In this episode, Eoin Cantwell, founder of Fitt Meals, shares the bold move that transformed his culture, boosted performance, and created true ownership across his team.Eoin opens up about:why he embraced full financial transparency with staffhow he teaches the “why” behind decisions, not just the “what”building accountability and KPIs in a growing food businessscaling a bootstrap company while protecting qualitythe mindset shifts he had to make to become a better leaderThis is a brilliant, honest look at modern leadership — the messy bits, the growing pains, and the breakthroughs.🎧 Listen now and hear why Eoin believes the future of high-performing teams is built on trust, clarity, and shared responsibility, and for the full episode, scroll back to episode 409. —— Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly inspiration on Business, Brain and Body, as well as exclusive events, courses and more, straight to your inbox. It's free! https://www.mrgaryfox.com/subscribe-1 --- Visit my partners Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Jac Dunne, CEO of Dimply, an AI-powered financial experience platform that’s quietly reshaping how banks, insurers and wealth managers serve their customers.After almost three decades in legacy finance, Jac made a bold move in her mid-50s into regtech and then fintech, “bookending” her career by building the kind of technology she always wished existed inside the big institutions. She breaks down what Dimply actually does in plain English, how it powers hyper-personalised journeys inside apps like AIB’s, and why the future of money will be a hybrid of human advice and seamless digital experiences.Jac also opens up about leaving a senior corporate role where her voice wasn’t being heard, taking on a startup CEO role, scaling a remote-first team, and building practical programmes to get more women and students into tech. If you’re a founder, operator or leader trying to scale something meaningful and still have a life outside of work, this conversation is packed with insight.Show Notes: In this episode, we cover:🔥 Reinventing a 30-year career — how Jac moved from legacy finance into regtech and fintech🚀 The Dimply origin story — why financial experiences need to be rebuilt from the ground up📱 What Dimply actually does — a simple breakdown of the platform powering smarter banking journeys💡 Hybrid finance — why the future blends seamless digital with instant human advice🌍 Anticipatory banking — building for the next generation of wealth holders🏆 Becoming a fintech CEO in her mid-50s — the moment Jac chose challenge over comfort📈 Scaling without breaking culture — bringing structure into a fast-moving startup👥 Leading remote-first teams — trust, energy days and the Monday pulse call💪 Women in tech — real pathways, not panels, for returners and early-career talent⏳ Time as a currency — leadership, parenting and designing a life that worksinks & Resources MentionedDimply – Financial Experience Platform - https://dimply.aiJac Dunne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackie-jac-dunne-mba-38a50b1a/—— Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly inspiration on Business, Brain and Body, as well as exclusive events, courses and more, straight to your inbox. It's free! https://www.mrgaryfox.com/subscribe-1 --- Visit my partners Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo—-Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.