The Entrepreneur Experiment

<p>We're back for another season & kicking off season 5 with one of the biggest success stories in Ireland of 2020.</p> <p>Rónán's company went from a 20% market share to 86% in less than 12 months. Thriftify helps charity stores get their products online and handles everything from advertising to distribution. </p> <p>This episode will fire your brain with hundreds of ideas. <br /> <br /> Starting off 2021 with an early candidate for episode of the year!</p>

<p>Our last big interview of the year and it's with 2 of the biggest breakthrough entrepreneurs of 2020. <br /> <br /> Thomas & Jake are behind the social media sensation, The Go House, Ireland's first-ever content creation/TikTok House.</p> <p>More people watch their content per day than watch a Premier League game on TV. These two lads are creating a media company that is taking over the Irish media scene.</p> <p>We're ending the year on a massive high. Enjoy the episode and your Christmas. </p>

<p>Joining me on the pod today is Hannah Moore, founder of L.A. Pacific.</p> <p>Hannah has moved with the speed of light since 2019, founding L.A. Pacific and securing distribution with some of the world's leading brands such as Amazon and Boots. </p> <p>We talk about how a chronic illness diagnosis changed her entire life and how this led to her becoming an entrepreneur. Hannah also reveals how she's managed to move so fast and achieve so much in just over 18 months. Prepare to be inspired. </p>

<p>In the Lab this week, I reveal the 5 trends that I believe are set to explode in 2021 and break down the opportunities in each sector. <br /> <br /> If you subscribe to my newsletter at <a href= "http://www.mrgaryfox.com">www.mrgaryfox.com</a> you get access to a 6th bonus trend. </p>

<p>Ahead of the Airbnb IPO today, I reveal all the secrets I've learned over the last 7 years about Airbnb.</p> <p>I've hosted over 200,000 people on Airbnb, this is my insider view on what makes it a fantastic business and what makes it an awful business. </p> <p>I also reveal if I believe the stock price is a good value and if I will be buying it. </p>

<p>In the Lab this week, we hear about the 17-year-old making £20k per week selling trainers. </p> <p>We deep dive into the world of collectibles & souvenirs. I explore ways you can invest in whiskey, sports memorabilia, and toys.<br /> <br /> I also look at the various businesses you can start to take advantage of the huge rise in memorabilia & collectibles. </p>

<p>On the pod today, I chat with the founder of Spark Crowdfunding, Chris Burge.</p> <p>Chris is the man powering the crowdfunding efforts of so many Irish startups.</p> <p>Chris breaks down the secrets behind a successful crowdfunding campaign, including how Moby raised €795,091 on the platform. </p>

<p>In the Lab this week, I reveal how you can become a property mogul for less than €25k.</p> <p>There is also a chance to win tickets to the Web Summit and I chat about what the Momentum Challenge meant to me. </p>

<p>Imagine getting your dream job on the Caribbean island of Barbados. Now picture that dream quickly becoming a nightmare as recession sweeps the globe and your company goes out of business with no warning. </p> <p>What do you do?</p> <p>If you are David Campion, you set out on a journey to become one of the Caribbean's most successful entrepreneurs. </p> <p>In just 7 years, David has built ARGO Development Studio into 5 offices in 5 different countries with world-famous clients such as Virgin, Mercedes, Suzuki, Marriott, Radisson, and Digicel.</p> <p>This truly is a story of one man's mission not to accept defeat when faced with near-impossible odds. The perfect story for us to learn from in 2020. </p>

<p>In the Lab this week, I talk about entrepreneurs taking action and my momentum challenge ending.</p> <p>I reveal the best books that you can read in 2021 to set yourself up for success as an entrepreneur.</p>

<p>As the head of PR at Paddy Power, Féilim has been behind some of the most talked-about marketing campaigns in Irish history.</p> <p>He made his first viral sensation when marketing himself as Jobless Paddy, a campaign that landed him his dream job at Paddy Power. </p> <p>He now runs his own agency, Splanc PR where he is the creative brains behind campaigns like the recent Now TV, Hurley versus Hurl debate. </p> <p>As a bonus, Féilim unleashes his creative brilliance by giving us a masterclass in PR & marketing that you can apply to your own business. </p>

<p>In the Lab this week, I find out if you have a 10-year plan and reveal how I'm tackling my own planning.</p> <p>I reveal my tip for the hottest company of 2021 and introduce you to the people becoming millionaires by teaching online.</p>

<p>Former Irish & Leinster captain, Jamie Heaslip lived an action-packed life even before his second career began as a business owner, investor & high-performance coach.</p> <p>His investment portfolio includes companies such as Kitman Labs & Pointy along with his ownership stakes in bars such as The Bridge. </p> <p>Now I reveal Jamie's life as an entrepreneur, owner and investor. </p> <p>Hear how he selects his investments, why he plans in 10-year cycles, and just what a day in the life of Jamie Heaslip looks like.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p>This week in the Lab, we're revealing the launch of the EE community. Coming in Jan 2021, you can become part of a group of entrepreneurs coming together to build fantastic businesses. </p> <p>We also discuss the value of documenting your journey, riches in niches and my new favourite YouTube channel.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Food trailers are one of my tips for the biggest opportunities in 2021. I'm joined this week by an entrepreneur who is a veteran of the food trailer game & now teaches people how to set up their own business.</p> <p>Seany was inspired by his travels across the globe to bring the idea of street food back to Ireland & make it accessible to all.</p> <p>We hear how he started selling tacos at country music festivals to becoming one of the biggest suppliers of food trailers in Ireland.</p>

<p>In a special edition of the Idea Lab, we are joined by Kymann Power, the new resident of Daly's Bar in Ennistymon, Co Clare.</p> <p>Kymann has captured many people's imagination with his decision to leave Dublin and set up home in a pub in the West of Ireland. <br /> <br /> We discover where the idea came from, his plans for the project, and what it's really like to live in a pub. </p>

<p>This week's guest left behind a lucrative career in technology with one of the world's most promising companies, to start her own brewery in Waterford. </p> <p>With just an idea & a rough plan, Grainne set out on an adventure to brew her own beer.</p> <p>She shares how it all started with a few kegs in a single Dublin pub to building her own craft brewery on the south coast of Ireland. </p>

<p>In this week's Lab, we discuss how one person got so sick of buying €9 meals to have a pint that he has moved into his own pub in County Clare.</p> <p>This sparks a search for Ireland's most interesting properties that you can turn into a business opportunity. All for under €300k.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Former professional footballer Mark O'Reilly takes me on his journey from sports star to entrepreneur.</p> <p>Mark's company, FitVision, is the go-to coaching resource for Ireland's leading CEO's, entrepreneurs, and elite performers. </p> <p>We chat about developing a winning mindset, how he completely pivoted his business during Covid and his fitness routine during lockdown.</p> <p>If you are seeking motivation, this is the episode you need to hear. </p>

<p>In the Lab this week, I find out how many companies have been started in Ireland in the last 30 days.</p> <p>We also look at companies attending to solve the problem of attending live events and global travel restrictions in a Covid world. </p> <p> </p>

<p>Evelyn & Luke from Simply Fit Food are back this week to announce a major milestone & share a good news story.</p> <p>One of my earliest guests in 2020, they return to tell their story of thriving despite the global pandemic and how they managed to sell their business, Simply Fit Food in the toughest market in history.<br /> <br /></p> <p>They share the tips and tricks that have helped them in the last 6 months and explain how to negotiate selling your business. </p> <p> </p>

<p>This week on the Idea Lab, we breakdown two new ideas in detail.</p> <p>In the aviation world, Qantas launched their flight to nowhere which sold out in 10 minutes. </p> <p>We do a deep dive into the business of vending machines. How much they make and how you can get started. (hint - 30-80% margin levels) </p>

<p>Special edition of the Idea Lab where I deep dive into pivot ideas that you can apply to your business.</p> <p>I'm in the middle of pivoting my business so I share parts of my journey. </p> <p>I share the ideas listeners to the podcast have shared with me and we discuss ideas for bars, restaurants, cafes, hotels, and targeting the home worker. </p>

<p>This week on the Idea Lab, we examine two very different but excellent marketing campaigns.</p> <p>First, we look at Burger King's sponsorship of a tiny football team in England and how they leverage that for viral success via Fifa.</p> <p>We also look at Love Island's Molly Mae and how she created one of the most viral giveaways in 2020 that delivered her nearly 1 million followers for £8k. </p>

<p>In under 6 years, Jo Davey has gone from making homemade healthy snacks for her friends at the gym to having a national brand stocked on shelves all across Ireland. </p> <p>On this week's episode, hear Jo's story of being a first-time entrepreneur in the ultra-competitive food business.</p> <p> </p>

<p>In the lab today, I reveal the strategy you can use to reveal your true passions in life. <br /> <br /> I also reveal a new customer acquisition strategy that is taking the financial sector by storm in America.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Before I started this podcast 18 months ago, I made a list of 10 dream guests.</p> <p>Today, I am delighted to be able to host one of the 10 from that list, Pat Divilly.</p> <p>Pat is an entrepreneur, speaker, best-selling author, and an all-around fascinating guy.</p> <p> </p>

<p>Coder. Pharmacist. Disruptor. Shane O'Sullivan is a man that defies labels and refuses to accept the status quo.</p> <p>This is his story of how he quit pharmacy to become a computer coder only to discover a way to combine both passions.</p> <p>In 2013, Shane founded Healthwave, a membership-based pharmacy that shattered the traditional model of pharmacies in Ireland. By utilizing technology and a customer-first model, Shane slashed the cost of healthcare in Ireland. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">If you are taking part in the September Idea challenge you should now realize how ideas are relatively easy to generate.</p> <p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">The real trick is deciding which ones are worth pursuing.</p> <p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">In today's episode, I share my formula to stress test the ideas and see if they are worth pursuing in more detail.</p>

<p>For the deep dive interview this week, Gary Fox is joined by Pat Stephenson, founder of the Boys + Girls agency.</p> <p>In this week's episode, you will hear Pat's incredible journey through the world of advertising and marketing. You will also learn 3 key lessons:</p> <p>1. Why creating great work is difficult.</p> <p>2. A step-by-step guide to starting your own business or agency.</p> <p>3. How they clinched the deal of a lifetime with Chelsea football club.</p>

<p>In this week's Lab, I share stories of people who are earning over €100k per year teaching niche courses online. </p> <p>We explore the massive growth in online learning and how you can become an online expert to leverage your existing skills. </p>

<p>This week, I am joined by Brody Sweeney, founder of O'Briens Sandwich Bars and Camile Thai Kitchen.</p> <p>In a brutally honest and revealing chat, Brody explains how he lost control of the global empire he built and the chaos it brought to his life.</p> <p>His story was only beginning in 2009 and he bounced back rapidly to start Camile Thai. Brody reveals how he found the strength to start again and how he's plotting the global expansion of his latest venture. </p>

<p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Today, I am challenging you to come up with a business idea every day for the month of September.</p> <p class="">30 Days, 30 Ideas. It can be an idea for a new business or a way to improve your current business.</p> <p class="">I share with you my template for generating ideas & reveal the prize for the winner of the best idea. </p>

<p>Do you need to be in Silicon Valley or Dublin to build a major technology company?<br /> <br /> Not according the Rory O'Connor and his team who are building Scurri into a global e-commerce player from their HQ in Wexford.</p> <p>In this episode you learn:</p> <p>- The proven playbook Rory used to raise over €8m</p> <p>- Being based outside major cities gives you huge advantages</p> <p>- How to pivot drastically when things are failing</p>

<p>In this week's Idea Lab, I am going to show you how to launch any business idea for less than €500.</p> <p>This episode gives you everything you need to go from an idea to business launch in a few weeks and less than 20 hours of work. </p>

<p>Seamus Fahy is naturally curious. His curiosity propelled him into a career as an oil trader before a random conversation at a wedding changed his life.</p> <p>In today's episode, you will learn how to start a business in an industry you have zero experience in. We'll uncover the secrets of building a huge waitlist of customers before launching and finally, Seamus reveals how being curious can be a business superpower. </p>

<p>In the Idea Lab today, we find out which sportswear brand only founded in 2012 hit a £1bn valuation.</p> <p>We also look at which challenger bank lost €119m but gained 10 million new subscribers.</p> <p>Finally, I set our listeners a challenge to reimagine the events industry after the news that we may see no live events until 2022. </p>

<p>Welcome to the first book club review with special guest Fabio Molle. In July, we read Bezonomics, a fantastic book looking at Amazon's unstoppable rise and where they are going next.</p> <p>Fabio and I break down the book, analyse Amazon's business model and potential opportunities for entrepreneurs. </p>

<p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">I’ve spent the last week traveling around our wonderful island. While it was great fun, parts of it were really stressful.</p> <p class="">That stress was entirely down to the friction created by Covid. Wherever friction exists in a consumer journey, there are lots of opportunities for smart entrepreneurs.</p> <p class="">I break down 5 areas you can get ideas from this week. </p>

<p>In this week's Idea Lab, I explore the idea of 15-minute cities and how that will offer opportunities for entrepreneurs.</p> <p>We also go deep on the idea of second-order effects and the hundreds of business opportunities Covid has opened up for aspiring entrepreneurs.</p> <p> </p>

<p>In this week's episode, we learn what company is making $13m from just 13 employees.<br /> <br /> We also discover which GAA star is under fire for becoming an entrepreneur.</p>

<p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">Each Monday I’ll be sharing a new episode of the Idea Lab podcast. It’s a rapid summary of the ideas I’m exploring and trends I’m spotting for new business ideas.</p> <p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">This week we breakdown how GymShark has £53m cash in the bank and how being a YouTube is now more lucrative than being a doctor.</p> <p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"> </p> <p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"> </p>

<p>A cliff jump in Jamaica set off a chain of events that sparked this week's guest on a journey to become one of Ireland's leading men's fashion entrepreneurs.</p> <p>I'm joined this week by Paul Galvin for one of the most varied and inspiring chats I've ever had on the podcast.</p> <p>Paul's natural curiosity and passion for exploration have carved out careers in sports, design, and fashion.</p> <p>Kerry Athlete - Irish Entrepreneur - Global Creative</p>

<p>In this week's episode, we flip the focus and learn how the world of venture and investing works. </p> <p>My guest this week is Alan Merriman from Elkstone. Alan is a highly successful investor & deal maker.</p> <p>He shares his knowledge and experience of the traits and characteristics of a good entrepreneur. </p> <p>Alan reveals exactly what he seeks in both an entrepreneur and an investment. </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p>

<p>A special short episode launching The Entrepreneur Experiment Book Club.</p> <p>Hear what the book club is, how you can join, and our book of the month for June. </p>

<p>The ability to adapt. It's never been more important to hone this skill. Alan Coleman used the power of adaption to successfully tweak his first company Brite:Bill to eventually reach over 200 million people.</p> <p>After a successful sale, he's now tackling the Internet of Things (IOT) with his latest company, Sweepr.<br /> <br /> A powerful chat about experimenting, adapting, and surviving. </p>

<p>We all want to know how to get rich. But how do you become rich enough to be included on The Sunday Times Rich List?</p> <p>In this week's special episode, we look at how people get rich, stay rich, and become wealthy enough to be among the top 1000 richest people in Ireland and the UK.</p> <p>Delighted to be joined this week by Conor McMahon. He is a business reporter with The Sunday Times.</p> <p>In this episode, we discuss:</p> <p>- Who compiles the Rich List?</p> <p>- How do you qualify?</p> <p>- Do people ever try to avoid being on the list?</p> <p>- Who is at the top spot for 2020?</p> <p>- How Covid-19 has impacted it?</p> <p>- Is the Rich List a terrible idea?</p> <p>- Famous Irish names on the list.</p> <p>- The most common source of wealth.</p> <p>- Old money versus new money. </p> <p> </p>

<p>In this week's episode, I breakdown the key learning of every single interview with every entrepreneur that has featured on the podcast so far.</p> <p>I deliver the main learning I took from each person and how you can apply that to your business or idea.</p> <p>I also reveal The Entrepreneur Experiment Book Club and new content to be revealed next week.</p>

<p>A very special guest for episode 50 of The Entrepreneur Experiment.</p> <p>Claire McHugh founded Axonista in the depths of the last recession and her video empire now spans the globe.</p> <p>In this episode we discuss:<br /> - How Claire and her co-founder were able to spot an opportunity that hadn't even presented itself yet.<br /> - Claire explains how they survived the early years<br /> - Where they found their first clients<br /> - Moving from a service business to becoming a product business<br /> - Leading in a crisis</p>

<p>As the founder of Prowlster & Opsh, Jennie has been at the forefront of eCommerce innovation in Ireland since 2008.</p> <p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">The world ahead is uncertain and many people face tough decisions. It is more important than ever that we hear from people who’ve made hard choices and will honestly share the journey.</p> <p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><br /> This week’s chat with Jennie couldn’t have come at a better time as she embodies the resilience required to be an entrepreneur.</p> <p>In a wide-ranging chat, we discover:</p> <p>- How her first venture started as a hobby</p> <p>- Why family can be the perfect co-founders</p> <p>- The funding trap in Ireland</p> <p>- The major issues holding back retailers from being successful at eCommerce.</p> <p>- Knowing when to pivot and when to stop. </p> <p>- Where to find the resilience to start again</p> <p>- The forthcoming boom in eCommerce post-Covid.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>