Business Builders

I'm opening up four places exclusively for Business Builders listeners at The Room, taking place in Dublin on Friday, 23 October.

I'll be interviewing Vincent Carton, former CEO of Manor Farm, and Nick Keegan, Founder & CEO of Mail Metrics, in front of a small, carefully selected group of business owners and investors.

Two live, long-form interviews followed by audience Q&A. Nothing is recorded, and the event operates under strict confidentiality and non-solicitation rules.

Event details

Friday, 23 October 2026
10am–12pm
The Fitzwilliam Hotel, Dublin

Just four places available for podcast listeners, allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to attendance criteria and approval.

Find out more and book your place:
https://www.theroom.salon/event

Business Builders Season 15 will be back very soon!

THE ROOM | 23 OCTOBER 2026

Theme: Belief

Applications are now open for a limited number of places at the first gathering of The Room. Attendance is limited to experienced business owners and investors and is subject to approval.

Join me for a private morning of live interviews with Vincent Carton, former CEO of Manor Farm, and Nick Keegan, Founder & CEO of Mail Metrics, exploring the role belief has played in their businesses and lives, followed by audience Q&A.

Nothing is recorded.

Friday, 23 October | 10am–12pm | Windmill QTR, Dublin

Tickets are €285 + VAT.

Find out more and book your place: https://www.theroom.salon/event

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Liam Kearney explains why the most successful businesses are often built in industries nobody talks about, why entrepreneurs should think five and even ten years ahead, and how the lessons he learned from financial collapse, corporate burnout and personal tragedy helped him build Revive Group into one of Ireland's fastest-growing manufacturing companies.

Liam Kearney joins Business Builders to share the story of building Revive Group from the ground up, transforming decades of experience in specialist municipal engineering into a global manufacturing and technology business that expects to exceed €50 million in turnover this year, with ambitions to surpass €100 million in the next three years and eventually reach half a billion euro in revenue.

Liam reflects on losing a successful business during the financial crisis, being forced to leave Ireland, rebuilding his career in Denmark and ultimately returning home to start again. He explains why corporate life almost destroyed his entrepreneurial spirit, why he deliberately chose an industry that remains resilient during economic downturns, and how Revive is evolving from a traditional manufacturer into a data-driven technology company.

The conversation also explores Liam's experiences growing up with dyslexia, being told he'd never achieve anything, and losing both of his parents in separate accidents. He discusses how those experiences shaped his ambition, why he isn't motivated by money, the importance of building world-class teams, and why creating opportunities for people through employability initiatives has become one of the most meaningful aspects of his leadership journey.

This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, manufacturing, engineering, leadership, resilience, scaling, industrial technology, data, innovation, globalization, dyslexia, ambition, founder mindset, team building, employability, Irish industry, personal tragedy, business failure, corporate culture and building global businesses from rural Ireland.

"My reward is success. Taking something that didn't exist and turning it into a global organization."

🎧 In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Liam rebuilt his career after losing a successful business during the financial crisis

• Why he left corporate life to become an entrepreneur again

• How Revive Group grew into a business approaching €50 million in annual turnover

• Why sewer infrastructure became the foundation of a global manufacturing company

• Why Liam deliberately chose an industry that can survive any economic downturn

• How Revive is transitioning from manufacturing equipment to harvesting and monetizing data

• Why the best founders think five and even ten years ahead

• How dyslexia shaped Liam's approach to business and leadership

• Why Liam believes success has nothing to do with money

• How personal tragedy strengthened his determination to build something meaningful

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open

00:39 - What is Revive Group?

02:20 - Liam's previous business and the financial crash

04:09 - The story of buying a chicken factory on a train

07:16 - Losing a successful business

08:28 - Rebuilding in Denmark

15:40 - Why corporate life almost broke him

17:59 - Thinking five and ten years ahead

19:28 - Starting Revive Group during Covid

20:42 - Why data is more valuable than the machines

23:04 - Choosing a recession-proof industry

24:12 - Building the Warrior Project

25:34 - Building a world-class leadership team

27:06 - Do CEOs need technical expertise?

30:11 - Why Liam brought the business back to Ireland

32:56 - Building completely off-grid factories

33:19 - The Danish manufacturing model

38:04 - Growing towards €50 million in turnover

40:01 - The biggest challenge: cash

46:10 - Transitioning from manufacturing to data

55:17 - Where ambition comes from

57:49 - Growing up with dyslexia

01:01:14 - Why money doesn't motivate Liam

01:01:50 - Losing both parents in separate accidents

01:05:25 - Leadership, employability and giving back

01:12:01 - The three things Liam is most proud of

01:16:08 - The personal cost of ambition

01:17:14 - Advice for his younger self

01:21:50 - The Enterprise Ireland programme that changed his thinking

Topics covered:

Entrepreneurship, Liam Kearney, Revive Group, manufacturing, engineering, industrial technology, sewer infrastructure, municipal engineering, leadership, resilience, scaling, business growth, globalization, data, Industry 4.0, entrepreneurship in Ireland, founder mindset, dyslexia, employability, team building, innovation, Denmark, Irish manufacturing, business failure, ambition, leadership development, Enterprise Ireland.

Shane Leahy explains why rapid growth can become one of a business's biggest challenges, why great leaders build teams around their own weaknesses, and how the lessons he learned building Oxygen8 into a €100m+ global technology group are now helping him scale humanitarian aid in some of the world's most dangerous conflict zones.

Shane Leahy joins Business Builders to share his journey from professional rugby into telecoms and entrepreneurship, eventually helping grow Oxygen8 from a €30 million business into a global technology group generating more than €100 million in turnover, with operations spanning Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Australia, the US and beyond.

Shane reflects on the leadership lessons he carried from professional sport into business, why different people require completely different styles of management, and how recognising his own weaknesses helped him build stronger teams around him. He also discusses the challenges created by rapid international growth, a fraud of more than $10 million that forced the group to restructure, the importance of learning from failure, and why putting the right management structures in place became essential as Oxygen8 scaled.

The conversation also explores Shane's decision to step back from the day-to-day running of his businesses and establish One for Humanity. Using the same proof-of-concept and scaling principles he learned in business, Shane and his team have helped establish 19 hospital units along the front lines in Ukraine and deliver more than $200 million worth of medicine, while also supporting humanitarian projects in Gaza and elsewhere.

This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, leadership, professional sport, scaling, international business, failure, resilience, team building, self-awareness, humanitarian aid, purpose, Ukraine, Gaza, technology, organisational structure, founder mindset, and using business experience to make an impact far beyond business.

"You learn a hell of a lot more from your failures than you do from the successes."

🎧 In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Shane went from professional rugby into business and telecoms
• How Oxygen8 grew from €30 million to more than €100 million in turnover
• Why Shane believes great leaders need to manage different people differently
• How to identify your weaknesses and build a team that complements them
• Why rapid growth can expose weaknesses in a company's structure
• How Oxygen8 responded after suffering a fraud of more than $10 million
• Why failure can teach you more than success
• How Shane applied business principles to humanitarian aid
• How One for Humanity helped establish 19 hospital units in Ukraine
• Why Shane believes simply showing up for people can make a profound difference

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open
01:18 - What is Oxygen8?
04:17 - From professional rugby to business
06:38 - What rugby taught Shane about leadership
08:19 - Building a team around your weaknesses
11:06 - Why failure teaches you more than success
11:58 - The challenges of building a global business
12:19 - The $10 million fraud that changed Oxygen8
14:51 - When rapid growth becomes a problem
16:09 - Expanding across the world
19:14 - The opportunity in mobile payments
20:27 - Setting goals for growth
22:09 - Stepping back from the business
22:57 - Why Shane became involved in Ukraine
25:08 - Scaling One for Humanity
28:19 - Finding a new purpose in life
30:14 - Building frontline hospital units
32:03 - Delivering millions of dollars of medicine every month
32:57 - Taking the humanitarian model into Gaza
37:12 - Learning from failure in humanitarian work
38:34 - What life is like on the Ukrainian front line
41:21 - Why Shane continues to put himself in danger
43:12 - Hope and determination in Ukraine
46:51 - Applying a business mindset to humanitarian aid
54:29 - How the experience changed Shane's perspective on life
56:45 - Ireland's position in an increasingly uncertain world
01:05:38 - "It's the best thing I've ever done"
01:07:08 - The final message from Shane's father

Topics covered:

Entrepreneurship, Shane Leahy, Oxygen8, leadership, professional rugby, business growth, scaling, international business, telecoms, mobile payments, Africa, team building, organisational culture, management, resilience, failure, founder mindset, self-awareness, business strategy, One for Humanity, humanitarian aid, Ukraine, Gaza, frontline medicine, purpose, technology, Irish business.

Pat Byrne explains why great businesses fail when leaders stop challenging themselves, why resilience matters more than avoiding failure, and how CityJet evolved from a small challenger airline into one of Europe's leading regional aviation operators.

Pat Byrne joins Business Builders to share the story of founding CityJet, transforming it from a startup airline challenging the Dublin–London monopoly into an international aviation business that grew to operate almost 50 aircraft across Europe through innovative wet leasing partnerships with some of the world's largest airlines.

Pat reflects on building and selling multiple businesses over a career spanning more than five decades, including Cornmarket and CityJet, recounts how a cold call to Richard Branson led to a partnership with Virgin, and explains why the biggest breakthroughs often come from challenging conventional thinking. He also discusses surviving constant crises in aviation, overcoming failure, building customer relationships instead of transactions, creating high-performing teams, avoiding the dangers of groupthink, and why the most successful founders never stop transforming themselves or their businesses.

This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, aviation, leadership, resilience, transformation, business strategy, innovation, customer experience, scaling, organisational culture, founder mindset, sales, marketing, change management, and building businesses that can survive constant uncertainty.

"The real risk is not being prepared to take one."

🎧 In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Pat built CityJet from a startup into a major European regional airline
 • The cold call that led to a partnership with Richard Branson and Virgin
 • Why the airline industry is one of the hardest businesses in the world
 • How one customer conversation transformed Cornmarket into a market leader
 • Why selling is about relationships, not transactions
 • How to lead teams through constant uncertainty and crisis
 • Why founders become prisoners of consensus—and how to avoid it
 • The dangers of groupthink in business
 • How Pat approaches failure and bounces back from setbacks
 • Why great businesses are built through continuous transformation

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open
 00:56 - Building CityJet from scratch
 04:28 - Why airlines are such difficult businesses
 06:37 - Surviving constant crisis as a founder
 11:00 - Building Cornmarket from one customer insight
 18:16 - Why relationships beat transactions in business
 20:01 - Selling Cornmarket and starting again
 23:15 - Challenging convention and avoiding groupthink
 24:34 - How Pat partnered with Richard Branson
 31:24 - The mindset behind making bold decisions
 40:09 - Selling CityJet to Air France
 43:52 - Why Pat returned to CityJet years later
 53:04 - Building a career through transformation
 56:33 - Pat's philosophy on failure and resilience
 59:11 - Helping businesses transform today
 01:11:44 - Final thoughts

Topics covered:

Entrepreneurship, CityJet, aviation, airlines, Richard Branson, Virgin, Cornmarket, leadership, resilience, business strategy, transformation, sales, customer relationships, marketing, innovation, founder mindset, scaling, organisational culture, failure, risk-taking, change management, consulting, business growth, Irish business.

Oltian Dervishi explains why every growing business eventually hits a ceiling, why founders must keep taking risks long after they've found success, and how Forte Pespa transformed itself from a traditional contractor into one of Ireland's fastest-growing offsite manufacturers.

Oltian Dervishi joins Business Builders to share the story of building Forte Pespa from a small construction business into Ireland's largest aluminium balcony manufacturer, growing from €3 million to €20 million in turnover after completely reinventing the company and its business model.

Oltian reflects on the difficult early years of entrepreneurship, including going nine months without taking a salary, explains why rebuilding the business from scratch became the only way to scale, and shares the lessons that transformed both his leadership and the company's trajectory. He discusses the importance of timing, learning through failure, hiring ahead of growth, building a culture driven by hunger rather than credentials, taking on private equity, and surrounding yourself with people who force you to think much bigger than you thought possible.

This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, manufacturing, leadership, innovation, scaling, risk-taking, company culture, hiring, private equity, business strategy, offsite construction, and building a high-growth manufacturing business from Ireland.

"You can't teach hunger."

🎧 In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Forte Pespa grew from €3 million to €20 million by reinventing its entire business
• Why every growing business eventually reaches a ceiling—and how to break through it
• The advice from Oltian's father that completely changed how he thinks about risk
• Why going nine months without a salary was worth it
• How failure became his greatest business teacher
• Why ambition matters more than talent
• How hiring ahead of growth helped the business scale faster
• Why the best founders learn to let go of control
• How private equity accelerated Forte Pespa's next stage of growth
• Why surrounding yourself with bigger thinkers changes your own ambitions

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open
01:18 - What is Forte Pespa?
02:17 - The €3 million ceiling that changed everything
05:42 - Finding the opportunity that started the business
07:13 - Landing the first €1 million contract
08:10 - Surviving without a salary
11:02 - Why timing is everything in business
12:13 - Rebuilding the company from scratch
15:17 - Lessons from Oltian's father
16:21 - Why entrepreneurship beat the 9-to-5
18:02 - Why ambition matters more than talent
19:16 - Learning through failure
22:15 - Hiring before you can afford to
26:07 - Why every team needs spare capacity
27:22 - Reinventing the business to scale
30:16 - Growing from €3 million to €20 million
34:08 - Building a leadership team
36:15 - Creating a winning company culture
37:16 - Why Oltian hires for hunger, not CVs
40:25 - Controlling the entire supply chain
43:00 - Thinking bigger after EY Entrepreneur Of The Year
45:59 - Building a business that's impossible to compete with
48:18 - Why success hasn't changed his mindset
50:10 - Final thoughts

Topics covered:

Entrepreneurship, business growth, scaling, manufacturing, offsite construction, innovation, leadership, founders, company culture, hiring, ambition, risk-taking, failure, private equity, operations, strategy, engineering, construction, aluminium, supply chain, acquisitions, productivity, Irish business, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year, Forte Pespa.

John Corley explains why great products still fail, why ambition matters more than most founders realise, and how Spanish Point Technologies became a global software company powering the music industry.

John Corley joins Business Builders to share the story of building Spanish Point Technologies from a small Irish software consultancy into an international technology company employing more than 120 people, generating €27 million in annual revenue, and providing the software behind music royalty systems across the world.

John reflects on the costly lessons learned after investing millions into a product that received a standing ovation from Microsoft but ultimately failed commercially, and explains why distribution, market focus and go-to-market strategy matter just as much as building a great product. He also discusses bootstrapping for nearly two decades, transitioning from services to software products, embracing AI to solve real-world problems, preserving company culture during rapid growth, and why founders shouldn't be afraid to think much bigger than they're comfortable admitting.

This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, software, AI, leadership, product strategy, scaling, company culture, ambition, bootstrapping, and building a global technology business from Ireland.

"Building a great product isn't enough."

🎧 In this episode, you'll learn:

• How Spanish Point Technologies grew into a €27 million global software business
• Why a standing ovation from Microsoft still wasn't enough to make a product succeed
• The difference between building a great product and building a great business
• Why bootstrapping helped shape the company's long-term success
• How AI is transforming the music industry and royalty payments
• Why founders need the confidence to think and communicate more ambitiously
• How to scale a business without losing its culture
• Why hiring curious people beats hiring experienced people
• How John transitioned from CTO to CEO after twenty years
• Why some of the most valuable business lessons come from failure

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open
01:28 - What is Spanish Point Technologies?
05:03 - Is AI changing software forever?
07:02 - Using AI to transform the music industry
14:12 - How the music software business began
17:11 - Bootstrapping the company from day one
18:50 - Winning Microsoft's Worldwide Partner of the Year
21:42 - Turning down venture capital
22:55 - Building products instead of selling services
24:05 - The €3 million product that failed
26:42 - The lessons that changed the business forever
28:15 - Building software for the global music industry
31:44 - Learning to think bigger as a founder
33:52 - Hiring and developing great people
37:23 - Scaling culture as the company grows
38:49 - Becoming CEO after twenty years as CTO
41:03 - Leadership without changing who you are
43:33 - Learning confidence and public speaking
46:59 - What entrepreneurs have in common
48:28 - Growing the company through ambition
49:29 - Why Spanish Point took private equity investment
52:09 - Starting the business with no investors
55:04 - What's next for Spanish Point Technologies?

Topics covered:

Entrepreneurship, software, SaaS, AI, artificial intelligence, leadership, scaling, business growth, founders, bootstrapping, software engineering, Microsoft, startups, company culture, hiring, CTO, CEO, product strategy, go-to-market strategy, music industry, music royalties, digital transformation, private equity, Irish business, Spanish Point Technologies.

Dermot O’Shea explains why sales beats fundraising, why America rewards ambitious founders, and how he built Taoglas into a $100 million global technology company.

Dermot O’Shea joins Business Builders to share the remarkable story of building Taoglas from a two-person startup into a global leader in antenna technology, employing more than 350 people across ten international locations and generating over $100 million in annual revenue.

After starting the business with little more than determination, supportive families and a relentless focus on sales and cashflow, Dermot explains why he ignored the startup obsession with fundraising and instead concentrated on winning customers. He reflects on breaking into the American market, why the US business culture helped accelerate Taoglas’ growth, and why resilience has been the defining characteristic of his entrepreneurial journey.

Dermot also discusses building a high-performance culture, hiring people who believe in your vision, dealing with toxic employees, trusting your instincts as a leader, transitioning to private equity ownership, and why purpose - not money - is what continues to drive him more than twenty years into the business.

This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, sales, resilience, leadership, company culture, global expansion, private equity, purpose, and building a business that lasts.

“We were focused on selling. Everyone else was focused on fundraising.”

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Dermot built Taoglas into a $100 million global technology business
 • Why sales and cashflow mattered more than fundraising in the early years
 • How an Irish company successfully expanded into the American market
 • The biggest differences between doing business in Europe and the US
 • Why resilience is one of an entrepreneur’s greatest competitive advantages
 • How to build trust with customers and win long sales cycles
 • Why company culture becomes more important as your business grows
 • How to identify and deal with toxic employees
 • What Dermot learned from partnering with private equity
 • Why purpose becomes more important than money over time

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open
 01:06 - What is Taoglas?
 04:42 - How Taoglas was founded in Taiwan
 09:54 - Winning the first customers
 14:16 - Starting with no salary and no funding
 17:12 - Growing from $1M to $100M
 18:21 - When nobody believed the business would succeed
 20:52 - Why sales beats fundraising
 22:22 - Why great sales is built on trust
 25:23 - Expanding into America
 28:29 - Europe vs America: two very different business cultures
 35:22 - The mindset America taught Dermot
 41:41 - Growing from two people to 350 employees
 43:47 - Why toxic employees can destroy a company
 49:42 - Resilience as a founder’s greatest strength
 53:00 - Working less and leading differently
 55:09 - Money, purpose and private equity
 01:03:00 - Why Dermot may never retire

Topics covered:

Entrepreneurship, sales, business growth, scaling, leadership, resilience, company culture, startups, founders, cashflow, fundraising, global expansion, American business, European business, private equity, acquisitions, manufacturing, technology, Taoglas, antenna technology, B2B sales, customer trust, CEO mindset, hiring, business strategy, Irish business.

🔔🔔 Brendan McGurgan explains why your business can’t outgrow the leader you’re willing to become; and why scaling starts with self growth first 🔔🔔

Brendan McGurgan joins Business Builders to share the lessons from scaling CDE Global from a 15-person engineering company into a global market leader operating across six continents, before founding Simple Scaling to help ambitious business owners grow with purpose.

After spending nearly two decades leading one of Northern Ireland’s biggest business success stories, Brendan now coaches founders on the mindset, systems and leadership required to build companies that can scale beyond their dependence on the owner. He explains why most founders become the bottleneck in their own business, why delegation is a leadership skill rather than a management tactic, and why your business will only ever grow as far as you do.

Brendan also reflects on navigating the global financial crisis, building a culture that thrives through adversity, creating a compelling vision that people genuinely want to follow, and why success should never come at the expense of your health, relationships or sense of purpose.

This is a conversation about leadership, scaling, mindset, culture, delegation, purpose, and building a business that creates lasting impact.

“Leaders will only ever scale to the ceiling of their own belief system.”

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

 • How Brendan helped scale CDE Global from 15 people to a global business
 • The mindset shifts every founder must make to keep growing
 • Why founders become trapped working in their business instead of on it
• The power of delegation, systems and eliminating low-value work
• How to build a culture that thrives through uncertainty and change
• What the global financial crisis taught Brendan about leadership
• Why vision is one of a leader’s most important responsibilities
• How to inspire people by connecting business goals to personal goals
• Why every stage of growth creates new challenges
• How to scale without sacrificing your health, relationships or wellbeing
• Why purpose-driven businesses create greater long-term impact

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Cold open
 01:57 – What is Simple Scaling?
 04:27 – Why founders become trapped in their own business
 08:09 – Delegation, systems and your zone of genius
 10:25 – The mindset that stops founders scaling
 13:13 – Why leadership starts with changing yourself
 17:28 – Scaling CDE Global from 15 people to a global business
 21:22 – Leading through the global financial crisis
 27:08 – The principles behind successful scaling
 30:05 – How to inspire people with a compelling vision
 36:17 – Creating long-term business vision
 44:05 – Where founders get stuck
 49:39 – Every level has a new devil
 51:33 – Balancing business with family life
 01:00:27 – Why Brendan founded Simple Scaling
 01:10:02 – Why you have an obligation to scale
 01:12:16 – Where to learn more

Topics covered:

Scaling, business growth, leadership, founder mindset, entrepreneurship, SMEs, delegation, business systems, company culture, vision, purpose, leadership development, personal growth, scaling businesses, coaching, change management, resilience, business strategy, founder bottlenecks, Northern Ireland business, CDE Global, Simple Scaling, scale-ups, high-performance teams, business leadership

🔔🔔 Charlie Hamilton explains how he led a business through the financial crash and Covid; and why the best leaders never stop dealing with reality 🔔🔔

Charlie Hamilton joins Business Builders to share the story of Canadia Flooring, one of Ireland’s leading flooring suppliers, and the leadership lessons he’s learned from three decades of building the business.

Starting as an accountant before joining the company in its earliest days, Charlie worked his way from sales to Managing Director before eventually completing a management buyout and becoming owner. Along the way, he led the business through the global financial crisis, expanded into the UK when the Irish market collapsed, and later navigated the uncertainty of Covid.

Charlie explains why he believes the most dangerous thing a leader can do is ignore reality, why surrounding yourself with experienced people matters, and how building the right team has been the foundation of Canadia Flooring’s success.

He also reflects on the management buyout process, the importance of independent boards for SMEs, finding work you genuinely enjoy, and why entrepreneurship is often about spotting opportunities that others don’t see.

This is a conversation about leadership, resilience, long-term thinking, business growth, and building a company that lasts.

“The real danger is that you don’t deal in reality, and you don’t deal with the facts that are in front of you.”

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Charlie grew from accountant to owner of Canadia Flooring
 • The lessons from leading through the financial crisis and Covid
 • Why expanding into the UK transformed the business
 • The reality of completing a management buyout (MBO)
 • Why good advice is worth paying for
 • How an independent board helped grow the company
 • Why entrepreneurs see opportunities differently
 • How to build a resilient leadership team
 • Why listening to customers is a competitive advantage
 • The importance of planning years ahead, not just months
 • Why doing work you genuinely enjoy changes everything
 • What the next decade looks like for Canadia Flooring

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open
 01:03 - Introducing Charlie Hamilton and Canadia Flooring
 02:41 - The story behind Canadia Flooring
 09:25 - Building a nationwide business
 11:22 - From accountant to flooring
 13:16 - Becoming Managing Director before the financial crash
 14:35 - Surviving the recession by expanding into the UK
 16:09 - Finding work you genuinely love
 18:12 - The confidence to lead
 22:24 - Leading through crisis
 25:06 - Why EO and great advisors matter
 27:25 - Why every SME should consider a board
 29:39 - Listening to customers
 35:30 - Completing the management buyout
 42:39 - Becoming an entrepreneur
 44:40 - The future of Canadia Flooring
 48:46 - 30 years in business
 49:41 - Where to learn more

Topics covered:

Entrepreneurship, leadership, management buyouts, MBO, business growth, SMEs, Irish business, family business, recession, financial crisis, Covid, resilience, leadership mindset, boards, governance, strategy, customer experience, sales, scaling a business, construction, flooring, importing, entrepreneurship in Ireland, Canadia Flooring, business ownership, founder mindset

🔔🔔 Hannah Wrixon explains why the most successful women are often the least supported; and why she’s building a global network to change that 🔔🔔

Hannah Wrixon joins Business Builders to share the story behind Keller and why she believes one of the biggest challenges facing women in leadership is something few people talk about.

After building and exiting multiple businesses, Hannah noticed a surprising pattern. While countless initiatives exist to support startups and emerging leaders, many of the women who had already “made it” were quietly carrying enormous responsibilities with very little support themselves. The executives and founders mentoring everyone else often had nobody to turn to when they faced their own challenges.

That insight led Hannah to launch KELLA, a private global community for senior women leaders and entrepreneurs designed around peer-to-peer support, leadership development, and meaningful connections.

Alongside the story of Keller, Hannah reflects on building and selling Get the Shifts, navigating Covid, understanding her own strengths as an entrepreneur, and why ambition and personal fulfilment are not always the same thing.

She also shares her experiences as a woman entering heavily male-dominated industries in the 1990s, the importance of risk-taking, and why she proudly describes herself as “unapologetically ambitious”.

This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, leadership, ambition, identity, and what success really means.

“That’s all wonderful. But who’s mentoring you? Silence. Full stop.”  

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why the most successful women are often the least supported
 • The story behind founding Keller and its mission to support women leaders
 • Why Hannah’s first attempt at building Keller went badly wrong
 • The costly mistake she made with Builder.ai
 • How she built and exited Get the Shifts
 • Why she sold the business after Covid
 • The challenges of balancing ambition with family life
 • Why knowing your strengths matters as a founder
 • How a conversation with her son changed how she thinks about identity
 • Why she believes women should be unapologetically ambitious
 • What success means to her today
 • How Keller plans to become a global network for women leaders

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open
 01:03 - Introducing Hannah Wrixon and Keller
 02:55 - Why she founded Keller
 05:18 - “Who’s mentoring you?”
 05:47 - The mistakes she made building Keller
 08:38 - Why the original tech platform failed
 10:27 - Losing money on Builder.ai
 12:08 - How Keller works today
 18:47 - Expansion into the UK and global ambitions
 22:45 - The story behind Get the Shifts
 27:34 - The reality of entrepreneurship and cash flow
 29:50 - The bank almost stopped payroll
 32:21 - Covid and reinventing the business
 36:21 - Why she sold the company
 37:37 - “You’re my hardest-working, poorest friend”
 38:48 - Why entrepreneurs don’t work normally
 39:14 - Work addiction and identity
 41:07 - Her relationship with her son Callum
 43:02 - Why selling the company felt disappointing
 46:22 - Finding purpose through Keller
 50:34 - Being told there were no jobs for women in engineering
 55:03 - The challenges women leaders still face
 58:19 - Becoming an accidental entrepreneur
 59:37 - Why she isn’t afraid of failure
 01:01:10 - Being “unapologetically ambitious”
 01:02:47 - What she wants written on her gravestone

Topics covered:

Women in business, women in leadership, entrepreneurship, startups, founder mindset, leadership, ambition, purpose, identity, work-life balance, business exits, scaling companies, peer networks, executive leadership, female founders, mentoring, gender equality, confidence, family, personal development, business growth, Keller, Get the Shifts, leadership development, founder psychology.