The Hidden Hustle Podcast

One of Ireland’s great business success stories and there’sa reason a book has been written about it.

We had an incredible conversation with Gareth Sheridan,Founder & CEO of Nutriband, a Nasdaq-listed pharmaceutical company and aformer presidential hopeful.

Gareth turned a college thesis into a publicly listedcompany, building the business from his bedroom while enduring some serioushard knocks along the way. His journey lifts the lid on the tougher, oftenunseen side of doing business in the US lessons learned the hard way.

Today, Gareth and Nutriband have their sights firmly set onachieving unicorn status in the pharmaceutical industry.

This is a conversation not to be missed. Gareth sharespowerful insights on resilience, vision, and what it really takes to build acompany against the odds, along with invaluable advice for aspiringentrepreneurs.

And yes we asked him if he’ll run for president again!

Show notes

• Gareth's entrepreneurial journey began in a challenging environment.
• Feedback is crucial for improving business strategies.• Understanding the implications of ownership is vital for entrepreneurs.
• Public listing can significantly impact a company's growth.
• Fundraising poses unique challenges for startups.
• Navigating business deals requires careful consideration and advice.
• Stress can lead to opportunities in business.
• Running for president was motivated by a desire for change.
• Social media plays a significant role in public discourse.•
• Aspiring entrepreneurs should seek advice and learn from experiences.

Links & resources:

Nutriband: https://www.nutriband.com/

Follow Gareth on Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethsheridanntrb/

Buy Gareth's book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-NASDAQ-Gareth-Sheridan/dp/1739233115

Our Sponsors:

Tap Design Consultancy: https://wearetap.ie/

linkedin.com/company/tapdesignconsultancy

This week’s guest is Jonathan Larbey, Co-Founder and CEO of T-Pro.

Founded 13 years ago in Ireland, T-Pro has grown into a global healthcare AI company with serious unicorn potential. Through its innovative voice recognition technology, T-Pro is reducing the administrative burden on healthcare professionals by over 70%, freeing clinicians to focus on high-value patient care. Today, T-Pro supports hospitals across the world, transforming how healthcare team’s work.

In this episode, we dive into:

• The evolution of T-Pro from a side-hustle legal admin provider to a global healthcare AI leader with 70% margins

• Avoiding bad investment opportunities and staying bootstrapped for 10 years

• The real-world impact T-Pro’s products are having on healthcare systems

• Breaking into the UK market

• The strategy behind taking Private Equity investment to scale globally through multiple acquisitions

• The exceptional acquisition-integration team built by Jonathan’s CFO

• Why taking some money off the table matters

• The importance of urgency and getting your product in front of customers fast

• The future of T-Pro and the ambition to build a $1 billion company

A must-listen for founders, operators, and anyone interested in scaling AI businesses in highly regulated industries.

Links & resources:

T Pro: https://info.tpro.io/

Follow Jonathan on Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-larbey-32928111/

Our Sponsors:

Tap Design Consultancy: https://wearetap.ie/

linkedin.com/company/tapdesignconsultancy

Today’s guest on The Hidden Hustle Podcast is SinéadCrowther, founder and CEO of Soothing Solutions.

This episode is a true masterclass in building a businessfrom the ground up with no money, driven by resilience, persistence, and an unshakeable belief in solving a real problem.

Sinéad’s journey shows what it really takes to keep going through the toughest moments of entrepreneurshipwhen resources are limited and setbacks are constant.

From idea to execution, she built Soothing Solutions into astandout Irish brand, with Tonstix Honey Jelly Pops now top 10 listed on Amazon and stocked widely across Ireland, the UK, Mauritius, Romania and hopefully of the US soon!

Her impact has been recognised at the highest level,including being named Enterprise Ireland’s High-Potential Start-Up Founder of the Year, cementing her reputation as one of Ireland’s most inspiring entrepreneurs.

If you have an idea for a business in Ireland but think funding is holding you back this is the episode for you. Links & resources:

Tonstix: https://tonstix.com/Follow Sinead on Linkedln: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sin%C3%A9ad-crowther-8a743a138/

Our Sponsors:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/tapdesignconsultancy/posts/?feedView=all

http://www.wearetap.ie/

🚜➡️🤖 From Diddly Squat Farm to building an AI company with 105 clients.

This is a must-listen episode for anyone who would like to teach themselves AI and make a business from it 👇

This week on The Hidden Hustle Podcast, we sat down with Lucca Allen, Founder of ToraTech AI — and his story is nothing short of incredible.

At just 23 years old, Lucca has already lived multiple careers.

🏎️ A highly successful racing driver, winning championships in F4 with ambitions of reaching F1

➡️ When racing didn’t go to plan, he pivoted

🚜 Worked alongside Jeremy Clarkson on Diddly Squat Farm

🤖 Taught himself AI from scratch on the side — with no prior tech background

Fast forward to today, and Lucca has built ToraTech AI, a fast-growing AI company focused on helping businesses actually understand and use AI.

📈 105 clients already

🚀 Still growing

🎯 Big vision for where AI is heading — and how people should prepare for it

In this episode, Lucca shares:

• Honest lessons from failing, pivoting, and starting again

• Practical insights on the future of AI (no hype, just reality)

• Simple, actionable advice for anyone wanting to start learning AI today

If you’re a founder, future founder, or simply curious about AI — this conversation is for you.

Links & resources:

ToraTech AI https://toratech.ai/

Follow Lucca Allen on Linkedln https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucca-allen-3521a9148/

Are your phone distractions decreasing your productivity in work?
We believe this conversation could be a really important start to everyone’s 2026 with learning how we can better our inner world in a time where minds are extremely busy and so easily distracted.
This week on The Hidden Hustle Podcast we talk to Shane Cradock high performance CEO and Athlete Coach. Shane has over 25 years experience helping top CEO’s, athletes and ambitious people perform at a higher level and achieve what they believe are impossible goals such by mastering their inner minds. Why should only top sports people focus on their inner mental game?
If you’re looking to make a difference to your Inner Game for 2026 we believe this conversation could really help!
If you like the episode we would highly recommend readings Shane’s book “The Inner CEO” it is packed full of life changing advice on how to master your inner world.
Links to find Shane and his content:
https://shanecradock.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanecradock/

Really enjoyed an insightful discussion with Colm O’Rourke, founder of Capaciteam, recently ranked 3rd in Clutch’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies for 2025.
Colm shared his fascinating journey from starting out in the nightclub scene, to founding Felix Recruitment, and ultimately building Capaciteam, a company specialising in IT services and IT consulting.
Capaciteam is growing at an impressive pace, with projected revenues approaching €5 million and a team of 70 employees in just 4 years.
We also discussed AI in depth. Colm highlighted practical, real-world examples of how businesses of all sizes can benefit from AI, and shared valuable advice on how people with little or no AI background can begin developing their AI knowledge and skills.
A genuinely inspiring conversation with plenty of takeaways.
If you enjoy the episode, please follow us on Spotify and YouTube — your support helps us keep these conversations going.
This podcast is brought to you by Tap Design Consultancy.
Capaciteam and Colm O'Rourke contact details:
capaciteam.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/colmorourke/

In this episode of The Hidden Hustle Podcast, we sit down with Greg Clarke, founder of Digicom and former president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. Digicom is a leader in high-end video conferencing and audio-visual technology.
Greg shares a raw and honest look at his 28-year journey building his business — from personal tragedy to major leadership lessons.
🔍 We discuss:
- How his brother’s passing inspired him to start Digicom
- The tough conversations with his employees that forced him to evolve his leadership style
- Why customer obsession has driven Digicom’s long-term success
- How costly video-conferencing failures can be for companies
- Becoming President of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce
- The role of meditation in his growth
If you enjoy the episode, please follow us on Spotify and YouTube — your support helps us keep these conversations going.
A huge thank you to Greg for his time and insights.
This podcast is brought to you by Tap Design Consultancy.

In this episode of the Hidden Hustle Podcast, we sit down with Irish business legend John Purdy, who recently sold his company Ergo. John founded Ergo 33 years ago with his co-founder, the late Tim Sheehy, starting out in a shed in Cabra, Dublin — and the company has remained fully bootstrapped ever since.

Over those three decades, John also founded and later spun off Fenergo, which is now on track for a €2 billion valuation.

In this episode, we discuss:
🔥 Why John decided to sell Ergo after 33 years
🚀 How to scale a fully bootstrapped business to €250 million in revenue
🧠 Thinking like a big business even when you’re small
💼 Founding Fenergo during a recession — now valued at €2 billion
🎓 Lessons from a business course at Stanford University in California
👥 Leadership insights from three decades in business
🤝 Why cultural fit is essential for successful acquisitions
🌱 What’s next for John — investing in multiple promising Irish start-ups
🇮🇪 The evolving Irish business landscape

Links & Resources

🔗 Ergo Technology Group: https://ergotechnologygroup.com/
🔗 Connect with John Purdy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpurdy/

Visit our partners

🤝 https://wearetap.ie/

From Insolvency to 45 Million Bottles Sold: The VITHIT Story
This week we chat with Gary Lavin, Founder of VITHIT a true masterclass in resilience and brand building.
Gary launched VITHIT in the early 2000s and went nearly a decade without profit. At one stage the company was insolvent and his house was repossessed. But with unwavering belief and one pivotal change, he turned VITHIT into the 7th best-selling drink in Ireland, now hitting 45 million bottles sold a year.
Huge thanks to Gary for sharing his raw, honest insights and the lessons behind VITHIT’s rise.
P.S Keep an eye out for Gary on RTE One tonight where he’s featuring on The Entrepreneurs show as a finalist for EY Entrepreneur of the Year at 8pm!  

This week we chat with Oonagh O’Hagan, owner of Meagher’s Pharmacies, about her incredible story and journey that all started from asking her boss one question when leaving her job💡
We cover:💊 Her new product tackling the root cause of illness and disease.
🏪 Lessons from the first 12 months being a business owner to opening 9 more stores
📖 Opening up to her staff about the businesses declining profit and the trajectory it went on from there.
🛒 Being one of Ireland’s first online pharmacies — and what she learned from it.
👥 Building a team.
🧘‍♀️ How she balances business, family, and wellness with such a busy schedule.
Oonagh’s story is a perfect example of chasing your crazy dreams and figuring it out along the way!