Trading Up

Season 2 of Trading Up is coming soon...

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Catriona Campbell has advised governments and major industry players on AI, so it was great to get her for a one-to-one to outline what anyone in business should be doing when it comes to artificial intelligence. As a renowned expert in human-computer interaction, she has guided some of the world's top brands to digital success and she now advices EY clients as their UK and Ireland AI strategy leader. As you'd expect from an expert in communication, she had some straightforward and clear advice - top tips if you like - for anyone in business.

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William McColgan runs a third generation family business with his sister in Strabane in the North-West of Northern Ireland. He brings a wealth of qualifications and experience to his role. Not long ago he was flying high in corporate America. He has a Masters in actuarial science and an MBA from Wharton. He didn't need to come home. But he did. Why? What drives him? Listen to this latest in the summer shorts collection to get a masterclass in finding the meaning in business that drives success.

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Rory King loves travel. He wanted to find a way of sharing that love with others. So he set up a Facebook page and started posting travel tips and deals he had spotted. One day he noticed a glitch with Aer Lingus that was almost too good to be true on transatlantic flights. He posted the information. It went viral as punters snapped up the good value and the idea of Rory's Travel Club was born. The business model came when Rory realised that the booking sites were taking a huge commission off hoteliers and travel companies to get them business. What if, he wondered, that commission could be passed on to customers as a discount. His business was born. Rory essentially acts as an honest broker between the hotel/travel company and the customer. He doesn't take commission. He passes on big discounts to his loyal members who pay him a small annual fee of 12 euro. Trust is key to this. His members trust him to get the discounts. The hotels and travel companies he works with trust him to promote their deals to a loyal audience. Everyone wins and Rory's membership continues to climb. He has his sights set on one million members. You do the math. But also listen to the story.

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Matthew Nesbitt had had enough of working down mines in Australia or deserts in the Middle East selling property when he returned home with a burning ambition to set up his own business. A short spell selling bodycams gave him the inspiration he needed. He decided they were the easiest product he'd ever sold and that he could create a better product himself. Some inspired help from his family gave him a new focus for the business plan, transforming it to a subscription software model. That, an appreciation that the customer base was much wider than traditional security services, and some useful features on the product itself, powered growth that has made Halos the fastest-growing bodycam company in the world.

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Matt Creighton has taken an unusual route to success. He admits that his big idea was born while he was enjoying life as a ski seasonaire in the French Alps and he was in search of some extra funds to top up his meagre pay, or "beer tokens" as he called it. From screen printing t-shirts for mates to building a clothing brand - Bleubird - that now has 300 wholesale customers in the UK, Ireland, Europe and the US, it has been quite the journey. What's remarkable is how growth has been driven by building deep relationships with traditional retail stores, not ignoring online, but not favouring it either. There are some counterintuitive lessons for success in Matt's story.

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Maeve Monaghan runs a social enterprise. But she likes making money. Profit isn't a dirty word - it's what allows her organisation to make a difference to so many lives across the island of Ireland. The Now Group runs a catering business; a training company that helps people with learning difficulties into work; and a movement that's empowering organisations to take a minute to help those who need a bit of patience to access their services. In this Summer Short, your preconceptions of what makes a social enterprise will be confounded.

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Paul Stewart didn't like paying airlines a fortune to bring his bags home from Uni in Edinburgh to his home in Belfast. So he set up his own business to do it for him. My Baggage is now at the cutting edge of logistics, moving personal possessions at an attractive price all over the world. It's biggest share of revenue comes from relocations as increasing numbers of young professionals in Northern Ireland decide to up sticks and move to the US and Australia. Along the way, Paul has encountered major changes such as Brexit. He's risen to the challenge by investing in technology and providing customs clearance solutions for the end customer. He's now planning major global expansion with the US market his number one target.

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In this second of the Summer Shorts, we catch up with Belfast hotelier Melanie Harrison. The key lesson here is how Melanie has put thoughtful storytelling at the heart of everything she does. Her property once belonged to Belfast's answer to Mr Selfridge, Cleaver of "Cleaver and Robinson" a once famous Belfast department store. At the height of Cleaver's success in the 19th century he was selling linen by mail order across the world and had become, in Melanie's words, "the Jeff Bezos of his day". Each of Melanie's rooms at her hotel tells a story. And she partners with theatre and opera companies to bring quirky lives performance into her hotel. It makes the hotel itself a place of discovery for guests who can soak up stories and create new ones of their own to tell their friends. As a result, the marketing almost looks after itself. It's an approach from which many businesses could learn.

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On the latest Unpacked episode, journalist Jim Fitzpatrick and economist Richard Ramsey explore the big economic stories and how they're likely to shape our lives. From Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" which is going to take US debt to almost unimaginable levels; to the Labour Government's U-Turn on benefits and what that could mean for future tax rises; to the very latest on the Northern Ireland economy and what it tells us about global exposure. For all the latest analysis, opinion, and even a game of Top Trumps, hit play now.

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