Business Builders

🔔🔔 Cathal Friel explains how he built five public companies, turned a $20 million business into a $1.45 billion exit, and why IPOs may be making a comeback for ambitious entrepreneurs 🔔🔔
Cathal Friel joins Business Builders for a fascinating conversation on entrepreneurship, IPOs, public markets, distressed assets, investing, AI, and building companies across multiple industries.
Cathal is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and company builder who has launched five public companies over the past fourteen years. His ventures have spanned sectors including oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, renewable energy, and biotechnology.
But this conversation is about far more than stock markets and finance.
Cathal explains the repeatable model he has developed for identifying opportunities, acquiring distressed assets, raising capital, and building fast-growing public companies. He shares the story of how a struggling oil and gas company ultimately evolved into Amryt Pharma, which was later sold for $1.45 billion.
Drawing on decades of experience as both an entrepreneur and investor, Cathal breaks down the realities of IPOs, why many founders misunderstand public markets, and why he believes going public can be a powerful alternative to private equity.
Along the way, he reflects on being forced into the family business at sixteen, the lessons learned from rebuilding debt-ridden companies, the importance of rejection, networking, and continuous learning, and why entrepreneurship is a skill that can be developed rather than something people are simply born with.
The conversation also explores AI, the future of work, Europe’s economic outlook, leadership, parenting, and why Cathal remains as excited about building businesses at sixty-one as he was decades ago.
This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, reinvention, opportunity, resilience, and building businesses that create long-term value.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn 🎧:
• How Cathal built five public companies in fourteen years
 • The story behind a $1.45 billion pharmaceutical exit
 • Why IPOs are often misunderstood by entrepreneurs
 • The key differences between private equity and public markets
 • How distressed assets can become valuable businesses
 • Why investors care more about trust than ideas
 • The lessons Cathal learned from oil, pharma, biotech and renewables
 • How public companies can grow through acquisitions
 • Why rejection is a critical entrepreneurial skill
 • The importance of networking and building relationships
 • Why entrepreneurship is a learnable skill
 • The lessons Cathal learned from running his family business at sixteen
 • How to think about risk, opportunity and capital allocation
 • Why AI will reshape work and entrepreneurship
 • The future of IPOs in Ireland and the UK
 • Why continuous learning remains one of Cathal’s biggest advantages
 • The importance of balancing business success with family life
 • Why he believes Europe is entering a major period of opportunity

⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 - Cold open
 01:00 - Introducing Cathal Friel
 02:00 - Building companies through IPOs
 07:00 - How Cathal spots market opportunities
 12:00 - The story behind Amryt Pharma
 18:00 - Distressed assets and creating value
 24:00 - Why IPOs differ from private equity
 31:00 - Investing in small-cap companies
 37:00 - Building businesses through acquisitions
 44:00 - The future of public markets
 49:00 - Rejection, confidence and entrepreneurship
 58:00 - Running the family business at sixteen
 01:05:00 - Networking, business cards and relationships
 01:12:00 - AI, learning and the future of work
 01:21:00 - Europe, geopolitics and opportunity
 01:33:00 - Parenting, success and long-term thinking
 01:38:00 - Final reflections and advice

Topics covered:
Entrepreneurship, IPOs, investing, public companies, private equity, distressed assets, business growth, capital markets, pharmaceuticals, biotech, renewable energy, venture building, acquisitions, leadership, networking, AI, future of work, investing strategy, family business, business resilience, startup funding, innovation, company building, European business, entrepreneurship mindset, scaling businesses.

🔔🔔 Ciarán Mulligan explains how he built and sold Blue Insurance, why crises create opportunities in business, and how becoming a father completely changed his perspective on success 🔔🔔Ciarán Mulligan joins Business Builders for a powerful and deeply personal conversation on entrepreneurship, marketing, scaling businesses, resilience, identity, surrogacy, and what really matters after success.
Ciarán is the founder of Blue Insurance, the business he built into one of Ireland’s best-known insurance brands before selling in a reported multi-million euro deal. Now, he’s building again with YES Insurance - but this conversation goes far beyond insurance.
He explains how Blue Insurance scaled by moving quickly, spotting opportunities during crises, and staying aggressive while competitors pulled back. From exploiting cheap advertising during recessions to building niche insurance products before competitors saw the opportunity, Ciarán shares the mindset that helped grow the company from a small operation into a major international business.
He also reflects on the realities of entrepreneurship: negotiating relentlessly, staying lean, surviving economic crashes, dealing with uncertainty, and knowing when the right time to sell actually is.
But this episode also becomes something much more personal.
Ciarán speaks openly about growing up gay in Ireland, being bullied in school, building confidence over time, and why authenticity mattered to him as a leader. He also shares the emotional story of his surrogacy journey with his husband Brian, including the devastating loss of their first son Connor, the battle to bring him home from Georgia, and how becoming a father ultimately reshaped his priorities and outlook on life.
Along the way, the conversation explores marketing psychology, hiring, scaling teams, founder mentality, innovation, customer care, travel, wealth, ambition, and why business success alone is never the full story.
This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, resilience, family, identity, leadership, and building a meaningful life beyond business.
🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn 🎧:
Why Ciarán kept advertising during economic crashes while competitors stopped
How Blue Insurance scaled from a small startup into a multi-million euro company
Why diversification was critical to surviving crises
The marketing strategies that helped Blue Insurance dominate its niche
Why being “lean” became a core operating philosophy
How to negotiate aggressively during downturns
The importance of spotting opportunities before competitors
Why founders need to stop micromanaging as companies grow
The biggest lessons Ciarán learned scaling teams and hiring people
Why communication skills are essential in business
How working nightlife jobs helped build his confidence and people skills
His perspective on leadership, customer care, and company culture
The realities of selling a business after years of building it
Why making money didn’t fundamentally change who he was
The emotional story behind his family’s surrogacy journey
The devastating loss of his son Connor and the fight to bring him home
Why becoming a father changed his priorities completely
What success means to him now after business success and personal loss
Why YES Insurance is his next big chapter

🔔🔔 Ed Murphy explains why most businesses fail to scale, what franchising taught him about systems and growth, and why founders themselves are often the bottleneck inside their own companies 🔔🔔
Ed Murphy joins Business Builders for a fascinating conversation on scaling businesses, franchising, entrepreneurship, systems thinking, and the realities of building sustainable companies over decades.
Ed is the founder of GreenTech HQ and one of Ireland’s most experienced franchise operators, having helped scale major businesses including Snap Printing and Home Instead Senior Care across Ireland.
But this conversation is about far more than franchising.
Ed explains why so many SMEs get stuck between €1m and €5m revenue, why great founders often struggle to scale their own companies, and why businesses without proper infrastructure inevitably hit a ceiling.
Drawing on decades of experience building franchise systems, Ed breaks down the hidden mechanics behind scalable companies: systems, structure, operations, incentives, accountability, leadership, and repeatable processes.
He also reflects on the rise and fall of PrintOrigin during the dot-com bubble, the lessons he learned from taking VC investment too early, and why today’s AI boom reminds him of the early internet era.
Along the way, Ed shares practical insights on hiring, property, founder psychology, partnerships, incentives, and why sometimes the bravest decision in business is knowing when to stop.
The conversation also explores what success actually means after decades in business, and why helping other people succeed ultimately became more fulfilling than chasing money itself.
This is a conversation about systems, scaling, leadership, long-term thinking, and building businesses that can grow beyond the founder.
🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn 🎧:
 Why most businesses fail to scale properly
 The hidden infrastructure every growing business needs
 Why many founders become the bottleneck inside their own company
 How franchising taught Ed to build repeatable systems
 Why systems matter more than hustle when scaling
 The biggest mistakes SMEs make between €1m–€5m revenue
 Why some founders had to “sack themselves” as general manager
 How to structure a business so it can grow beyond you
 The practical lessons Ed learned scaling Snap Printing across Ireland
 Why property can become a trap for business owners
 The story behind PrintOrigin and the dot-com crash
 Why Ed believes founders should approach AI carefully but seriously
 His advice for businesses adopting AI today
 The importance of partnerships, accountability, and shared decision-making
 Why “fail fast” is often the bravest thing an entrepreneur can do
 What success actually means after decades in business
 Why helping others succeed became his biggest motivation
 How GreenTech HQ is helping create jobs and startups in the southeast of Ireland
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 - Cold open
 01:00 - Introducing Ed Murphy and GreenTech HQ
 02:00 - Why SMEs struggle to scale
 05:00 - Finding the gaps inside growing businesses
 09:00 - Why founders sometimes become the bottleneck
 13:00 - Discovering franchising in America
 16:00 - Building Snap Printing across Ireland
 20:00 - The hard realities of scaling franchise businesses
 25:00 - What non-franchise businesses can learn from franchising
 30:00 - Why systems create scalable companies
 35:00 - The rise and fall of PrintOrigin during the dot-com era
 43:00 - AI, technology bubbles, and founder advice
 47:00 - The entrepreneurial “7-year itch”
 49:00 - Building Home Instead in Ireland
 51:00 - Adapting international franchises for local markets
 58:00 - Risk, systems, and healthcare businesses
 01:00:00 - Failure, ego, and knowing when to stop
 01:02:00 - Goal-setting, partnerships, and accountability
 01:09:00 - Why Ed eventually moved on from franchising
 01:11:00 - Building GreenTech HQ in Wexford
 01:14:00 - What success actually means
 01:20:00 - Why helping others succeed matters more than money
 01:27:00 - The future of GreenTech HQ and the southeast
Topics covered:
Entrepreneurship, franchising, business systems, scaling businesses, SME growth, leadership, founder mindset, AI, startups, operational systems, business infrastructure, franchising models, Home Instead, Snap Printing, GreenTech HQ, business partnerships, startup growth, innovation, management, business strategy, founder psychology

🔔🔔 Ed Murphy explains why most businesses fail to scale, what franchising taught him about systems and growth, and why founders themselves are often the bottleneck inside their own companies 🔔🔔
Ed Murphy joins Business Builders for a fascinating conversation on scaling businesses, franchising, entrepreneurship, systems thinking, and the realities of building sustainable companies over decades.
Ed is the founder of GreenTech HQ and one of Ireland’s most experienced franchise operators, having helped scale major businesses including Snap Printing and Home Instead Senior Care across Ireland.
But this conversation is about far more than franchising.
Ed explains why so many SMEs get stuck between €1m and €5m revenue, why great founders often struggle to scale their own companies, and why businesses without proper infrastructure inevitably hit a ceiling.
Drawing on decades of experience building franchise systems, Ed breaks down the hidden mechanics behind scalable companies: systems, structure, operations, incentives, accountability, leadership, and repeatable processes.
He also reflects on the rise and fall of PrintOrigin during the dot-com bubble, the lessons he learned from taking VC investment too early, and why today’s AI boom reminds him of the early internet era.
Along the way, Ed shares practical insights on hiring, property, founder psychology, partnerships, incentives, and why sometimes the bravest decision in business is knowing when to stop.
The conversation also explores what success actually means after decades in business, and why helping other people succeed ultimately became more fulfilling than chasing money itself.
This is a conversation about systems, scaling, leadership, long-term thinking, and building businesses that can grow beyond the founder.

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn 🎧:

 Why most businesses fail to scale properly
 The hidden infrastructure every growing business needs
 Why many founders become the bottleneck inside their own company
 How franchising taught Ed to build repeatable systems
 Why systems matter more than hustle when scaling
 The biggest mistakes SMEs make between €1m–€5m revenue
 Why some founders had to “sack themselves” as general manager
 How to structure a business so it can grow beyond you
 The practical lessons Ed learned scaling Snap Printing across Ireland
 Why property can become a trap for business owners
 The story behind PrintOrigin and the dot-com crash
 Why Ed believes founders should approach AI carefully but seriously
 His advice for businesses adopting AI today
 The importance of partnerships, accountability, and shared decision-making
 Why “fail fast” is often the bravest thing an entrepreneur can do
 What success actually means after decades in business
 Why helping others succeed became his biggest motivation
 How GreenTech HQ is helping create jobs and startups in the southeast of Ireland

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open
 01:00 - Introducing Ed Murphy and GreenTech HQ
 02:00 - Why SMEs struggle to scale
 05:00 - Finding the gaps inside growing businesses
 09:00 - Why founders sometimes become the bottleneck
 13:00 - Discovering franchising in America
 16:00 - Building Snap Printing across Ireland
 20:00 - The hard realities of scaling franchise businesses
 25:00 - What non-franchise businesses can learn from franchising
 30:00 - Why systems create scalable companies
 35:00 - The rise and fall of PrintOrigin during the dot-com era
 43:00 - AI, technology bubbles, and founder advice
 47:00 - The entrepreneurial “7-year itch”
 49:00 - Building Home Instead in Ireland
 51:00 - Adapting international franchises for local markets
 58:00 - Risk, systems, and healthcare businesses
 01:00:00 - Failure, ego, and knowing when to stop
 01:02:00 - Goal-setting, partnerships, and accountability
 01:09:00 - Why Ed eventually moved on from franchising
 01:11:00 - Building GreenTech HQ in Wexford
 01:14:00 - What success actually means
 01:20:00 - Why helping others succeed matters more than money
 01:27:00 - The future of GreenTech HQ and the southeast

Topics covered:

Entrepreneurship, franchising, business systems, scaling businesses, SME growth, leadership, founder mindset, AI, startups, operational systems, business infrastructure, franchising models, Home Instead, Snap Printing, GreenTech HQ, business partnerships, startup growth, innovation, management, business strategy, founder psychology

🔔🔔 Troy Armour reveals how he built Junk Kouture from a €1,000 idea into a global movement, and why he believes most entrepreneurs are driven by trauma, creativity, and the need to stand out 🔔🔔

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Troy Armour joins Business Builders for one of the most wide-ranging and unconventional conversations we’ve ever had, covering entrepreneurship, creativity, trauma, AI, identity, leadership, and the deeper psychology behind building businesses.
What began as a small creative idea with just €1,000 in the bank grew into Junk Kouture: a global platform spanning more than 100,000 young people across 74 nationalities, helping students express themselves through creativity, fashion, storytelling, and performance.
But Troy’s story is about far more than building a successful business.
He explains why he believes most entrepreneurs are “addicts” driven by feelings of not being enough, how childhood experiences shape ambition, and why creativity often emerges from pressure, pain, and constraint.
Along the way, Troy shares the early hustle behind Junk Kouture; writing letters to nearly 1,000 schools because he couldn’t afford marketing, persuading venues to host events for free, and figuring everything out in real time with no roadmap and almost no money.
The conversation also explores Troy’s deeply personal journey of self-discovery: from leadership struggles and burnout, to ayahuasca retreats in Brazil, vulnerability, shame, and learning to accept himself.
He also discusses the future of AI, why he believes we are entering “the age of creativity,” and how artificial intelligence will fundamentally reshape business, software, and work itself over the next decade.
This is a conversation about ambition, identity, creativity, healing, and what really drives people to build.
“If you don’t fit in, then maybe you were born to stand out.”
🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn 🎧:
 How Troy built Junk Kouture starting with just €1,000  
 Why constraints and lack of money can create better businesses  
 The unconventional early growth story behind Junk Kouture  
 Why Troy believes most entrepreneurs are driven by trauma and insecurity  
 The similarities between entrepreneurial obsession and addiction  
 How creativity and pressure are deeply connected  
 What Troy learned about leadership after nearly burning out  
 Why vulnerability and shame shape so much of human behaviour  
 The personal story behind Troy’s ayahuasca experience in Brazil  
 Why he believes “most people leave school broken”  
 How Junk Kouture helps young people build confidence and identity  
 Why AI will transform business and usher in “the age of creativity”  
 Troy’s predictions for the future of software, SaaS, and entrepreneurship  
 Why environment and proximity changed the scale of his ambition  
 What success, happiness, and fulfillment really mean to him now