Business Builders

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.