Business Builders

🔔🔔 Emmet O’Neill reveals how StoryToys nearly collapsed after years of venture capital funding, how he cut the business from 45 people to 15, and how that turnaround ultimately led to a €35 million children’s media company with more than 300 million app downloads 🔔🔔
Emmet O’Neill joins Business Builders to share the remarkable story behind StoryToys, one of Ireland’s most successful digital media companies and the creator of educational children’s apps based on brands including Disney, Lego, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, Bluey, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and more.
Starting his career as an illustrator before moving into digital media, Emmet spotted the opportunity created by the arrival of the iPad and helped pioneer a new category of interactive storytelling for children.
But the journey was anything but straightforward.
After raising significant venture capital and scaling rapidly, StoryToys found itself growing too fast in too many directions. Burn rates soared, the business came close to collapse, and difficult decisions had to be made. Emmet shares the painful reality of cutting the team from 45 people to 15, taking over leadership during the company’s darkest period, and rebuilding the business around profitability rather than fundraising.
What followed was a remarkable turnaround.
By refocusing on high-quality licensed content for preschool children, securing partnerships with brands such as Lego and Disney, and maintaining a relentless focus on product quality, StoryToys transformed from a struggling startup into a highly profitable global business generating €35 million in annual revenue.
Along the way, Emmet reflects on working alongside his brother, the challenges of venture capital, product-market fit, acquisitions, leadership during crisis, creativity in business, licensing major intellectual property, and why he believes great businesses are built by enabling talented people to do their best work.
The conversation also explores the future of children’s media, Netflix’s growing games strategy, AI’s impact on creative industries, autism-friendly product design, and why creating products that genuinely improve children’s lives remains at the heart of StoryToys’ mission.
This is a conversation about creativity, entrepreneurship, leadership, resilience, product-market fit, and building a business that survives long enough to become extraordinary.
🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn 🎧:
• How StoryToys grew from a small Dublin startup into a €35 million business
 • Why Emmet believes many startups become addicted to venture capital
 • The mistakes that nearly caused StoryToys to collapse
 • How cutting the team from 45 people to 15 saved the company
 • Why profitability changed everything for the business
 • The story behind securing partnerships with Disney, Lego and Netflix
 • How StoryToys creates educational alternatives to addictive mobile games
 • Why creativity can be a powerful advantage in business leadership
 • The lessons Emmet learned working alongside his brother
 • How to identify and nurture talent inside an organisation
 • Why product-market fit matters more than growth at any cost
 • The realities of scaling a venture-backed business
 • How StoryToys was acquired and why Emmet stayed on as CEO
 • What makes successful acquisitions work after the deal is signed
 • The changing economics of children’s media and entertainment
 • Why Netflix is becoming an important gaming platform
 • How AI is being used inside StoryToys today
 • Why Emmet is less worried about AI than he was five years ago
 • How StoryToys designs products for autistic children and families
 • Why meaningful impact matters more than download numbers
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 - Cold open
 01:00 - What StoryToys does and the children’s app market
 04:00 - Educational games versus addictive mobile apps
 10:00 - From illustrator to digital entrepreneur
 14:00 - Joining StoryToys and working with family
 17:00 - Creativity as a business advantage
 20:00 - Building products and securing major licences
 26:00 - The Very Hungry Caterpillar and children’s storytelling
 31:00 - Venture capital, growth and near-collapse
 37:00 - Returning to profitability and saving the business
 43:00 - Pandemic growth and finding product-market fit
 46:00 - Selling the company and lessons from VC funding
 50:00 - Acquisition by Team17 and continued growth
 56:00 - The future of children’s media and gaming
 59:00 - AI, creativity and the future of software
 01:04:00 - The challenges facing children’s content creators
 01:08:00 - Building products for autistic children
 01:15:00 - Creating meaningful impact through technology
Topics covered:
Entrepreneurship, startups, venture capital, StoryToys, children’s media, educational technology, mobile apps, app development, product-market fit, Disney, Lego, Netflix, intellectual property, licensing, acquisitions, leadership, business turnaround, scaling companies, profitability, creative entrepreneurship, digital media, gaming industry, children’s entertainment, AI, artificial intelligence, autism, neurodiversity, company culture, product design, business growth, Irish startups, technology business.

🔔🔔 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