That Great Business Show

They built a fried chicken restaurant. Then accidentally built a sauce empire.

Most couples argue about whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher.
Sofie Rooney and Garrett FitzGerald argue about chicken.
And somehow that turned into Chimac — one of Ireland's most talked-about restaurant brands and now a fast-growing food business stocked in Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Selfridges, Whole Foods and beyond.

On this episode:
How a trip to South Korea changed their lives
Why Sophie got scurvy from eating too much fried chicken (true!)
The restaurant that nearly broke them
The US distributor disaster that left them stranded
How they went from packing sauce bottles in their sitting room to exporting internationally
Why food businesses are brutally difficult
Why they still think it's worth it

And yes, Garrett also explains why Ireland should become a global ham superpower.
This is business at its messiest, tastiest and most entertaining.
Their 'hire in a heartbeat'? Sophie went for Fiona Fitzpatrick, founder of Brand Growth Heroes and former Nestlé, Gü and Japoni executive. Sophie describes her as one of the most insightful consumer-brand strategists she has encountered and would hire her to help Chimac scale internationally.
Garrett chose William Exner, a former Chimac team member from Brazil. Garrett highlighted his intelligence, work ethic, adaptability and positive attitude, describing him as someone he would hire again immediately.

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She GAVE AWAY her company. To the staff.

No Silicon Valley gimmick. No kumbaya management retreat. No hippy dippy stuff. Just hardnosed business.

Just one brutally practical question: “Michael Smurfit regarded equity as blood… so why would you ever sell ?
Conall Ó Móráin sits down with Joan McCoy of White Ink Architects — one of the leading voices in employee ownership across Ireland and the UK — to explain why businesses owned by staff often outperform traditionally-owned firms.

And then comes the jaw-dropper. In Ireland? It is often CHEAPER to sell your business to a foreign buyer than to your own employees. Madness.

This episode covers:
• Why employee-owned firms often grow faster
• Why staff suddenly start acting like owners
• Why Ireland is behind the UK and Canada
• Why ordinary workers getting wealth matters
• Why architects are suddenly talking like economists
• Why the Tánaiste may finally be waking up to this issue
Plus:
• Wolfgang Digital
• John Lewis
• ARUP
• Housing chaos
• Social housing economics
• And the most Irish Department of Finance problem imaginable

Joan's 'hire in a heartbeat', Michael Keaveney, Director of Land and Acquisition at Grainger plc.
She described him as someone with a very direct style who can “cut through the noise and really get to the crux of the matter”, particularly around housing viability, social housing economics, and having “the right conversations” about the real scale of the housing crisis.

This is one of those episodes that quietly changes how you think about business.

Brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil. The world’s best shaving oil. Not beard oil. Shaving oil. DeFactoShave.com

#EmployeeOwnership #IrishBusiness #SMEs #SuccessionPlanning #Architecture #Leadership #BusinessIreland #WolfgangDigital #JohnLewis #ARUP #HousingCrisis #Entrepreneurship #ThatGreatBusinessShow
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E296 That Great Business Show
How to get a month a year of your time back. And it's free.

The Two Barrys: One Built the System. One Was Drowning — Until It Worked.
What if you could get a THIRD of your working week back?
Not by hiring. Not by working longer. Not by burning out (more). But by stopping bad decisions.

ON this episode, two Barrys walk into the studio — and one walks out with his life back.
Barry Cryan built a system to eliminate “micro-decisions” — the tiny interruptions that kill momentum, drain energy, and keep founders trapped in their business.
Barry Flanagan was running THREE businesses — Lock 13 pub, Kildare Brewing Company, and Pro Culture Kombucha — and hit the wall.
60-hour weeks. No clarity. No headspace.

Now? Structure. Systems. Staff aligned. Time back. (And he's no longer manning the chip fryer on a Friday evening).
This is not theory. This is before-and-after business.

Expect:
• Why “busy all day” is actually business failure
• The hidden tax of micro-decisions
• How founders become the bottleneck (and don’t realise it)
• Why 2.5 hours a week can buy back 10–40 hours
• The moment a business owner realises… they don’t actually have a business
And yes — we ask the uncomfortable question: If you’re working IN the business… do you even own one?

This episode is brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil. No waste. No cans. No landfill. Just the best shave you’ll ever have.
DeFactoShave.com

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We do the work. You hit subscribe. Fair exchange.

CHAPTERS
00:00 The question that changes everything
01:30 What “systems” actually mean
05:30 From burnout to 5x productivity
10:00 The Instagram ad that changed everything
15:30 Why founders are the bottleneck
20:00 The solopreneur reality (and opportunity)
25:00 Delegation vs control
30:00 The cost of NOT changing
34:00 Hire in a Heartbeat
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Rihanna’s knickers.

That’s where this episode starts.
From there, Conall Ó Móráin meets Lisa O’Riordan live at the RDS Finding Common Ground Festival to unpack one of the biggest unseen business opportunities in the world: Waste.

Her company is tackling single-use PPE — used in the tens of millions across healthcare and industry — and turning it into a circular, compostable solution.
But this is not a feel-good story.
It’s a hard-edged business reality:
Margins matter
Procurement blocks change
And “cheap” is still king

Supported by De Facto Shaving Oil
The shaving oil that goes on your face — not into landfill. DeFactoShave.com

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€50 MILLION.
MULTIPLE ACQUISITIONS.
ONE PLAN TO BUILD IRELAND’S FIRST LUXURY EMPIRE.

This is not a startup story. This is a land grab. Ashley McDonnell — back on That Great Business Show and one of the tribe since Episode 181 — is building Vyko Group to buy, scale and globalise Irish fashion, beauty and luxury brands. She’s not launching a brand. She’s building a portfolio to compete with the biggest players in the world.

From working on Europe’s biggest IPO at Paco Rabanne owners Puig (how she got to work there is one of the best stories...)… to scanning 500 Irish brands… to lining up her first acquisitions — this is one of the most ambitious Irish business plays in years.

And we’ve been following it from the start.
In this episode:
Why Ireland has never built a luxury group. Tony O'Reilly did try (Waterford Wedgewood), Don Carroll (Carroll's cigarettes) did try. As the Americans say, 'Third time is a charm'??
How Vyko plans to scale Irish brands globally
The smell of money Why fragrances are the secret weapon
The real power of negotiating as a group
What she learned inside LVMH, Dior, Google and Puig - she really has served her time

Sponsored by another great brand name, De Facto Shaving Oil
No cans. No landfill. Just the best shave you’ll ever have.
DeFactoShave.com
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