The Entrepreneur Experiment

• EE 411 - How This Irish Founder Took On the Opioid Crisis—and rang the NASDAQ Bell - Gareth Sheridan Story

  In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Gareth Sheridan, the relentless founder and CEO of Nutriband Inc — a pharmaceutical company tackling one of the most controversial issues in modern medicine: opioid misuse. What started as a college thesis and a dining room stacked with questionable Chinese vitamin patches has since become a NASDAQ-listed company pioneering safer drug delivery systems.   Gareth walks us through his raw, rollercoaster journey — from painting houses to fund his dream, to being duped in a million-dollar pump-and-dump scheme, and how he clawed his way back to ring the NASDAQ bell on October 1st with $6.6 million in fresh funding.   If you're an entrepreneur with ambition (and a high pain tolerance), this episode will teach you about resilience, smart capital strategy, and how to build billion-dollar businesses the hard way — brick by brick, and patch by patch.   🎧 Show Notes: In this episode, we cover: 💊 The origin story of Nutriband: from a college idea to fighting the opioid crisis 🚗 Why Gareth was a millionaire on paper but driving for Uber in Florida  🏥 How transdermal patches can replace pills and even injections 💸 Getting duped: the brutal truth about OTC markets and a $1.5M illusion  🧠 Learning to think like a public company CEO (before even listing) 🔁 Why he rebuilt the same company… twice 🧱 Gareth’s unique strategy: acquiring IP and talent using stock instead of cash 🛑 How he said no to $80 million in funding offers — and why 🔔 Manifesting the NASDAQ bell: “It was never if, only when.” ⚖️ The shady side of Wall Street: naked shorts, phantom trades, and SEC investigations  📈What it takes to build a billion-dollar business the unconventional way 🔗 Links & Resources: Nutriband: https://www.nutriband.com/  Follow Gareth Sheridan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garethsheridanntrb/  Watch the GameStop story: Dumb Money (IMDb): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13957560/  --- Visit my partners Enterprise Ireland: https://bit.ly/EIreland  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azure EE Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostraee  

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• EE 410 - Building a Team of Owners: Founding Fitt Meals’ The Unorthodox Way

  In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox meets with Eoin Cantwell, founder of Fitt Meals. Eoin shares his remarkable journey from running a busy sports club to creating one of the UAE’s most innovative meal prep businesses. Eoin candidly discusses how he bootstrapped Fitt Meals, his approach to radical transparency with open book management (🤯), and how he empowers his entire team by sharing profits and insights. If you’re an entrepreneur looking to scale your business, enhance your team’s engagement, or understand the power of collective responsibility, this episode provides deep insights into a unique business model and leadership style.   🎧 Show Notes: In this episode, we cover:   🔥 The moment Eoin realised the opportunity in healthy meal prep 🚀 How Fitt Meals grew from renting a kitchen at night to operating a state-of-the-art facility 💡 Why Eoin believes in radical transparency and open-book management 📈 How profit-sharing with employees transformed Fitt Meals’ culture 🌍 The challenges and opportunities of scaling a logistics-heavy business 🔑 The critical importance of teaching your team the ‘why’ behind decisions  🏋️‍♂️ The balance between company growth and maintaining team culture and morale 💬 “A company of owners will always outthink the owner of a company.” – Eoin Cantwell  Resources Mentioned: • Scaling Up by Verne Harnish • The Great Game of Business by Jack Stack • HeyGen AI for multilingual communication   --- Visit my Partners  Enterprise Ireland: https://bit.ly/EIreland  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostraee  

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• EE 409 - From Teacher to Airline Tycoon: The Story of Pádraig Ó Céidigh & Aer Arann

  In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Pádraig Ó Céidigh, a name synonymous with Irish entrepreneurship and business leadership. Best known for founding and scaling Aer Arann, one of Ireland’s leading regional airlines, Pádraig shares his journey from humble beginnings to building an airline—despite having no aviation experience.   He reveals the key moments that defined his career: remortgaging his house to buy an airline, negotiating with Aer Lingus, securing multimillion-dollar aircraft deals, and eventually selling his business. Beyond aviation, he opens up about the personal cost of success, his near-death experience, and the philosophy that guides his life today.   If you're an entrepreneur, this episode will change how you think about risk, vision, and what it really means to build a business with purpose.   📌 Show Notes: In this episode, we cover: ✈️ How Pádraig went from teacher to airline owner—without aviation experience  💡 The mindset shift that allowed him to scale Aer Arann from a small regional service to a multimillion-dollar business 📉 The biggest challenges of running an airline (and why profitability was harder than it looked) 🎯 Why a clear focus on one word—safety—transformed his business strategy ⚖️ The cost of entrepreneurship: health, family, and personal sacrifices 📖 His perspective on wealth beyond just money and how he defines success today 📚 His book, ‘The Purposeful Decision Maker,’ and the lessons inside 🚀 His next chapter: mentoring, investing, and new business ventures 🔗 Resources: 📖 The Purposeful Decision Maker – Pádraig Ó Céidigh’s book 📚 Recommended book: The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel  --- Visit my partners Enterprise Ireland: https://bit.ly/EIreland  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostraee  

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  1:24:24
• EE 408 - How I Built a $15M Media Empire in the Middle East – Richard Fitzgerald’s Story

  In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Richard Fitzgerald, the founder of Augustus Media, an award-winning modern media company in the UAE and KSA, publishers of Lovin Dubai, Lovin Saudi, and Smashi TV. With a background in media and advertising since 2006, Richard worked at agencies in Ireland, England, and the UAE before building a regional social media department at Mindshare MENA and later becoming Managing Director of a creative technology start-up. In 2015, he launched Augustus Media, a ‘new media’ company that has since expanded across the Middle East, winning Best SME Company at the 2018 MENA EFFIE Awards. Today, Augustus operates Lovin brands in multiple cities, including Dubai, Saudi, Bahrain, Cairo, Riyadh, and Sharjah, and in 2019, they added ODEUM, a dedicated content studio, to their growing media empire. Richard reveals the strategies he used to scale his media brands, the challenges of monetising digital media, and why he believes traditional media is broken. If you’re building a content brand or looking to scale your business in a competitive market, this is a must-listen! 🎧 Show Notes: In this episode, we cover: 🔥 How Richard turned Lovin Dubai into a media powerhouse from scratch 🚀 The strategies he used to growth-hack his way to millions of pageviews 💡 The future of media & why traditional outlets are struggling to adapt  🌍 Expanding across the Middle East: The challenges of entering new markets (Dubai, Saudi, Bahrain, Cairo, Riyadh & more!)  🔑 How Lovin and Smashi became the region’s leading digital media brands 📈 Revenue, investment, and why he rejected buyout offers 🎥 The role of ODEUM, Augustus Media’s content studio 🎤 Hiring journalists vs. content creators – what media needs now 📌 Resources & Links: 📖 Learn more about Augustus Media: https://weareaugustus.com/ 📰 Follow Lovin brands across the Middle East: https://lovin.co/ 🎥 Check out Smashi TV – https://smashi.tv/en 🎬 Discover ODEUM – Augustus Media’s content studio: https://weareaugustus.com/odeum/ 📱 Connect with Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fitzyrichard/ 💬 “I didn’t want to think about fundraising or exits—I wanted to build something real, something that lasts.” – Richard Fitzgerald   --- Visit my partners --- Enterprise Ireland: https://bit.ly/EIreland  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostraee

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• EE 407 - The Gym Equipment Empire Used by 75% of Premier League Teams - BLK BOX

  In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Greg Bradley, founder of BLK BOX, one of the leading gym equipment manufacturers in Europe. Greg shares his journey from bootstrapping a startup with no engineering background to building a business that supplies some of the world’s top sports teams—including Irish Rugby and 75% of the Premier League clubs. Greg opens up about the challenges of scaling a manufacturing business, the rollercoaster ride of COVID-19, and why he stepped away from the CEO role to focus on his strengths. If you’re an entrepreneur looking for insights on brand-building, international expansion, and leadership, this episode is packed with value.  🎧 Show Notes: In this episode, we cover: 🔥 From side hustle to global brand – How Greg built BLK BOX from scratch 🏋️‍♂️ Supplying the pros – Landing contracts with elite sports teams & gym chains 📉 The COVID challenge – Why it was a net negative for the business 💡 Lessons in leadership – Why Greg hired a CEO to replace himself 📈 Scaling manufacturing – Expanding operations without outside investment 🇺🇸 Cracking the U.S. market – BLK BOX’s next big move 🎯 The future of fitness – Hyrox, functional training, and what’s next 💬 "I didn’t bring investment in at the start because I feel sometimes money can suffocate creativity. My strength has always been being resourceful—turning lemons into lemonade." - Greg Bradley  📌 Resources & Links: 🔗 BLK BOX – Greg’s company: https://www.blkboxfitness.com/ 📖 Scaling Up – Business book recommendation 🏃‍♂️ Hyrox – The fitness race taking over: https://hyrox.com/ 📱 Follow Greg Bradley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-bradley-69610539/ 🎙️ Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to The Entrepreneur Experiment for more inspiring founder stories. --- Visit my partners Enterprise Ireland: https://bit.ly/EIreland  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostraee  

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