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The Entrepreneur Experiment

The Entrepreneur Experiment

By: Gary Fox
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 Discover how world-class entrepreneurs, elite thinkers, and peak performers master success in business, body, and brain. Every week, I sit down with extraordinary people to explore how they build thriving businesses, maintain peak physical health, and cultivate sharp, resilient minds. Together, we’ll discover the habits, systems, and experiments they use to create their unique formulas for success. Join me as you learn how to build like a founder, train like an athlete, and think like an artist—so we can all find our formula for success. This isn’t just a podcast; it’s a blueprint for a new kind of founder—one who balances ambition with wellness, hard work with mental fitness, and success with purpose.2025 Gary Fox Career Success Economics Leadership Management & Leadership
Episodes
  • EE471 - Live Podcast Special: Aine Kennedy, Nadia Adan, and Jack Pierse: Building Brands in Public

    EE471 - Live Podcast Special: Aine Kennedy, Nadia Adan, and Jack Pierse: Building Brands in Public
    Dec 18 2025
    Recorded live at The Sugar Club, this special edition of The Entrepreneur Experiment brings three standout Irish founders on stage for an honest, high-energy conversation about building modern businesses in public. Aine Kennedy, founder of The Smooth Company and newly crowned EY Entrepreneur of the Year, shares how she launched her first product with no budget, built everything herself, with the help of her family, and turned documenting the journey on TikTok into 150 million organic views, now shipping to 70 countries worldwide. Nadia Adan, founder of Ashford Motors, breaks down how she went from a small yard and a handful of cars to creating one of Ireland’s most recognisable automotive brands - by obsessing over customer experience, moving faster than traditional dealers, and using social media to build trust at scale. Rounding out the panel, Jack Pierse, co-founder of Wayflyer and now Bold Golf and Happy Stack, reflects on launching a fintech at the start of COVID, scaling to €100 million per month in lending, the realities of hypergrowth, and what he’s doing differently this time. From viral content and community-led growth to staying lean, moving fast, and learning the hard lessons of scale, this live episode is packed with real-world insight, plenty of humour, and unfiltered founder stories. An entertaining and insightful listen for you! Show Notes Hosted by Gary Fox, with Aine Kennedy, Nadia Adan, and Jack Pierse Recorded live at The Sugar Club, Dublin How Aine Kennedy launched The Smooth Company from scratch and built a global brand by documenting the journey online Turning TikTok into a growth engine: 150 million organic views and customers in 70 countries Why building in public — without gatekeeping — is changing who feels able to start a business Nadia Adan’s rise from a small car yard to one of Ireland’s most recognisable automotive brands Using customer service, flexibility, and speed to outperform traditional main dealers Dealing with online trolls when reputation and real-world sales are on the line The Wayflyer origin story: launching during COVID and scaling to €100M per month in lending The realities of hypergrowth, rapid hiring, and the lessons learned the hard way Why Jack Pierse is building his second company, Happy Stack, slower and leaner A candid, entertaining live discussion on growth, community, and staying adaptable in modern business Links & Resources The Smooth Company – https://www.thesmoothcompany.com/ Ashford Motors - https://www.ashfordmotors.ie/ Happy Stack – https://www.happystack.com/ Bold Golf - https://bold-golf.com/ —— Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly inspiration on Business, Brain and Body, as well as exclusive events, courses and more, straight to your inbox. It's free! https://www.mrgaryfox.com/subscribe-1 --- Visit my partners Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo —- Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.
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  • EE470 - Mentor Moment: Trevor McFarlane — Building an Elite Network from Scratch

    EE470 - Mentor Moment: Trevor McFarlane — Building an Elite Network from Scratch
    Dec 13 2025
    How do you build a powerful business network when you’re starting with no members, no brand, and no shortcuts? In this Mentor Moment, Trevor McFarlane, founder and CEO of EMIR, shares how he built one of the Middle East’s most influential private CEO networks — starting with a single event, a lot of nerve, and an obsession with trust and curation. Trevor explains why optics matter, how credibility compounds over time, and why protecting the integrity of a network is far more valuable than short-term revenue. 🎙️ To hear the full story — including how EMIR scaled across the region and the lessons Trevor learned along the way — listen to Episode 411 of The Entrepreneur Experiment. 💡 If you enjoy these short Mentor Moments, don’t forget to follow or subscribe to the podcast for more founder insights every week. —— Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly inspiration on Business, Brain and Body, as well as exclusive events, courses and more, straight to your inbox. It's free! https://www.mrgaryfox.com/subscribe-1 --- Visit my partners Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo —- Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.
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  • EE469 - Air Miles for the High Street: How Squid Is Rewiring Local Loyalty

    EE469 - Air Miles for the High Street: How Squid Is Rewiring Local Loyalty
    Dec 11 2025
    In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox welcomes back Matthew Coffey, co-founder of Squid, Ireland and the UK’s largest local loyalty network with 550,000+ users and nearly 2,000 independent businesses. What began as a simple tap-for-coffee reward app has evolved into a powerful loyalty and payments infrastructure - and now Squid has launched Wave, a universal points currency described as “air miles for the high street.” You can now earn points in one brand and redeem them in another, all by linking your everyday spending cards. Matthew breaks down how Squid integrated with global giants like Square, raised over €10 million, and is now preparing to expand Wave across Europe as a new rewards-powered payment rail. He also shares the founder lessons he’s learned, from communication to fundraising to scaling fast without losing trust and integrity. If you’re curious about loyalty, fintech, payments, or the realities of scaling a startup into a European network, this episode is essential listening. Show Notes In this episode, Gary chats with Matthew about: How Squid grew from free coffee stamps to 550,000+ users and almost 2,000 independent businesses. Why Matthew & Katie focused on coffee shops to build a two-sided network from scratch. Introducing Wave — “air miles for the high street” where you earn across brands automatically. How card-linking with Visa/Mastercard/Amex enables one-touch loyalty. The impact of integrating with Square to give independents big-brand loyalty and data tools. The journey from early-stage startup to raising over €10m, including a €1.7m+ crowdfunding round. The North Star metric Squid tracks: the total free product given back to users. Squid’s two-step scaling playbook for Europe: launch loyalty locally, then layer Wave on top. Why 2026 will be the “year of payments” as Squid builds a rewards-driven payment rail. Matthew’s biggest founder lessons: communicate better, expand earlier, trust technology, and be relentless. Links & Resources Download Squid on iOS / Android: https://tr.ee/WFmx4sOqmR —— Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly inspiration on Business, Brain and Body, as well as exclusive events, courses and more, straight to your inbox. It's free! https://www.mrgaryfox.com/subscribe-1 --- Visit my partners Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo —- Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.
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