In this inspiring episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Charlene Flanagan and Niamh Ryan—the powerhouse duo behind Ella & Jo, one of Ireland’s fastest-growing beauty brands.

From a single product and two simultaneous pregnancies to a global business stocked in Boots, Dunnes Stores and over 400 pharmacies, their story is anything but ordinary. Charlene and Niamh open up about how they built Ella & Jo from the West of Ireland, how they define success on their own terms, and why authenticity, connection, and community are at the heart of everything they do.

Whether you’re a solo founder, aspiring entrepreneur, or building a business while juggling parenthood—this episode will leave you fired up, grounded, and full of ideas.

Show Notes:
In this episode, we cover:
💡 The serendipitous start to Charlene & Niamh’s partnership
👩‍🔬 From skin clinic and bridal makeup to co-founders of a global beauty brand
🧴 How a single brush cleanser idea turned into an award-winning product range
🌍 Building a global brand from the West of Ireland
💬 Why your business doesn’t have to be born in Dublin, London, or NYC
👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 Growing a business while growing a family—simultaneous pregnancies and startup hustle
🧘 The importance of defining your own version of success
🌟 How coaching and self-acceptance helped shape their leadership styles
📦 Behind the scenes of product development: the 9-month launch timeline
🤝 The role of trust, community, and social media in scaling Ella & Jo
🧠 How to stay creatively inspired while managing the demands of entrepreneurship

Links & Resources:

💻 Ella & Jo Website: https://ellaandjo.ie
📸 Charlene Flanagan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charleneflanagan_
👩‍⚕️ Niamh Ryan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niamhryan_skin/
🛍️ Buy Ella & Jo at Boots Ireland: https://www.boots.ie/ella-and-jo
📚 Going for Growth – Women entrepreneurs programme: https://goingforgrowth.com/

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In this Mentor Moment from Episode 355 of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Barry Napier shares hard-won wisdom on how founders need to evolve as their companies scale. From letting go of control to building a culture of trust and accountability, Barry reflects on how he went from “hard work and chaos” to leading with clarity and self-awareness.

If you're a founder feeling the weight of doing it all, this is a must-watch moment on what it really means to grow — not just your company, but yourself.

Full Episode: The Entrepreneur Experiment Episode 355

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with John Purdy, co-founder of Ergo and a seasoned leader who has helped shape the Irish tech landscape over the past three decades.

From launching Ergo in 1993 with just a handful of people to scaling it into one of Ireland’s top IT services companies, John shares the highs, the hard decisions, and the philosophies that guided him through it all. John shares a rare behind-the-scenes look at how he scaled Ergo without external investment and spun out an eventual unicorn, Fenergo, along the way. He opens up about the emotional and strategic decision to step away as CEO after 28 years, and what he’s doing now to give back—both to founders and to causes close to his heart. If you're building a business or figuring out what comes after success, this is the playbook.

Show Notes:

In this episode, we cover:

🚀 Growing Ergo from a printer repair business to €200M+ in revenue

📊 How John bootstrapped and resisted outside investment for decades

🏗️ Spinning out Fenergo—now valued at €1.2 billion

🔁 Why he stepped down as CEO and how he let go without meddling

🧠 What he looks for before joining a startup board or investing

🔥 The brutal honesty of what it takes to scale and survive the “messy middle”

🤝 How personal values define great founders

💬 "The team that got me the last trophy won’t get me the next one." — John Purdy quoting Sir Alex Ferguson on leadership and succession

Links & Resources Ergo Technology Group: https://ergotechnologygroup.com/
Connect with John Purdy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpurdy
Book mentioned: Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
Recommended Podcast: The Tim Ferriss Show

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In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Keilidh Cashell — one of Ireland’s most recognisable beauty creators turned entrepreneur and founder of Kash Beauty. With over 2 million followers on TikTok and a loyal global audience, Keilidh opens up about what it really takes to build a brand in the public eye. From creating makeup looks in her bedroom to leading a business stocked internationally, Keilidh shares the highs, the challenges, and the moments where she questioned it all.

She talks burnout, stepping back from content creation to become a better CEO, and learning how to lead a team while staying true to her creative core. This is an unfiltered look at the business behind the brand — and the mindset shift required to scale beyond just being the face of it. Whether you're a content creator dreaming of launching your own product or a founder navigating what growth actually feels like, this one is a must-listen.

Show Notes:

In this episode, we cover:

💄 How Keilidh transitioned from makeup influencer to founder of Kash Beauty

🌍 Scaling a brand globally while staying rooted in authenticity

🎥 The pressure of building a business while millions watch online

🧠 Burnout, boundaries and taking a step back to lead better

📦 Why she focused on product and customer experience before anything else 💬 Learning how to hire, manage and make tough business calls

🧪 Creating products that go viral and deliver results

💡 “At the start, it was all vibes — no plan.”

🔑 What it really means to build something bigger than yourself

Links & Resources:
Follow Keilidh on YouTube: @KeilidhMua
Follow Keilidh on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@keilidhmua
Follow Keilidh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keilidhmua/
Shop Kash Beauty: https://www.kashbeauty.com/
Kash Beauty on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kash_beauty/

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In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox is joined by Gerry Hussey - performance psychologist, author, and founder of Soul Space- for a raw, profound conversation on mindset, mastery, and meaning. From coaching Olympic athletes to filling the National Concert Hall with nothing but belief and vision, Gerry shares the ignition moments that shaped his life's work.

He opens up about overcoming debilitating anxiety as a teenager, how his mother’s unconditional love set him on a path of purpose, and why real change doesn’t start with tactics - it starts with truth. Whether you're an entrepreneur, athlete, or someone simply searching for clarity and courage, this episode will leave you rethinking how you show up for yourself and the world around you.

Show Notes

In this episode, we cover:

💥 The “ignition moment” that set Gerry on his life’s mission

🧠 How he rebuilt his mindset after early trauma and self-doubt

🥊 Lessons from working with Olympic boxing teams and elite athletes

🎯 The "WIN" Mindset: What's Important Now

🧘‍♂️ Building daily habits of personal excellence

💬 The power of saying no, and living with integrity

🏛️ Booking out the National Concert Hall during lockdown - with zero notes

🔄 Reset triggers: why emotional mastery starts with micro-decisions

🔍 Why most people fall short: the missing “why” behind their goals

👨‍👩‍👧 The true measure of success (hint: it’s not money or medals)

Links & Resources Mentioned:

Gerry Hussey’s New Book: I Am, I Can, I Will: https://amzn.to/3YSf6vK

Soul Space – Gerry’s wellness and performance platform: https://soulspace.ie/

Joe Dispenza – Inspiration behind Gerry’s live event transformation

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, we dive into Conor McHugh's remarkable journey from finance to founding Alchemy Search in Dubai.

Drawn by tax-free incentives and sun-soaked opportunities, Conor shares how he navigated the cultural complexities and business challenges of the Middle East over seven years.

His story weaves through personal transformation—from KPMG in Guernsey to a soul-searching travel adventure across Asia that sparked his entrepreneurial awakening.

With candid insights on managing multicultural teams, overcoming financial pressures, and respecting local business practices, Conor offers invaluable advice for anyone considering the leap into international entrepreneurship.

Whether you're curious about expat business opportunities or seeking inspiration to take your own calculated risk, this conversation reveals the grit and adaptability required to succeed far from home.

🎧 Show Notes:

In this episode, we cover:

🌍 Conor's decision to leave London and build a business in Dubai's tax-free environment

🔄 The career pivot from finance at KPMG to recruitment entrepreneurship

✈️ How a year of international travel triggered his entrepreneurial mindset

🤝 The importance of the Irish community network in Dubai

💼 Managing multicultural teams and navigating business relationships in the Middle East

💰 Financial challenges and the realities of invoice collection across cultures

⏱️ Understanding different cultural approaches to timelines and commitments

🧠 Overcoming Western entitlement mindset when operating internationally

🌱 The evolution of Dubai's business landscape over seven years

"A sense of entitlement, often carried by those from Western cities like Dublin or London, can be a hindrance to success in the Middle East." - Conor McHugh

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In this special Dubai-recorded edition of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Trevor McFarlane—CEO and founder of EMIR, the ultra-exclusive intelligence and advisory network serving the region’s top CEOs, ministers, and government officials.

Trevor shares the incredible story behind building EMIR from scratch—starting with a borrowed ballroom at the Burj Al Arab and a fake guest list—to now curating powerful, private briefings for over 400 regional leaders.

This episode is a masterclass in the psychology of influence, the power of elite curation, and why being “hard to access” is a business strategy. Trevor also offers a piercing macroeconomic analysis of what lies ahead globally, from Trump 2.0 and AI to population booms and climate migration.

Whether you’re a founder, strategist, or just a curious mind—this one will leave you thinking.

🎧 Show Notes

In this episode, we cover:

🎩 How Trevor built a high-trust, invite-only CEO network across the Middle East.

🧠 The psychology of selectivity: why scarcity builds value.

💼 Turning elite briefings into board-level influence (and the risk that comes with it)

🌍 From geopolitics to geoeconomics: why the next 25 years will divide the world

📉 The real danger of AI: widening inequality

📈 Opportunity in adversity: where Trevor sees business potential in climate migration and demographic collapse

🏠 A surprising Airbnb idea involving abandoned Japanese islands

🇮🇪 Trevor’s blunt take on Ireland’s economy, inequality, and global tax pressures

Quote of the Episode

💬 “What we’re selling isn’t just intelligence—it’s trust, access, and success.” – Trevor McFarlane

🔗 Links & Resources

EMIR Official Website → www.emirintelligence.com

Book mention: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene

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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/

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