The Entrepreneur Experiment

Alan Andrews, founder of Old Barracks Coffee and premium coffee experience designer. He explains pricing as communication and positioning. He discusses how a moment of pause can deepen appreciation. He breaks down menu tiers, high-end microlots, and guiding customers to avoid confusing till moments.

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Ken Rideout for a conversation that goes far beyond endurance sport. Yes, they talk about marathons, HYROX, discipline, and what it really feels like to stand on a start line ready to compete — but this episode is really about identity, effort, masculinity, parenting, business ambition, and the mindset required to keep going when life gets hard.Ken opens up about what success actually means to him, why he believes failure is simply not trying, and how he’s learned to reframe adversity — from losing jobs to helping his wife through cancer treatment. He shares his brutally honest view that most people underestimate what they’re capable of, explains why he’s driven more by discipline than motivation, and reveals the internal pressure, imposter syndrome, and dark mental places that often sit beneath elite performance.This is not a polished “morning routine” conversation. It’s a raw, funny, provocative and deeply human episode about competing hard, living truthfully, protecting your energy, and building a life where you do more of what matters - and less of what doesn’t.Show NotesIn this episode, we cover:🔥 Why Ken believes success is rooted in family, friendship, and community — not status💥 His definition of failure: not trying🏃 The mindset he brings to marathons, HYROX, and elite competition🧠 Why discipline matters more than motivation😬 The imposter syndrome and insecurity behind high performance📚 How Ken’s story went from “toiling in darkness” to bestselling author and major podcast guest👊 Why he thinks 99% of people underestimate their own potential🏠 Parenting, social media boundaries, and raising strong kids in a soft world💼 His business philosophy: make enough money so you never have to do things you don’t want to do⌚ The tools he actually uses: Whoop, sauna, cold plunge, and his beloved 8 Sleep setup😅 Why he hates LinkedIn, protects his relationships, and refuses to be performative online* Our Sponsors *Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26About Ken Rideout:Ken’s Book: Everything You Want Is On The Other Side of Hard: https://www.theothersideofhard.com/Follow Ken on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ken_rideout/?hl=enFollow Ken on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ken_rideoutKen Rideout on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ken_rideoutFollow The Entrepreneur ExperimentOn Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/On TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

In this Mentor Moment, Gerry Hussey shares a simple but powerful way to visualise success that founders can actually put into practice. Instead of vague “future goals,” Gerry breaks it down into outcomes, daily process enablers, and identity — becoming the person who already lives the life you’re working towards.You’ll hear his step-by-step exercise to map what you want, identify the habits that get you there, and close the gap between who you are today and who you need to become.For the full conversation with Gerry Hussey, listen to Episode 413 of The Entrepreneur Experiment.*Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Rory’s Travel Club: https://bit.ly/rorys26 Chartered Capital: https://bit.ly/49ZuFrk

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Eoin Cluskey, founder and head baker of Bread 41, the Dublin bakery business built on craft, care, and real food. From leaving school early and training as a carpenter to finding his calling in kitchens abroad, Eoin shares the winding road that led him back to Ireland to build one of the country’s most loved bakery brands. Bread 41 launched in 2018 and has since expanded across multiple locations while staying fiercely committed to quality and values.This is a conversation about much more than bread. Eoin opens up about losing money in a failed early venture, writing the original Bread 41 vision in a copybook, building a 24/7 bakery model, scaling without taking on growth for growth’s sake, and why he’d rather walk away than compromise the product. If you’re trying to build a business that grows without losing its soul, this episode is packed with practical wisdom.Show notesIn this episode, we cover:🔥 Why “simplicity scales, complexity fails” applies to almost every business🥖 How Eoin went from carpenter to baker after a chance opportunity in Australia🌍 Why travel, loneliness, and coming home to Ireland changed his life📓 The copybook vision that became Bread 41💸 The failed first business that cost him €25,000 — and what it taught him📍 Why opening on Pearse Street worked because of community, not just footfall⏰ How Bread 41 built a 24/7 operating model around bread, pastry, and wholesale📈 The real challenge of going from one bakery to two without breaking the culture🧠 Why founders can’t scale if they need to be in the business 24/7🌾 The long-term vision to move into Irish milling and support local growers👥 Why care is the company’s number one value🏡 The family wake-up call that changed how Eoin thinks about success“The day I add an additive or preservative to the bread is the day I walk away.”Links and resourcesBread 41 official site:https://bread41.ie/Bread 41 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bread41bakery/?hl=enBread 41 locations: including Pearse Street, Stillorgan, Cabinteely, and Greystones.*Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Rory’s Travel Club: https://bit.ly/rorys26 Chartered Capital: https://bit.ly/49ZuFrk

In this Mentor Moment, Lorraine Heskin — founder of Gourmet Food Parlour — takes us back to 2006, right in the heart of the Celtic Tiger, when she made the leap from a stable job into the unknown to build her own café brand.Lorraine shares how she approached brand-building from day one, why finding a location was the hardest part (and why she refused to pay key money), and the magic of opening the doors to a queue down the street — proving the idea wasn’t just in her head, the community wanted it.For the full conversation with Lorraine and the full Gourmet Food Parlour origin story, listen to Episode 423 of The Entrepreneur Experiment.Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Rory’s Travel Club: https://bit.ly/rorys26 Chartered Capital: https://bit.ly/49ZuFrk

Andrea Reynolds, Founder & CEO of Swoop, joins Gary to break down what founders actually need to know about funding, cash flow and building a business that lasts.Andrea started Swoop after becoming deeply frustrated by how hard it was for business owners to access grants, loans and funding quickly. What began as anger at a broken system became a fintech platform helping businesses access cash faster, automate funding applications and identify savings across essential services.In this conversation, Andrea shares the real-world funding lessons most founders only learn the hard way: why you should raise debt before you need it, why revenue solves more problems than almost anything else, how to think about investors properly, and why profitability matters more than hype.She also opens up about building under pressure, raising millions across multiple rounds, expanding internationally, surviving market shocks, and why empathy is still her most important business principle.If you’re a founder, operator or business owner trying to grow without losing control, this one is packed with practical insight.Show notesAndrea Reynolds is the Founder & CEO of Swoop, a fintech platform helping businesses access funding faster through data, automation and smarter financial decision-making.In this episode, Gary and Andrea discuss:Why businesses fail when cash flow gets tightThe original frustration that sparked SwoopHow Andrea manually tested demand before building the productWinning early funding through timing, momentum and experimentationThe open banking opportunity that accelerated Swoop’s growthWhat founders get wrong about fundraisingWhy you should raise before you actually need the moneyThe difference between debt, grants and equityWhy some investors can become a liabilityHow to think about boards, board observers and investor fitWhy diversification matters in a volatile marketThe shift from “growth at all costs” to profitabilityExpanding from Ireland and the UK into the US and beyondBuilding a forever business instead of chasing hypeAndrea’s personal approach to time, energy and staying groundedThe books, habits and mindset shifts that have shaped herThis episode is full of practical advice for founders navigating growth, fundraising and uncertainty.Links and resources mentionedSwoop: https://swoopfunding.com/ie/Enterprise Ireland: https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Books:The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben HorowitzHigh Output Management by Andrew GroveThe Art of War by Sun Tzu*Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Rory’s Travel Club: https://bit.ly/rorys26 Chartered Capital: https://bit.ly/49ZuFrk

In this Mentor Moment, Anthony Gallagher, founder of Petstop, Ireland’s leading Independent Pet Retailer, shares what he’s proudest of after decades in business: the people who stayed. From team members who have been with him for nearly 30 years to multi-generational families now working across the business, Anthony reflects on why great companies are built by investing in people, staying close to customers, and never losing touch with what’s happening on the ground.He also shares why he still visits stores every week, how innovation helped Petstop scale through major change, and why the basics — listening, learning, and paying attention to detail — matter more than ever.For the full conversation with Anthony, listen to Episode 425 of The Entrepreneur Experiment.Our Sponsors: Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Rory’s Travel Club: https://bit.ly/rorys26Chartered Capital: https://bit.ly/49ZuFrk

Will Meara, founder of Bingo Loco and head of Locomotive event studio, turned a chaotic bingo rave into a global live-experience machine. He talks about competitive socialising, win-win venue deals, rigorous localisation across cities, scaling operations without losing magic, and the experiment framework he uses to launch new concepts.

In this Mentor Moment, Rory King - founder of Rory’s Travel Club - breaks down the content engine behind building a simple, low-cost membership business at scale. He shares how they publish across multiple platforms every day, the split between posts that convert (offers), posts that build trust (reviews/testimonials), and posts that drive engagement (questions, entertainment), plus why “value first” is the only strategy that lasts.If you’re trying to grow an audience, build a personal brand, or turn attention into recurring revenue, this is packed with practical takeaways you can apply immediately.For the full conversation with Rory, listen to Episode 421 of The Entrepreneur Experiment.Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Rory’s Travel Club: https://bit.ly/rorys26Chartered Capital: https://bit.ly/49ZuFrk

In this episode, Gary sits down with Dr Caitriona Ryan and Dr Niki Ralph, co-founders of the Institute of Dermatologists in Dublin, to unpack how they built a modern “centre of excellence” model in Irish private care - combining medical dermatology, cosmetic dermatology, skincare, and a growing surgical pathway under one roof.They share the realities of scaling a high-trust healthcare business (systems, hiring, standards, and culture), how COVID sparked a major pivot into new services, and why Ireland needs to shift from reactive healthcare to preventative, longevity-led thinking. Plus: the story behind ID Formulas, their new data-driven approach to supplements (including wearables integration), and what they believe actually moves the needle for healthspan.Show NotesWhy Caitriona and Niki built a centre of excellence model (and why it’s scalable)A day in the life of two Consultant Dermatologists with five businesses and thousands of patientsThe difference between medical dermatology and cosmetic dermatologyHow they protect standards at scale: meetings, feedback loops, SOPs, and hiringThe COVID moment that forced a pivot - and led to a new surgical modelTheir longevity philosophy: healthspan over lifespanThe “longevity hype” they’re most sceptical of — and what they’d focus on insteadA simple, no-fuss skincare framework for founders (men + women)Links & ResourcesInstitute of Dermatologists (IoD): https://instituteofdermatologists.ieIoD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/instituteofdermatologists/?hl=enID Formulas waitlist: https://www.idformulas.com/Dr Caitriona Ryan Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caitrionaryandermatology?igsh=MW5jcGhleGFxMWRieg==Dr Niki Ralph Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drnikiralph?igsh=MWl2anNucWc5MDR0Yg==Things mentioned in the episodeWHOOP: https://www.whoop.comOura Ring: https://ouraring.comBook — Unreasonable Hospitality (Will Guidara)Book — Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell)Book — Good to Great (Jim Collins)EltaMD UV Clear SPF from IoD site(mentioned as a daily sunscreen option): https://instituteofdermatologists.ie/collections/elta-md-skincareEpisode sponsorsNostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26 Rory’s Travel Club: https://bit.ly/rorys26Chartered Capital: https://bit.ly/49ZuFrkDisclaimerThis episode is for general information and education only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your GP, pharmacist, or qualified healthcare professional for personalised guidance, especially before starting new supplements or treatments.