Trading Up

Discover how this Belfast-based independent retailer is thriving against the odds. Learn about what Linzi Rooney means by her culturally relevant products; how she doubled online turnover while growing high street sales and all the while maintaining her support for local makers. Explore Linzi's unique brand, realistic growth plans, and even her surprising encounter with the PayPal CEO Alex Chriss. A must-listen for retail inspiration!

Discover the inspiring journey of Tina McKenzie, from launching a recruitment business that went from zero to 150 million in short order. From running Staffline in Northern Ireland to becoming a leading figure in UK business with the Federation of Small Businesses. Hear about her meteoric growth, strategic acquisitions like Grafton, and ill-fated foray into politics. Tina shares insights on resilience, leadership, and making a real-world impact. Proving a job is just a job while purpose matters.

The multi-millionaire and serial entrepreneur who began his business journey as an unlicensed street trader. The bank employee who quit school before her A Levels then quit the bank to set up her own. And the third generation family food business boss who’s defied the old adage about success across the generations to build a 200 million pound empire. A chance to catch up again with Pete Boyle, Judith Totten, and Andrew Lynas as we reflect on the common lessons from some very contrasting stories.

Clare Ryan cut her entrepreneurial teeth on a market stall and then a corner shop. She was the first in her family to go to university where she excelled. But she swapped biomedical sciences for the role of tech founder and this non techie now has a compelling product aimed at demystifying the complexities of cyber security for small businesses, and saving them money. Perhaps even saving their business. She's raised her first half million with a plan for two million more to follow this year as she rolls out her solution. Her kids are the driving force - "mummy, you said we'd have money by now" - and she has her eyes fixed on a successful exit by the time she hits fifty in seven years time.

Karen Maguire doesn't do the expected or routine. She wouldn't have decided to set up her own manufacturing business if she did. She wouldn't have grown it, with much personal sacrifice, through lean years and tough times if she had only been half-committed. She was all-in. Until the death of her father in 2017 shook her world and she decided her business should belong to someone else. But who? Again, she took the path less travelled and sold up to her employees under the Employee Ownership Trust scheme. As she eases herself out of the business, and into a new venture teaching pilates (just doing it was clearly not enough), she tells her remarkable story.

Judith Totten thinks kindness is important in her business. Which is rather surprising because she's in the finance business. But it has paid off for her and the numbers tell the story: zero A Levels because she left school early; 20 years at the bank learning her trade; £500,000 scraped together to start her own lending business; 53 rejections from London banks who wouldn't back her; 1 yes and £5 million from the one that did; 1 decade and two buyouts later and she's now got £150 million to lend. She tells her remarkable story with real candour and humour.

Patrick Woods' grandfather died at age 42. His father needed a heart bypass in his early fifties. So, being healthy really means something to him and his family. His dad transformed his lifestyle and eating habits in the aftermath of his bypass thirty years ago. Patrick has helped him transform the third generation family business to align with those new healthy priorities. Linwoods is the number one brand in its niche - the milled flax seeds you can add to your breakfast that promise a host of benefits, particularly for heart health. But the company has been through many difficult times and has radically transformed from a dairy and bread business that was becoming commoditised to a growing health food business that continues to innovate with new products. Along the way Patrick and his family have endured health crises, potential financial ruin and even the bullets of the IRA. It's a family saga that's a real tonic for the heart!

Picture a 72-year-old farmer in Idaho who has been diagnosed with skin cancer. He's about to start a tough regime of chemotherapy. The kind of toxic drugs that have been used to blast such cancers for 40 odd years. It's the only way his doctor knows to treat the cancer. It's possible the treatment could work. But it's also possible the treatment could kill him. But within 24 hours of testing and diagnosis, the doctor gets a knock at the door from a representative from a drug company. They're offering an alternative treatment so precise that it has been tailored to match the profile of the patient's very DNA. And they've arrived at the door of that clinic with that treatment because a company in Northern Ireland has crunched the data from the testing centre and discovered there's a patient there that could benefit. This is precision medicine in action and it's almost the stuff of science fiction, but it's the daily business of Ryan Keeling and his company Diaceutics. Ryan tells the story of how the company began life in his uncle's basement, but is now publicly listed and working with the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies at the cutting edge of diagnostics and modern medicine.