{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/5f6db0ab2dc2346e2dd1a808/6a79f622446de273c0f24a31?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"E306 That Great Business Show - He Spent 20 Minutes Applying. Won €100,000. Then Sold His Company. | Barry Sherry","thumbnail_width":200,"thumbnail_height":200,"thumbnail_url":"https://open-images.acast.com/shows/5f6db0ab2dc2346e2dd1a808/1786377621930-2d70255d-500e-4e01-bbb7-d429de9b6433.jpeg?height=200","description":"<p><strong>Twenty minutes. €100,000 cash. No equity handed over.</strong></p><p>That got our attention.</p><p><br></p><p>Barry Sherry and his co-founder built their Monaghan-based energy business into a 20-person company working North and South.</p><p>Then Barry spotted the <strong>Stelios North–South Business Cooperation Awards</strong> in his local newspaper.</p><p>He reckoned they ticked the boxes.</p><p>The application took about <strong>20 minutes</strong>.</p><p><br></p><p>Then came a Zoom. Then another Zoom — this one with Stelios Haji-Ioannou.</p><p>Then, on a Saturday evening, Barry opened an email telling him they had won <strong>€100,000</strong>.</p><p>And there’s another twist.</p><p><br></p><p>Not long afterwards the company was acquired.</p><p>Did winning the Stelios Award help?</p><p>Barry says the eventual buyer had seen the business in the media, knew about the award and asked them about it. </p><p>This is a very practical episode for any SME doing business North and South.</p><p>Barry explains:</p><p><br></p><ul><li>exactly how they applied</li><li>what Stelios appeared to like about the business</li><li>why having a founder on each side of the border helped</li><li>why he sees Northern Ireland as an opportunity rather than an export market</li><li>how they built a business capable of being sold only three years after starting</li><li>why clean management accounts made four-month due diligence possible</li><li>and the bizarre problem of people working on one side of the border being refused mortgages on the other.</li><li><br></li></ul><p>And there is <strong>€500,000 in cash</strong> available again in 2026.</p><p>The 2026 Awards have one €150,000 Gold Award, two €100,000 Silver Awards and six €25,000 Bronze Awards. Applications close <strong>7 September 2026</strong>, with the winners announced at Castle Leslie on 28 October. </p><p>Barry’s advice?</p><p><strong>Apply.</strong></p><p>The worst they can say is no.</p><p>The best they can say is <strong>€150,000</strong>.</p><p>That Great Business Show is brought to you by <strong>De Facto Shaving Oil — the world’s finest shaving oil, made in Mayo, sold worldwide.</strong></p>","author_name":"Conall Ó'Móráin"}