Share
That Great Business Show
E193 - The Small Firm Association's '4 Just Demands' and how best to climb the greasy pole to the C-Suite.
Season 1, Ep. 193
•
E193 That Great Business Show
David Broderick, Director of the SFA (part of IBEC), discusses the organisation's 'Four Just Demands'. David knows business as he was sent both to deliver cakes from his family business, and then also as a young boy, sent to collect the cash. Business in its rawest from an early age. He was also made redundant during Covid, that turned him to self-employment, as a consultant/mentor. He advises about not having the 'wrong' mentor, such as a friend, rather than someone who will tell you the unvarnished truth. Unofficially (not SFA policy he underlines), he wants an X and Y axis for high-speed trains to cross the country and go from top to bottom.
David discusses the real life cases he gets on the phone of businesses that are really, really struggling. He talks about energy, insurance, tax, labour (the living wage etc) and other costs. And, bad news, he says in some cases there's a further 30% rise to come.
The most immediate thing he wants is a targeted PRSI rebate for smaller businesses. He thinks MicroFinance Ireland are doing a great job, but like them to be allowed to lend larger amounts to businesses. He also wants more training vouchers to cover the costs to employers of having their employees taking time out for upskilling
His 'hire in a heartbeat' - his mother who is still out in Dublin Airport handing out samples of her own Broderick's cakes.
Barry Guiney, Headhunter, Odgers Berndtson who is also a Secretary of UCC Rugby Club - and also is a Certified Scrum Master - which has nothing to do with rugby, but lots to do with Toyota. They have launched the ScaleUp Collective - aimed at scaling (not start-up) companies. He sees a demand for executives who can build revenue growth as well as those who can bring a company to 'payday' - a successful exit. He references Scale Ireland and Endeavour Ireland networks, hoping to replicate the likes of Stripe etc. He discusses MBA differences between the US and the EU as well as the difference between the originating entrepreneur versus the commercial executive in salaries and other words. Irish tax rates he says can be a disincentive for attracting top talent to Ireland. He talks about ghosting in the industry - when a job is offered, the process is gone through...and then nothing. Why?
His 'hire in a heartbeat'? (He has hired 50 plus over his career so far). James Clear author of Atomic Habits.
With thanks to Maxol - check out their fuel cards for your business.
More episodes
View all episodes
197. E197 - How to sell a dinosaur. Part III of the Paddy Meade Triptych, Ireland's greatest auctioneers
32:32E197 - How to sell a dinosaur. You will never hear a business podcast like this elsewhere.Paddy Meade, former Dep. Chair and CEO of worldwide auction house Bonhams, is probably the world's best known seller of dinosauria. Paddy was asked to sell a dinosaur that had been pledged by a Creationist property developer (they believe the world is just 6,000 years old) as collateral in a failed property deal. When things went bust the dinosaur headed for the salesroom.This dinosaur, had spent five years being reconstructed, but still wasn't all there and needed some more bits to make him whole. And if your dino isn't whole, where do you go to buy bare bones? At the dinomarket of course (we kid you not!). What you learn on That Great Business Show.And there was the red copper Chinese dish, used for serving crab legs, owned by the family that started the Pony Express, that was so valuable that it had to have its own seat in Business Class on an airline to London. Wait'll you hear what happened to it.And then there was the original Lion's costume from the iconic movie 'The Wizard of Oz' that finally sold for..?There's another fascinating story about Muhamad Ali's robe, worn for the George Foreman fight, and what the auctioneers found stitched into that robe...And John Travolta's suit from 'Saturday Night Fever'...What happens when you buy very expensive wine that has gone off..?His third choice for his 'hire in a heartbeat' is Cassandra Hatton, currently working in Sotheby's.
196. E196 That Great Business Show - Auctioneers' Secrets - Ireland's top auctioneer worldwide spills the beans
35:16E196 That Great Business Show - Part II of III of the Paddy Meade interviews.Paddy starts by explaining how to make money at auctions and explains that's there a question of time - how long can you 'sit' on your investment?Then there's a question of fashion - objects, furniture, art all go in and out of fashion. Paddy sold a lot of 'nostalgia'. If you're 40-60, you're their target market. But, what's going to be the Next Big Thing.Paddy worked in eBay (they bought the US's oldest auctioneers Butterfield & Butterfield) when it was a teeny weeny little company (in involved 12 interviews!) and the story involves the Ireland V Italy match in 1990. His fascinating story involves Carly Fiorina, Meg Whitman, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel (if you're too young, look them up)...who collectively now probably are wealthier than a combination of big European countries.Then the Great Tech Bubble burst.When Butterfields was sold by eBay to Bonhams, Paddy joined the smaller of the Big Three US auctions houses (Sotheby's & Christies being the biggies)Paddy advises on what to buy and not to buy if you want to make your fortune and he tells us what auctioneering platforms he uses to find the items he likes to collect including work by a most curious individual Matthias or Matthew Buchinger, a circus performer who had no hands or legs who lived in Ireland. Matthew, with no hands, was a calligrapher. Mad.His 2nd choice for a 'hire in a heartbeat'...Morgan O'Driscoll and George Mealy auctioneers.
195. E195 That Great Business Show - the most famous living Irish businessman you've never heard of...
33:51E195 That Great Business Show - the Paddy Meade Triptych - three episodes featuring Ireland's most successful auctioneer.Paddy Meade is former Deputy Chair and CEO at Bonham Auctioneers, one of the most prestigious sales houses in the world. A born storyteller if you don't laugh out loud we guarantee your money back. We love a good backstory on TGBS and Paddy has a terrific one, starting with how studying Welsh in University College Dublin (UCD) led him to the top of a worldwide business. He explains how he came first and last in Welsh in UCD. And, he says that one's first choices (including studying Welsh) need have no bearing on future career choices. An obsessive collector, one of the early items he collected were small Tetra Pak type cream sachets from Aer Lingus flights (no, really).Later he studied fine arts in Southampton where he came first in the UK in his exams.Later still, when trying to convince a potential client to sell his goods, he drank the man's teeth. Well, in business, a man's got to do what a man's got to do...1990 comes and he loses his job. Thanks to a Donnelly visa, the last one ever he says, he headed for the US without a job. Hustling for a job he got frozen to a public phone box.He then hits a job dilemna. He got a job in Chicago, was there a week, when Christies, the auction house, called with a job offer. Did he jump?Learn about 'auction school' where you have to learn a secret code. Why he had to be trained by RADA and how he saved a client $700,000 when selling the famous 'Maltese Falcon' cross from the movie of the same name, that starred Humphrey Bogart as investigator Sam Spade.Paddy's 'hire in a heartbeat is Malcolm Barber of Bonhams.With thanks to Maxol, a family firm, backing Irish businesses.
194. E194 That Great Business Show - Future fintech, the end of banks as we know them?
42:22E194 That Great Business ShowThe Republic of Ireland (pop. 5m) has 2.7 million Revolut users. Percentage wise Ireland is the biggest adopter of neobanks across the EU. Head of Revolut EU is Joe Heneghan who talks to us about what the future of banking looks like. Will we ever darken a banking hall again? Also biting the heels of the so-called 'pilar banks' are SME funders like Grid Finance whose founder, Derek Butler, also joins us to see what the sees now and what he sees looking into the future. Then, there's Financial Services Ireland that is hell-bent on making Ireland a fintech capital (as are the UK, France, Lithuania, Estonia...). Patricia Callan, FSI Director, gives us an overview of that the challenges and opportunities are for new and established fintech startups here.As always we ask all our guests for their 'hire in a heartbeat' recommendation and here's this episode's line-up. Lobbyist Patricia would like to hire Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's PR when UK PM, for his lobbying prowess (and for his podcast 'The Rest is Politics')Derek would like to have Mairead McGuinness, EU Commissioner for Financial Services on his team, for obvious reasons as he explains the surreal amount of regulation the industry is currently facingJoe is an admirer of the Wayflyer model (a very clever Irish fintech unicorn) and he'd like if Aidan Corbett, founder, would drop into his office for a 'chat'.
192. E192 That Great Business Show - Gianni Matera - Ireland's most prolific early stage investor on he makes his money (he's aiming for 3X his investments)
41:26Episode 192 @That Great Business ShowSerial investor (but don't call him an angel!) Gianna Matera has backed some of Ireland's best known unicorns (value >$1bn) including Glofox and Flipdish.On this episode we have a rare one-on-one with Gianni, a man with many strong views, but ones he normally keeps to himself. A former Italian army lieutenant he made his money initially via a digital marketing company he founded and IPO'd. He explains why he left the heat of his native Milan for life in Dublin where he has so far backed 28 tech companies (he only back tech companies). He's literally a one-man band so he does have time nor the resources for full due-diligence, relying on a combination of gut and sleep to make his decisions (he explains his modus operandi). His long term ambition is to make 3X his money but 'it's not easy' he says.Most recently he has been appointed VC in Residence at UCD’s incubator, Nova UCD This is essential listening for anyone raising money or wishing to learn how best to invest in very early stage companies.With thanks to Maxol Fuel Card
191. E191 That Great Business Show - Daniel Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) heads for the Metaverse - our craziest episode yet?
45:27E191 That Great Business ShowWe headed to the Fexco backed RDI Hub in Killorglin, Co. Kerry where we recorded one of the most curious people and business we have ever encountered.Rarely on a podcast can you have a cast bigger of A-listers bigger than Glastonbury. But how about...Joe Strummer (The Clash), Neville Staple (The Specials/Fun Boy Three), Dave Wakeling & Ranking Roger (English Beat/General Public), Tracii Guns (LA Guns/Guns n Roses), Stephanie Rainey, Andy Summers (The Police), Donovan, John Ford Coley, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Peter Gabriel, No Doubt, Ice Cube, Mack 10, Korn, Ben Folds, Bob Geldof, Green Day, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Pennywise, The Vandals, Ky-Mani Marley, Flea, John Frusciante, Rami Jaffee, The Blindboys of Alabama, Carmen Rizzo, Maroon 5, Steve Vai, Ozomatli, Moby, Spencer Davis, Quincy Jones, Incubus, The Waterboys, Peter Asher, Nancy Sinatra, Prague Philharmonic Orchestra...OK, so they weren't all in studio but Jason P Rothberg was. Jason who? Well, wait'll you hear his back story. It's MAD. And no, we didn't understand half of what he's up to with his RDI Hub based business Xavatar, based in the Metaverse (as we say, don't ask us, ask Dr. Google). But if you understand it, we're told it's the future and there's clearly a business in it. As always, we've made it accessible, so do listen to learn.Also on the cast of E191 are Bertie Murphy ('hire in a heartbeat'? Steve 'Fexco'), Chief Strategy Officer of Fexco and Kerry McConnell ('hire in a heartbeat'? - Sadia Nowshin), who markets the RDI Hub to the world (virtual membership available globally). Jason's 'hire in a heartbeat'? Hugh Reynolds, entrepreneur in chief at RDI.
190. E190 That Great Business Show - UnifyOrdering - cutting food ordering costs by 85%, AwakenAngels - investing in women businesses - Business 101, insights from Big Red Cloud
01:12:07E190 That Great Business Show with Conall O MorainBarry McNerney, CEO of UnifyOrdering, doesn't want to be a 'busy fool' so he has co-created a new ordering platform for the wider food industry. He has a solid backkground in business, a former Davy stockbroker he's now CEO of Lotts & CO, co-founder of Pauli's pizza and Junior's Cafe and he was once involved with two renowned Dublin pubs, The Old Spot and the Bath. But now, it's all eyes on brining UnifyOrdering to the world, and to raising money on Spark Crowdfunding to make that happen. Barry says he's onto a 'world first' and dreams of a €200m plus exit.On the wider food sector he says he's never seen a more difficult time for smaller businesses in the sector.His 'hire in a heartbeat' is Michael O'Leary and Paul McNerney (nee James! - listen to understand)Mary McKenna, Denise McQuaid are part of the founding team at AwakenAngels - funding women led businesses and raising awareness and knowledge of investing in businesses. They guide investors who can invest from €2,000 and when they commit that amount (or more!) investors join the community and get free training in angel investing. It's an ideal course as well for those who want to go on to be a founder, seeing it from the 'other side', for the investor's side.Mary McKenna's 'hire in a heartbeat' is Olivia McVeigh, social influencer.Denise McQuaid's 'hire in a heartbeat' is Serena WilliamsOn Business 101, our mini-series on setting up and growing your own business, supported by Big Red Cloud software, Tena Sheil, founder The Bookeeping Academy, is joined by Ian Hobbs, Sales Mangager at Big Red Cloud. Tena has some clever solutions for solving some of the 'difficult to fill' work vacancies in the economy. It's about upskilling and re-skilling and it's Tena's business. Worried about losing the staff you train? Richard Branson says 'look after your staff so they don't want to leave'. Tena's training courses are paid for by the State. Tena herself trained herself through an ISME Skillnet course that sent her on to further education. Her introductory course can be done in just eight weeks, part-time (2-3 hours a week). BigRedCloud.com/training will find the courses.With thanks to MentorsWork.ie
189. E189 That Great Business Show - 5GB broadband is the new 1GB. And, when your business is in a coffin, we're joined by The Glam Reaper.
54:18E189 That Great Business Show with Conall O MorainPaul Connell, co-founder and CEO of Pure Telecom explains how his business model has changed over the years. He talks about Eir, the National Broadband Plan, SIRO and others in his sector. A lack of vision or ambition seems to be the message. Ireland is stuck at sub-IGB in most cases where broadband can be accessed. He says other countries are already at 5GB - essential when virtual reality and AI get a bigger hold on our digital lives. Not everybody may agree with what Paul has to say, but he'll certainly put a smile on every listeners' face. His 'hire in a heartbeat', Steve Bartlett (Diary of a CEO). He may even pay to have lunch with him.Jennifer Muldowney has been buried in business for fifteen years. Or more accurately, she's been in the broader burial business. A Dublin, she's known as the Glam Reaper and she organises some of New York's most prestigious remembrance services. Don't think your usual solemn church service. Think more a theatre turned into a forest. In fact, if you can think it (and afford it) she can do it for you (she works in Ireland as well). Hugely discreet we did find out that she organised a service for the late Jack Welch, Chair and CEO of General Electric, and an industry titan in his time. Let's say this is a very different business story.Her 'hire in a heartbeat'? The entire Aldi Ireland marketing team because of what they did with the carrot.With thanks to MentorsWork.ie