The Hidden Hustle Podcast
The Hidden Hustle Podcast is a business podcast focused on learning from some of the best business owners across a wide range of industries. Hosted by brothers Alan and Sean Holmes, who share a dream of owning their own business, the show aims to highlight the kinds of business owners they admire—those you don't always hear about. Each weekly episode is designed to help listeners learn something new about these incredible businesses and the people behind them.
Episodes
EE35 - Ray Cooke - Part 2 - Straightforward Property Advice.
If you’re trying to buy your first home in Ireland right now, what should you actually do?In Part 2 of our conversation with Ray Cooke, we move away from Ray’s business journey and focus entirely on money, property and the Irish housing market.We gave Ray a real-world scenario: a young person earning €50,000 a year, with no financial help from their parents, trying to get on the property ladder.Hi
EE34 - Ray Cooke - The Journey so far...
He went from selling 100 houses a year to watching the market completely fall off a cliff.Today, Ray Cooke has built one of Ireland’s best-known estate agency businesses with almost 100 employees, 10 offices, approximately €11 million in revenue and more than 1,000 homes expected to be sold in 2026.And it all started with Ray on his own in November 2005, admitting he knew very little about the ind
EE33 - Tommy Kearns - Xtremepush
He went bust, lost everything, and started again from zero. Now he's built a €40 million ARR SaaS company with ambitions to hit €150 million in the next few years — and he's only getting started.In this episode, we sit down with Tommy Kearns, founder of Xtremepush, to hear the remarkable story of building one of Ireland's most ambitious SaaS companies from a Dublin startup in 2014 to a
EE32 - Gavan Walsh - iCabbi - The Business FAILED then we went from €60k Revenue to €10million.
From €60,000 in Revenue to €10 Million: The Incredible Story Behind iCabbiIn part 1 of this episode, we sit down with Gavan Walsh to learn about the business he founded iCabbi.In part 2, we discuss life after the iCabbi sale from setting up an investment company and now getting back into the tech start up game.It started in Portugal, with Gavan not being able to find a taxi and wishing something w
EE31 Jason Lynch - Quantum Computing will Definitely be Bigger than AI.
Could Quantum Computing Be Bigger Than AI?That’s one of the biggest questions we explored with Jason Lynch, CEO of Equal1, on the latest episode of The Hidden Hustle Podcast.Jason has spent the last 7.5 years building Equal1, with an ambition that is anything but small: to become the biggest quantum computing company in the world.What makes the story remarkable is the technology Equal1 has develop
EE30 Karl Zimmerer - Ireland's €200mil Water Engineering Company going Global
Do you understand the complexities involved in getting a simple glass of clean drinking water?In this episode, we sit down with Karl Zimmerer, founder of Glanua, to hear the incredible journey of building one of Ireland’s leading water and wastewater engineering businesses and taking it international.Karl and his team has doubled the companies revenue in the last 4 years with Glanua on track to hi
The Defining Moment - From idea to international success: the step-by-step journey of building a global business across 60+ countries.
Paul McCarthy has recently stepped back from the day-to-day operations at Snapfix, so what better time to look back on what was key to getting his journey up and running.In this short but powerful episode, we unpack the journey from a simple kitchen-table idea to a global software company used by teams across more than 60 countries.Paul shares a practical masterclass in startup execution, explaini
EE29: Swifter - Building a Number 1 Best Selling Running Product on Amazon with Nadia Power & James Madden
SummaryWhat does it take to build a No.1 Best Selling Product on Amazon in the US while competing at the highest level of sport?This week on the podcast, Alan sat down with Swifter founders James Madden and Nadia Power to hear how they’ve gone from launching a single running vest on Amazon to becoming a No.1 Amazon bestseller across Ireland and the US, selling in Amazon markets in Australia and th
The Defining Moment: Is M&A the only way to scale at speed and reach Unicorn Status?
From £500,000 Spent to Zero Customers… to International ExpansionIn this episode of The Hidden Hustle Podcast, Jonathan Larbey, Founder & CEO of T-Pro, shares the hard lessons learned while scaling a healthcare technology business internationally.After achieving early success in Ireland, T-Pro attempted to replicate the same strategy in the UK. The result? Nearly £500,000 spent over two years
EE27: Joe Hogan - Building and Selling a large telecom software business from Ireland
The $180 million Irish tech company you may never have heardof but one that helped revolutionise mobile phone billing worldwide from Park West in Dublin 12.In this episode, we sit down with Joe Hogan, founder of Openet, to hear the incredible 22-year rollercoaster journey of building one of Ireland’s biggest tech success stories before Openet sold the company to NASDAQ-listed Amdocs for $180 milli
EE 26: Scaling the Family Business from £4 million to £50 million - Energystore MD Connor McCandless
DescriptionWe had a brilliant conversation on the podcast with Connor McCandless from Energystore a company transforming construction through innovative insulation products that help homes stay warmer, more energy efficient and quicker to build. Connor shared the incredible journey of scaling the familybusiness from £4M turnover to £50M, expanding into the US market, completing 5 acquisitions, and
EE 25: The Social Media Analysis Company - Olytico founder Stephen O'Leary
Imagine not listening to your customers. That’s exactly whatmost companies are doing online.This week, we sat down with Stephen O’Leary, Founder and CEO of Olytico—a company that has spent the past 17 years helping brands truly understand what’s being said about them online. Stephen is also an ex-President of the Dublin Chamber ofCommerce and sits on Advisory Boards and Committees for Munster Rugb
EE 24: Thérapie Clinic - Building a multi billion dollar company - Philip McGlade
What does it really take to build a billion-dollar business from the ground up?Description We recently sat down with Phillip McGlade, whose journey from one clinic to building Thérapie Clinics into Europe’s largest aesthetic provider is packed with lessons for anyone looking to grow a business, lead a team, or think bigger.Phillip shares his ambition to create a billion-dollar global business, wit
EE 23- Ask Paul – Practical Financial Advice
We’re back with Part 2 of our conversation with PaulMerriman and this one is packed with practical advice every Irish ear needs to hear. Why is over €180 billion sitting idle in deposit accounts?Are you making the most of the Small Gifts Exemption?What’s actually the smartest way to invest €10k right now?And… are Irish banks quietly costing you more than youthink? In this episode, we get into the
EE: 22 – AskPaul.ie (Part 1) - The Personal Brand that changed the Financial Planning Industry
Description We recently had an incredible sit-down with Paul Merriman, CEO of Fairstone Ireland and founder of AskPaul.ie. We’ve split the conversation into two episodes, and this week’s release focuses on Paul’s incredible journey building his business.From not making it past Rag Week in college to now running a business managing €3 billion in assets, employing 250 people, and operating across 60
EE: 21 Alex Fox - Disrupting Irelands Legal Industry with Eudia and previously Johnson Hana.
Alex Fox and Johnson Hana have fundamentally changed the legal industry in Ireland.We had an incredible conversation with Alex Fox, Co-Founder of Johnson Hana and now General Manager of Eudia, which acquired Johnson Hana for $50 million in July 2025.Alex shares how he left his sales job after recognising alongside his brother that the legal industry was broken. What followed was a challenging earl
EE: 20 Sometimes you need to fire your entire management team… including yourself.
Sometimes you need to fire your entire management team…including yourself.Meet the man who successfully stepped out of his ownbusiness. Going from working long hoursevery week to becoming the “1-Hour CEO” by completely rebuilding his management team.Paul Ryan is the CEO of Temple and EDL, an 8-figure datacommunications and electrical distribution business he started with his fatherover 40 years a
EE: 19 The Entrepreneur Solving Ireland’s Biggest Social Problems
Introduced to us by the legend Paul McCarthy, who described him as a ‘National Treasure’, Denis O’Reilly more than lived up to the title. Denis is the founder of Wild Wicklow Tours, ranked second globally on TripAdvisor and number one in Ireland before selling it to Tony Doyle Coaches in 2023. But what truly sets him apart is how he has channelled that success into meaningful, lasting social impac
EE: 18 An Irish business tackling the Obesity Epidemic costing the state 2 billion a year!
This week’s guest is Dr Harriet Treacy, Founder and CEO of Beyond BMI, tackling one of Ireland’s biggest health challenges: obesity, a chronic disease affecting 1 in 3 adults and costing the state over €2 billion each year. Beyond BMI is a medically led, science-backed online weight management programme for those struggling with Obesity. Harriet’s journey began while working in emergency medicine,
Dublin Boy who Dreamed turning a College Project into a Nasdaq Listed Company
One of Ireland’s great business success stories and there’sa reason a book has been written about it.We had an incredible conversation with Gareth Sheridan,Founder & CEO of Nutriband, a Nasdaq-listed pharmaceutical company and aformer presidential hopeful.Gareth turned a college thesis into a publicly listedcompany, building the business from his bedroom while enduring some serioushard knocks
EE#16 - The Healthcare AI Company on a Path to $1B | T-Pro CEO Jonathan Larbey
This week’s guest is Jonathan Larbey, Co-Founder and CEO of T-Pro.Founded 13 years ago in Ireland, T-Pro has grown into a global healthcare AI company with serious unicorn potential. Through its innovative voice recognition technology, T-Pro is reducing the administrative burden on healthcare professionals by over 70%, freeing clinicians to focus on high-value patient care. Today, T-Pro supports h
EE #15 - How to Build a Business in Ireland with No money
Today’s guest on The Hidden Hustle Podcast is SinéadCrowther, founder and CEO of Soothing Solutions. This episode is a true masterclass in building a businessfrom the ground up with no money, driven by resilience, persistence, and an unshakeable belief in solving a real problem. Sinéad’s journey shows what it really takes to keep going through the toughest moments of entrepreneurshipwhen resources
From Diddly Squat Farm to building an AI company with 105 clients - Lucca Allen founder of ToraTech AI
🚜➡️🤖 From Diddly Squat Farm to building an AI company with 105 clients.This is a must-listen episode for anyone who would like to teach themselves AI and make a business from it 👇This week on The Hidden Hustle Podcast, we sat down with Lucca Allen, Founder of ToraTech AI — and his story is nothing short of incredible.At just 23 years old, Lucca has already lived multiple careers.🏎️ A highly succes
Helping ambitious people achieve impossible goals - Shane Cradock Top CEO & Athlete Coach.
Are your phone distractions decreasing your productivity in work?We believe this conversation could be a really important start to everyone’s 2026 with learning how we can better our inner world in a time where minds are extremely busy and so easily distracted.This week on The Hidden Hustle Podcast we talk to Shane Cradock high performance CEO and Athlete Coach. Shane has over 25 years experience
3rd Fastest Growing Tech Company in the World - Colm O'Rourke Capaciteam Founder.
Really enjoyed an insightful discussion with Colm O’Rourke, founder of Capaciteam, recently ranked 3rd in Clutch’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies for 2025.Colm shared his fascinating journey from starting out in the nightclub scene, to founding Felix Recruitment, and ultimately building Capaciteam, a company specialising in IT services and IT consulting.Capaciteam is growing at an impressive pa
Founder of Digicom - Greg Clarke past Dublin Chamber of Commerce President.
In this episode of The Hidden Hustle Podcast, we sit down with Greg Clarke, founder of Digicom and former president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce. Digicom is a leader in high-end video conferencing and audio-visual technology.Greg shares a raw and honest look at his 28-year journey building his business — from personal tragedy to major leadership lessons.🔍 We discuss:- How his brother’s passin
€2 Billion Spin-Off & Bootstrapping Ergo to €250M Revenue — The 33-Year Career of Irish Business Legend John Purdy
In this episode of the Hidden Hustle Podcast, we sit down with Irish business legend John Purdy, who recently sold his company Ergo. John founded Ergo 33 years ago with his co-founder, the late Tim Sheehy, starting out in a shed in Cabra, Dublin — and the company has remained fully bootstrapped ever since.Over those three decades, John also founded and later spun off Fenergo, which is now on track
S2 - EE3 - Gary Lavin VITHIT - From Insolvency to 45mil bottles sold this year!
From Insolvency to 45 Million Bottles Sold: The VITHIT StoryThis week we chat with Gary Lavin, Founder of VITHIT a true masterclass in resilience and brand building.Gary launched VITHIT in the early 2000s and went nearly a decade without profit. At one stage the company was insolvent and his house was repossessed. But with unwavering belief and one pivotal change, he turned VITHIT into the 7th bes
S2 - EE2 - Oonagh O'Hagan - Her Incredible New Product, Growing from 1 to 10 Pharmacies, being the first pharmacy to go online and much more!
This week we chat with Oonagh O’Hagan, owner of Meagher’s Pharmacies, about her incredible story and journey that all started from asking her boss one question when leaving her job💡We cover:💊 Her new product tackling the root cause of illness and disease.🏪 Lessons from the first 12 months being a business owner to opening 9 more stores📖 Opening up to her staff about the businesses declining profit
S2 - EE 1 - Colin Culliton Kith&Kin - From Running a Bookies at 11yrs old to Running a Marketing Services Empire with 136 employees.
At 11, he ran a bookies.Now, he leads 136 people across four creative agencies under the Kith and Kin Group.Colin Culliton a previous EY entrepreneur of year finalist shares his story.From building The Printed Image over 30 years to the emotional sale during Covid. Tips for building an incredible team culture, his thoughts on how he’s going to keep up with AI and plenty more incredible insights.🎙️
EE#6 - Buying & Selling an Insurance Broker Business to Howden
From Tragedy to Triumph: Building & Selling a Business 🎙️ In this episode of The Hidden Hustle Podcast, we sit down with John Galvin, previous owner of McMahon Galvin, which was recently acquired by the Howden Group. Losing both his parents at a young age, he was forced to grow up quickly and take charge of his own future. That experience shaped his career and ultimately his success. With over
EE#5 - £11M a year niche toy business. Learn how Eddie Holmes turned around a struggling toy business.
🌍 A niche toy business making a massive impact on the world stage.In Episode 5 of The Hidden Hustle Podcast, we sit down withour uncle — Eddie Holmes from TFH.TFH specialises in designing and manufacturing toys for people with disabilities 💡. This is an incrediblyinsightful episode on how Eddie, together with his father and brother-in-law, grew TFH to £11 million in consolidated worldwide sales 🚀.
EE#4 - How to Build €80M accounting software group in 33 years while competing in 8 Ironmans.
🔥 33 years. Multiple acquisitions. €80M collective turnover. 8 Ironman’s and a World Championship and ….. winning Entrepreneur of the Year 2024 🥇.What does it take to build a group of software companies worth millions 💻 and compete at the highest level in sport 🏊♂️🚴♂️🏃♂️?🎙️ In this episode of The Hidden Hustle Podcast, we sit down with Marc O’Dwyer, former owner & CEO of Big Red Cloud. Marc
EE#3 - From Unemployment to a €22 Million Revenue a year business – Aidan O’Reilly’s Inspiring Journey.
In the latest episode of The Hidden Hustle Podcast, we had the privilege of speaking with Aidan O’Reilly, former owner of Medray. A supplier of medical equipment.Aidan is now the co-owner of Emerald Greens Irelands largest vertical farm!Aidan shares an incredibly honest account of his journey from only getting 120 point leaving cert to being unemployed to building a medical equipment business turn
EE#2 -2024 Business Woman of The Year - Building a €45mil a year Empire in the Construction Industry
This is an incredible story of resilience, vision, and outstanding leadership…In this episode of The Hidden Hustle Podcast, we had the pleasure of speaking with Emma Maye—an inspiring entrepreneur whose journey is nothing short of remarkable.Emma shares how she built her group of companies, Ardale and Core Building Providers, into the success they are today and ultimately leading to Emma being nam
EE#1 - Paul McCarthy the founder of Snapfix.
In this episode of The Hidden Hustle Podcast, we talk withPaul McCarthy, Founder and Head of Product at Snapfix. Paul founded Snapfix in 2016 and has been solving the complex problems faced by property managers eversince — through an easy to use app that applies photographs with the familiar traffic light colour system to help manage hotels, offices, and other buildings—as simple as using WhatsApp
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