ThinkBusiness

Today we talk with Niamh Collins, centre director of the Guinness Enterprise Centre in the heart of Dublin's Liberties. Ranked as the Number 2 Private Business Incubator in the World, she talks about how in 25 years the Centre has supported more than 1,500 start-ups.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Today we talk with Thomas Arnold, founder of Fearless Media and co-founder of Ireland's original TikTok house. Listed as one of Ireland's 30 Under 30 Entrepreneurs, he talks about how he plans to help ordinary people become part of the influencer economy.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Today we're exploring a remarkable success story - 40 SME business have just completed Business in the Community Ireland's All-Ireland Climate Action Programme, doubling the participation from last year. The programme, delivered in partnership with Business in the Community Northern Ireland, brought together these SMEs with support from major corporates including Bank of Ireland Group, ESB, and SSE Airtricity.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We explore the innovations shaping the future of healthcare where we're joined by Simon Wallace, Chief Medical Information Officer for Microsoft UK and Ireland, to discuss Dragon Copilot, a groundbreaking technology that's redefining clinical workflows.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Business in the Community Ireland has been instrumental in moving sustainability from the margins to the mainstream in Irish business. Tomas Sercovich, CEO of Business in the Community Ireland, talks about why climate change and inequality remain urgent challenges.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

At just 18 years of age, Stephen Cluskey suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paralysed from the neck down. Today he is an accessibility advocate and an entrepreneur whose business Mobility Mojo is working with more than 100 businesses worldwide to make workplaces better for people with disabilities. He talks about his personal journey and his passion for entrepreneurship.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We spoke with Phil Barnes from Geotab at the Nevo Electric Vehicle Show about the emergence of green electric vehicle fleets in Ireland, how businesses can get the most out of their investment in electric vehicles and how AI is transforming telematics.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We recently attended the Nevo Electric Vehicle Show where we spoke to Bank of Ireland head of Motor Finance Derek Kavanagh about new vehicle ownership trends driving the Irish market.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

ThinkBusiness witnessed the brilliant Meet the Buyer event in Belfast, connecting SMEs with large supply chains. The event, organised by Northern Ireland Chamber and supported by Bank of Ireland saw SMEs attend more than 230 one-to-one meetings with large government and corporate buyers.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Geoff Allen from Athlone-based Mersus Technologies discusses how his business is delivering on VR-based training for businesses and outlines how Ireland can take a lead in the development of this technology.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Emmet O'Neill from StoryToys talks about how the Dublin-headquartered company landed a lucrative deal to bring the popular Bluey animation series to life through a deal with LEGO and BBC Studios. He explains how StoryToys is on a mission to inspire childrens' curiosity and animation through digital learning.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to Marie O'Connor, chief operating officer of Sogeti in Ireland, about her forecasts for GenAI over the next few years and how firms can scale using the technology.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

On the heels of acquiring BT Communications Ireland, the CEO of Speed Fibre Group Peter McCarthy overseas a network of more than 10,000 km of fibre connecting 94 towns across Ireland. He is on a mission to future-proof Ireland's growing digital economy.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Dee Coakley, CEO of Irish start-up Boundless, questions whether current AI tools are making hiring better or just replicating existing biases. She talks about why jobseekers need to be cautious with AI-generated applications and how we can leverage AI to enhance human judgement in recruitment.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

In a special ThinkBusiness Podcast recording at the Backyard at Blas in Dingle, supported by Bank of Ireland, three artisan food producers reveal how quality, tradition and sustainability are driving growth in the Irish food sector. Eugene McKenna of Silver Hill Duck, Felix Oster of Mór Taste and Owen Mullins of Zanna Cookhouse represent different paths to the same destination: creating products that resonate with consumers seeking genuine, locally-produced food with clear provenance.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Irish workers are increasingly viewing AI as a gateway to career advancement. We talk to Microsoft Ireland's national technology director Kieran McCorry about how rather than threatening careers, AI can actually be a career catalyst and stave off burnout.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to John Delves, CEO of the UCD Professional Academy about the changing pace of the professional education landscape and how continuous skills development holds the key to bridging the skills gap and unlocking career longevity.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to three-time All-Ireland winner Walter Walsh about his new digital platform SocialTies, which is designed to help community groups and grassroots organisations manage their communications and operations in one unified space.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

TRYKA, founded by Brian Lee – the entrepreneur behind healthy fast-food chain Freshly Chopped – positions itself as a community-first alternative to global events like Hyrox, with multiple race formats designed for all fitness levels from beginners to elite athletes. On the eve of the launch of the race league, we talk to Lee about his entrepreneurial journey and why he sees a market gap in fitness.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to Marie Donnellan, the CEO of Platform94 about her pioneering fractional C-suite initiative that brings world class C-suite capabilities in areas like finance and HR to scaling businesses across the west of Ireland. She believes the opportunity to create a community of strong, scaling businesses across the west has never been greater.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to Fidelma McGuirk, the CEO and founder of Payslip, a global fintech player that is empowering payroll professionals all over the world through its software-as-a-service platform. She talks about establishing a business in the west of Ireland and scaling it globally.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

As Galway medtech SymPhysis Medical prepares for US regulatory clearance for its device for cancer patients, we talk with founders Michelle Tierney and Tim Jones about their ambition to spearhead a transformation in the care, and quality of care, of patients.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

As the Nevo Electric Vehicle Show returns to the RDS this November with its most ambitious programme yet, we catch up with Derek Reilly from Nevo and Derek Kavanagh from Bank of Ireland. Running across two days, Friday 7th November for businesses and Saturday 8th November for the general public, it will be Ireland's largest ever event dedicated to electric vehicles, clean energy, and sustainable mobility.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Ahead of a Bank of Ireland AI workshop for business owners, we speak with Mark Kelly from AI Ireland and the Bank's head of Technology, Media & Telecoms Paul Swift about how firms should be approaching the use of AI in their business.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We meet some of Belfast's emerging young innovative start-up businesses at Catalyst where they are addressing a myriad of problems with breakthrough ideas and solutions.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We speak with Bank of Ireland's various Agri Development Managers at the Ploughing Championships 2025 to discover the challenges and opportunities facing Ireland's farmers in a time of climate change and geopolitics, how farmers are faring and how they are making the green transition.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Experienced investment manager Alan Dunne of Archive Capital explains why family offices are growing in prominence in Ireland as a means for successful businesspeople to manage their legacy and make an impact for decades to come. So what are family offices? How do they work? And why are they suddenly stepping into the limelight?Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

There is a lot of change happening in the Irish telecoms business and Sinead Quinn, a board member of Irish business IP Telecom is at the heart of it. She talks to the ThinkBusiness Podcast about the technological shifts that will change telecoms and why the industry needs more strong female leadership.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We speak to EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist Liam Dunne about the Waterford business's remarkable growth. With revenues set to rise 80% in 2025 driven by the AI revolution, the business is active across 100 markets and counts Fortune 500 giants as customers. Dunne talks about his late arrival to entrepreneurship, proving you can start a business at any age.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Ahead of the 2025 National Ploughing Championship, Bank of Ireland's head of Agriculture Sector Eoin Lowry talks about the changing landscape of farming in Ireland. We are also joined by Stephen Coen from Senus, an Irish start-up, that is making environmental health reviews available to Irish farmers.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist VIT HIT founder Gary Lavin about how his vitamin drink brand overcame a myriad of obstacles to becoming a growing and recognisable brand locally and globally. From an insolvency in 2007 to this year being on track to sell 45m bottles of VIT HIT in 18 markets, Lavin talks candidly about staying true to one's vision.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Accomplished Irish entrepreneur Larissa Feeney talks about building a nationwide business from Donegal and how her business Kinore is building a remote business that's high-performing, secure and built for the long-term. She says Kinore is taking remote working to the next level by combining strategic foresight with proactive technology management.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 finalist Karl Fitzpatrick didn't get the Leaving Cert results he wanted. But he didn't let the exam results define his life. Today, the owner of Chevron College leads a business that is on track to record €20m revenues and €3m in profit this year and that employs 150 staff and educates 15,000 students. He demonstrates how he turned his Leaving Cert disappointment into entrepreneurial success throughout a life where he never stopped learning.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to HomeBot founder and CEO Clara Mulligan about the genesis of her business which makes and sells robot lawnmowers, vacuum and floor cleaners as well as robots that wash windows. She talks about the future of automation and how she and her husband were inspired to become a leading player in the smart robotics space in Ireland.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Bank of Ireland's chief sustainability and investor relations officer Eamonn Hughes talks about how the Bank embraced sustainability at the heart of its strategy and at all levels of the business. The Bank has surpassed €15bn in green lending and is targeting €30bn by 2030. Hughes says the ambition is to go even further.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We speak with Oisin Hanrahan, the Irish CEO and co-founder of B2B manufacturing platform Keychain, about how he is enabling the future of brand development across the US using AI. Hanrahan is best known for his successful platform Handy.com, which raised almost $100m before being sold to Nasdaq-listed Angi.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Sonia Harris Pope, owner of Harris PR, talks about the Harris PR Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Bursary, which she developed in partnership with The Open Door Initiative and the Public Relations Institute of Ireland. The aim of the initiative is to create a pathway for people from under-represented groups in society to train in public relations and communications. This, she believes, is not only good for her industry but is vital for society too.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Declan O'Reilly from Empathy Research has built a human insights business that has grown exponentially by working with leading household name brands to transform consumer understanding into smarter strategy. He talks about the shifting sands of consumer attitudes in the digital world and his plans for the growth of the business.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Andrea Dermody, DCU lecturer, consultant and former head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at State Street, talks about her work in shaping the next generation of inclusive business leaders. A prominent voice in the field of diversity, equity and inclusion, she discusses the global impact and challenges in this area. While at State Street she spearheaded initiatives across 14 countries and supported 12,000 employees through more than 50 employee resource groups.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Bank of Ireland recently launched its new Sustainable Business Coach online platform, a free digital tool designed to help SMEs identify their ESG priorities. Along with Green Business loans, this is one of a plethora of sustainability resources emerging from the Bank. Colette Shirley, director of Sustainability at Bank of Ireland talks about the development of the Coach and why it is vital to support businesses on their sustainability journey.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

What began as a side-hustle for Caitriona McGettigan eventually became a passion project and now a fully-fledged business called Luxury Exchange. We talk to McGettigan about how Luxury Exchange, a curated collection of pre-loved designer handbags, clothing, and accessories, is hurtling towards a €4m turnover this year.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Despite external pressures, companies in Ireland remain committed to workplace diversity but key challenges persist, according to the recent Business in the Community Ireland Elevate Pledge Report. We speak with Richa Tyagi, Senior Sustainability Adviser at Business in the Community, and Adrienne Daly, Head of Social Impact at Deloitte, about why businesses who remain committed to DE&I will find themselves on the right side of history.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

John Kane, head of energy engineering at Veolia Ireland, talks about his Veolia's pioneering work in enabling Ireland's green transition and how the country could achieve its carbon reduction goals.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We speak to Adam Dorr, director of Research at the US thinktank RethinkX about what the future beyond AI holds for our communities, our businesses and our livelihoods. Dorr will be a headline speaker at the upcoming Dargan Forum in Dun Laoghaire in July. He has gained global recognition for his ground-breaking work exploring how innovations in energy, transport, food, and AI are rapidly reshaping economies and societies faster than policymakers are prepared for.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

Andy Culligan, an Irishman based in Austria is building a global online marketing business. Recently named Marketer of the Year at the 2025 Tekpon Awards, Culligan is CEO and co-founder of Purple Path, an outsourced marketing business, which recorded half a million euros in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, alone. The business is bootstrapped by a €700,000 founders' investment.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to Stephen Wynne-Jones, an editorial entrepreneur building a new platform called SustainabilityOnline.net that focuses on sustainability from a practicality perspective. Wynne-Jones explains that while saving the planet is obviously a non-negotiable, he firmly believes that for sustainability to truly gain traction, the financial opportunity needs to be front and centre, prompting the corporate world to drive positive action.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to brothers Barry and Fergal Doyle about how the lifestyle and gardening business that was started by their mother in Carlow in the 1970s has grown to become a €14m a year business. They talk about sustainability and how the business has sold half a million plants this year with 85% of their suppliers being Irish. Not only that they discuss their move into Dublin 1 to support the advent of the urban gardener.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to Anthony Gallagher of Petstop who celebrated 30 years in business year who opened his 14th retail outlet in Rathmines. He talks about how he started the business originally to sell it but instead grew a scaling firm that is also a force in the world of e-commerce.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to HRLocker's Crystel Robbins Rynne about the prevailing trends in HR and how the Clare-born tech business is helping SMEs and corporate firms navigate the digital future.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to Kevin McPartlan, CEO of Fuels for Ireland, about how the fuel sector is actually the lynchpin of Ireland's transition to green energy, arguing in favour of new fuels like hydrotreated vegetable oil and low-carbon liquid fuels. The sector employs more than 66,000 people and supplies more than half of Ireland's current energy consumption. McPartlan envisages a cleaner energy future, is supportive of electric vehicles and has a vision for how forecourts can continue to serve as vibrant community hubs.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.

We talk to Ciarán Murray from Olas, a seasoned veteran of the blockchain industry and a former employee of BSkyB, about what does the future hold for Ireland's local media sector. He argues that local media serves as a cornerstone of community life in Ireland, providing trusted news that keeps people together. Today local media continues to be among the most trusted news sources in Ireland, with up to 70% relying on local newspapers and radio for information. He is concerned, however, about the decline in local journalism in Ireland and warns of the formation of news deserts if we don't do something about it.Visit www.thinkbusiness.ie for more news and supports for start-ups and SMEs in Ireland. If you want to start and grow a business, ThinkBusiness.