Take The Plunge

When Rachel Harris – better known as Accountant_she – realised the accounting industry didn’t reflect who she was, she didn’t shrink to fit it. She built something better. From starting as a 17-year-old apprentice to founding striveX, Rachel has grown a 7-figure, bootstrapped accountancy firm while simultaneously turning her personal brand into a million-pound business. In this episode, Rachel sha...

When Aine Kilkenny and her co-founder Fiona couldn’t find a single tampon at home, they didn’t just complain – they created Riley , a 100% organic cotton period care brand now stocked in bathrooms and retailers across Europe. In this episode, Aine shares how Riley grew from a kitchen table in West Cork to 400+ corporate clients, including Google and KPMG , replacing millions of single-use plastic...

We’ve all had those “should I actually do this?” moments, but not all of us follow through. This is the story of someone who did. A founder who, while sitting in a pub, took out a five-figure personal loan and decided to back himself. And years later, it paid off. In this episode of Take the Plunge, Playter founder & CEO Jamie Beaumont talks through the real journey... the detours, the bad tim...

In this episode, Ciaran chats with Darren O’Reilly , founder & CEO of WholeSupp , on his journey from rugby and corporate life to launching a whole-food meal shake brand built on science, transparency and taste. Darren shares the grind of finding manufacturers, bootstrapping for three years, and building a challenger brand in a crowded nutrition space. Expect insight on manufacturing, omnichan...

In this episode, Ciaran sits down with Lisa Boissel, CEO of Miss Jones Group , to uncover her bold journey from Dublin’s nightclub scene to owning and scaling one of the UK’s most influential networks for personal and executive assistants. Lisa shares how she spotted a gap in the PA community, took the risk of acquiring Miss Jones during COVID, and leaned into tech and AI to modernise the business...

This is a podcast for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs who are thinking of taking the plunge! This week Ciaran and his guest of this episode, Russ Wakeham, the founder and CEO of Two Drifters Distillery – a premium British rum company with a unique, carbon-negative footprint. In this episode, they dive deep into Russ's journey in the spirits industry, where he shares his experience of bu...

Welcome to Take The Plunge, a podcast for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs ready to take the plunge into the world of business! Join your host, Ciaran, as he dives into an inspiring conversation with this week’s guest, Ernesto Moreno—a powerhouse in the entrepreneurial world. Ernesto's journey began in 2003 when he moved from Venezuela to the UK at just 23 years old with only £300 in his...

This is a podcast for business owners & aspiring business owners who are thinking of taking the plunge! This week Ciaran and his guest of this episode, female founder Lucy McCarraher discuss her journey in the publishing world. Lucy is the co-founder and CEO of the Book Magic AI book-writing app, co-founder of Rethink Press, and founder of the Business Book Awards. She is a Director of Dent Gl...

Ciaran and his guest of this episode, female founder Emma Thompson, talk about the processes of becoming a beekeeper, how to make a business from a hobby and many more bee-related topics. Follow Ciaran and Thompson down the rabbit holes of beekeeping and Emma's story of how she started her business Bee Haven Body Care, a body care brand selling products made with Emma's own honey. Hosted on Acast....

This episode, Ciaran Burke gets to interview female entrepreneur and business owner Deidre Mc Gettrick. Deidre, or "Dee" as Ciaran calls her, is the founder and CEO of the furniture and furnishing retail website ufurnish.com. The idea behind ufurnish.com is to bring furniture from every possible retailer and manufacturer together, to make the furniture-buying journey easier for the customer. She s...

In this edition of 'Take The Plunge', our own Ciaran Burke interviews renowned British businesswoman Sháá Wasmund MBE, delving into her many past ventures and experiences. What Wasmund is, is hard to explain as she has been a boxing manager, a business owner and an author, but most of all she is headstrong and ambitious. Through her many years of working, from when she was barely 20 to today, she...

In this episode, Ciaran meets Pamela Laird a renowned entrepreneur and the creative force behind MoxiLoves, a thriving beauty and lifestyle brand that has taken the industry by storm. With her keen business acumen and unwavering determination, Pamela has built an empire from the ground up, providing invaluable guidance to aspiring business owners and anyone seeking inspiration to pursue their drea...

This week Ciaran met with the co-founder of LABELL-D, Julia Vendramin. Julia discusses her long spanning career in fashion and her learnings from starting her own sustainable fashion business. This episode is packed with insights on starting and scaling your own business as well as defining your brand identity.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode of 'Take the plunge' Swoop Founder Ciaran Burke is speaking to Inverse Funding Founder Jamie Harford. Find out how Jamie went from running a healthy fast food business in 2012 to being responsible for 20% of funding raises in Europe (2020).   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Finding your purpose, accounting and whiskey with Andrew Van De Beek. In this week's episode of 'Take the plunge' Swoop Founder Ciaran Burke is speaking to illumin8 Founder Andrew Van De Beek. The Aussie Accountant depicts the highs and lows of his journey as an Accountant and a Founder. Watch to find out more! Find funding for your business now for free, register with us at https://swoopfunding.c...

Alex MacDonald, Co-Founder of North Point Distillery tells us about his journey from working within government trade to starting up a distillery with Struan Mackie Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neil Potts and Rachel Hugh, Co-founders of The Vurger co tell us about their journey from being told that no one wants a vegan fast food restaurant to now being in the process of opening up their 4th successful location.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Erifili Gounari, Founder of the Z link tells about her journey of starting up during Covid and growing her successful business whilst studying full time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alex Brees, Founder and CEO of un:hurd tells us about his journey from his determination to work at Universal Music to realising his passion for helping independent artists.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Claudia Gwinnutt, Founder and CEO of CIRCLA tells us all about her journey from jumping around in the finance world for nine years to taking a sabbatical and finding her true calling for CIRCLA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Drake, Co-Founder and CEO of Bad Moon Talent tell us about his story from working for Activision Blizzard to setting up his own Esports Talent Management Company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul David Perry & William Gadsby Peet, Co-Founders of Literal Humans tell us about their story of stopping what they were doing and setting up their agency together. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Co-Founder of Unplugged, Hector Hughes tells us about his journey from going on a 10-day retreat in the Himalayas to quitting his job and starting up his own off-grid cabin retreat company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Founder and CEO of Be-Hookd, George James tells us about his journey from working for The X Factor to starting up his own star-studded marketing agency. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Co-Founder and MD of Hospital Records, Chris Goss tells us about his journey from working in a record shop to starting up his own record label with Tony Colman.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.