E306 That Great Business Show - He Spent 20 Minutes Applying. Won €100,000. Then Sold His Company. | Barry Sherry

Twenty minutes. €100,000 cash. No equity handed over. That got our attention.

Barry Sherry and his co-founder built their Monaghan-based energy business into a 20-person company working North and South. Then Barry spotted the Stelios North–South Business Cooperation Awards in his local newspaper. He reckoned they ticked the boxes. The application took about 20 minutes.

Then came a Zoom. Then another Zoom — this one with Stelios Haji-Ioannou. Then, on a Saturday evening, Barry opened an email telling him they had won €100,000. And there’s another twist.

Not long afterwards the company was acquired. Did winning the Stelios Award help? Barry says the eventual buyer had seen the business in the media, knew about the award and asked them about it. This is a very practical episode for any SME doing business North and South. Barry explains:

exactly how they applied what Stelios appeared to like about the business why having a founder on each side of the border helped why he sees Northern Ireland as an opportunity rather than an export market how they built a business capable of being sold only three years after starting why clean management accounts made four-month due diligence possible and the bizarre problem of people working on one side of the border being refused mortgages on the other.

And there is €500,000 in cash available again in 2026. The 2026 Awards have one €150,000 Gold Award, two €100,000 Silver Awards and six €25,000 Bronze Awards. Applications close 7 September 2026, with the winners announced at Castle Leslie on 28 October. Barry’s advice? Apply. The worst they can say is no. The best they can say is €150,000. That Great Business Show is brought to you by De Facto Shaving Oil — the world’s finest shaving oil, made in Mayo, sold worldwide. Find all episodes at www.ThatGreatBusinessShow.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.