How to Build a Premium Brand With Almost No Money - Peter McAuley founder Nomadic Watches

Dan Kiely built one of Ireland’s great entrepreneurial success stories. Alongside Linda Green Kiely, he transformed Voxpro from a small Cork business into a global company working with some of the biggest technology companies in the world. But what did that level of success actually cost? In one of the most open conversations we have had on The Entrepreneur Experiment, Dan talks about the sacrifices required to build a company of that scale, the obsession that drove him, his relationship with Linda, cracking America, building powerful networks and eventually selling Voxpro. Then came the part nobody prepares founders for. Dan remembers looking at €45 million in his bank account after the deal and realising he had never felt more miserable. We talk about identity after an exit, addiction, giving up alcohol, learning to be present, men's mental health, his relationship with success and why he is now going back to the classroom to become a better coach and listener. Dan also explains what he looks for when investing through MASV, why Irish founders need to think globally much earlier and why relationships remain one of the greatest competitive advantages in business. This is a conversation about building a huge company. But more importantly, it is about what happens to the person who builds it. Show Notes In this episode we discuss: 00:00 Dan and Linda's extraordinary partnership 00:42 Why Linda was the original venture capitalist 04:30 Building a company valued at €150 million 05:42 What success actually cost Dan 10:00 The hidden pressure behind public success 15:00 Why Dan fought for the idea of “operational beauty” 20:40 Our growing addiction to Reels 25:30 AI will either serve you or you will serve AI 35:45 Why Irish founders need to go where their market is 40:30 Why your network is everything 46:10 Why Voxpro was “50% business and 50% show business” 50:08 Ireland's complicated relationship with failure 52:40 How America changed Dan's mindset 59:30 Addiction, ambition and giving up alcohol 01:01:13 Becoming more present and getting to know himself 01:06:15 Why every entrepreneur needs to understand their exit 01:10:50 Life immediately after selling Voxpro 01:11:27 “I had €45 million in my bank account and I've never been so miserable in my life” 01:15:00 Finding a new identity and creating MASV 01:19:10 Men's mental health and helping other founders 01:20:00 Why Dan has gone back to education 01:25:00 Linda's next chapter and using fashion to create impact Guest resources Dan Kiely on LinkedIn MASV

Michelle Kennedy was told to build another dating app. She knew dating. She had worked at Badoo and Bumble. It was the obvious move. Instead, she built Peanut. Michelle created Peanut after becoming a mother and experiencing first hand how isolating that transition could be. What began as the product she wished existed has grown into a global community connecting women through motherhood, fertility, menopause and some of the most important stages of their lives. But the journey started unusually. Michelle raised investment before she had a product or a team. At that point, she essentially had herself, an idea and a deck. She then made another unconventional decision. Rather than slowly expanding from London across the UK, she went directly after the US market, launching into cities including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. In this episode, we unpack how she did it. Michelle explains why she deliberately targeted America, what she would do differently if she were raising money today, and why taking institutional investment so early created lessons she only understood later. We also explore one of the most important but least discussed advantages in business: your network. Michelle openly admits that she spent much of her early career without understanding networking at all. She explains how she eventually realised that relationships were driving opportunities all around her, and how founders can build a network intentionally rather than simply collecting contacts. We discuss the difficult balance between founder instinct and data, why listening to every piece of advice can damage a company, and how Michelle learned to distinguish useful feedback from pressure to follow trends. Michelle also explains why she believes great consumer founders need taste, why experimentation is fundamental to building products, and why a catastrophically bad experiment can sometimes teach you far more than a small improvement. We explore Peanut's mission beyond technology and why Michelle believes real world human connection will become even more valuable as AI becomes more powerful. Michelle also shares Peanut's work around matrescence, the biological, psychological and emotional transition into motherhood, and the company's wider mission to make women's experiences better understood. And finally, Michelle shares the three qualities she believes have been most important to her success as an entrepreneur: grit, passion and team. In this episode • Why Michelle built Peanut after becoming a mother • Why people encouraged her to build another dating app instead • Raising VC funding before having a product or team • Why Peanut attacked the US market from the beginning • What Michelle would change about her fundraising strategy today • The funding challenges still facing female founders • Why founders need to filter advice • The danger of following trends instead of your customer • How Michelle learned the importance of building a network • Why relationships can become a hidden advantage in business • Combining founder instinct with data • Why great consumer founders need taste • How to run experiments that actually teach you something • Why a dramatically unsuccessful experiment can still be valuable • AI and the increasing importance of real human connection • Peanut's work around matrescence • The Village Fund and helping mothers connect in real life • Michelle's three ingredients for entrepreneurial success: grit, passion and team About Michelle Kennedy Michelle Kennedy is the founder and CEO of Peanut, a platform designed to connect women through different stages of life including fertility, pregnancy, motherhood and menopause. Before founding Peanut, Michelle worked in the dating industry at Badoo and was involved in the early development of Bumble. She launched Peanut in 2017 after experiencing first hand the need for better connection and community following the birth of her first child. Learn more about Michelle and Peanut Peanut https

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