EE499 - Mentor Moment: Fran Quilty - AI Agents Will Change How Businesses Operate

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Matthew Collins, founder of The Sibly Food Co, the Irish snack brand that began with a €143 food shop and a stall at a local Christmas market. Matthew shares how he went from making brownies, rocky roads and cheesecakes in his parents’ kitchen to building a brand stocked in approximately 800 outlets nationwide. Along the way, he taught full-time, baked through the night, delivered products shop by shop and even packed Sibly’s first Aldi pallet under his uncle’s carport. He reveals the pivotal decisions that transformed Sibly from a college side hustle into a national food business: leaving teaching, finding a business partner with complementary strengths, moving away from short-shelf-life cheesecakes, winning a Grow with Aldi contract and reinvesting everything back into the company. Matthew also breaks down the reality of scaling a food brand, from pricing and distribution to shelf space, rate of sale, hiring and protecting product quality as volume increases. With Sibly recently producing 32,000 pots in a single week and targeting €3.5 million in sales this year, this is a practical masterclass in building a consumer brand one shop, one customer and one small improvement at a time. For founders building a food business, consumer brand or bootstrapped company, this episode is packed with honest, practical lessons from someone still deep in the journey. 🎧 Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🎄 How a €143 food shop and a local Christmas market started Sibly 🍫 Finding the gap between bland “healthy” snacks and heavily processed sweet treats 🏠 Growing the business from Matthew’s parents’ kitchen and a purpose-built unit in their front garden 🎓 Baking and delivering at weekends while working full-time as a teacher ☎️ The phone call that convinced Matthew to leave teaching and commit fully to Sibly 🤝 How he identified his weaknesses and found a business partner with experience in sales and finance 💶 Why Matthew was initially undervaluing both his products and himself 🚐 Building distribution through cold calls, shop visits and door-to-door selling across Cork and Kerry 🍰 Why Sibly moved away from cheesecake pots to focus on scalable, longer-life energy balls 🛒 Packing the company’s first Aldi pallet under a carport and winning a Grow with Aldi contract 📦 What happened when an order for two pallets quickly became four and then six 📈 Growing from approximately 1,000 pots a week to between 6,000 and 8,000 almost overnight 🧠 Why Sibly’s first major hire gave Matthew the headspace to pursue bigger opportunities 🗺️ The importance of building distribution geographically rather than expanding everywhere at once 🏷️ Understanding rate of sale and why getting onto a shelf is only half the battle 🥣 Why clean ingredients and consistent quality have become central to the Sibly brand 📱 Building consumer demand through community, social media, sampling and word of mouth 🏪 Growing to approximately 800 outlets across Ireland 🚀 Producing 32,000 pots in a recent week while maintaining the same product quality 💰 Sibly’s targets of €3.5 million in 2026, €5 million in 2027 and close to €10 million by 2028 🌍 Why Matthew wants to saturate the Irish market before pursuing international expansion 🔁 The power of compounding and moving the business forward by a millimetre every day 💬 “Compounding sounds fancy, but it’s pushing it a millimetre forward every day.” – Matthew Collins 🔗 Links and Resources Connect with Matthew and Sibly The Sibly Food Co website (https://thesibly.ie/) The Sibly Food Co on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/siblyfoodco/) Matthew Collins on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mattzzer/) Learn more about Grow with Aldi (https://www.aldi.ie/grow) Books Mentioned How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people-collins-classics-dale-carnegie) The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne (https://shop.penguin.co.uk/products/the-hearts-invisible-furies-by-john-boyne) Shoe Dog by Phil Knight The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (https://www.thesecret.tv/products/the-secret-book/) *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26  Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

Most people don't fail because they lack information. They fail because they never act on it. In this Mentor Moment, Connor Martin, founder of The Essence Vault, shares why rapid implementation has been one of the biggest drivers behind his company's extraordinary growth. From testing ideas quickly to challenging conventional thinking around customer acquisition and scaling, Connor explains why speed beats perfection every time. If you're an entrepreneur, creator, or someone who finds themselves stuck in planning mode, this episode is a powerful reminder that progress comes from action, not another course, book, or podcast. 🎧 Enjoyed this Mentor Moment? Listen back to the full conversation with Connor Martin in Episode 452 of The Entrepreneur Experiment, where he shares how he built The Essence Vault into one of the UK's fastest-growing fragrance brands and the mindset behind scaling at speed. Follow and subscribe to The Entrepreneur Experiment for a new Mentor Moment every week, plus full conversations with world-class founders, creators and leaders. *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26  Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Michael Corcoran, former Head of Social at Ryanair and co-founder of Slice Social Consultancy, for a no-fluff masterclass on the state of social media in 2026. Michael breaks down why social media has become more fragile, more volatile and harder for brands to win on, but also why there is still a massive opportunity for founders who think differently. From the death of follower-first thinking to the danger of building your business on “rented land”, Michael explains why the brands that win are not the ones copying trends, chasing outrage or posting more for the sake of it. They are the ones with a clear strategy, a sharp point of difference and the discipline to build memorability over time. Gary and Michael dig into what strategy actually means, how founders can find their “aha” moment, why functional messaging rarely builds a brand, and how small businesses can use creativity to punch above their weight. If you are a founder, marketer or creator trying to build a brand in a crowded market, this episode is your playbook for standing out, being remembered and refusing to play the same game as everyone else. 🎧 Show Notes: In this episode, we cover: 🔥 Why Michael believes social media is on “fragile ground” in 2026 📱 Why followers matter less than attention, creativity and memorability 🏗️ The danger of building your business on rented land 🧠 What strategy actually means without the corporate fluff 💡 How to find the gap, problem or opportunity your brand can own 🥤 Why a protein brand should not just make workout and recipe content 🎯 The difference between creating impressions and making an impression ⚡ How Liquid Death reframed the water category by behaving like an energy drink 📈 Why founders need to look at company, category, customer and culture 🏋️ Why functional claims rarely build brands: emotion does 🧓 The overlooked opportunity in the “grey market” for health, wellness and protein brands 🎬 The Moneyball lesson every small brand needs to understand 💰 How time, budget and team shape your social media execution 🚀 Why small brands must think, behave and execute differently to win 💬 “You don’t build brands with function. You build brands with emotion.” – Michael Corcoran Links & Resources Michael Corcoran LinkedIn: https://ie.linkedin.com/in/michaelrichardcorcoran Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mc_so_me/ Slice Social Consultancy https://www.instagram.com/slice_social_consultancy/ *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26  Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment Mentioned in the episode (not affiliated) No Bullsh*t Strategy by Alex M H Smith “Liquid Death” (brand) Moneyball https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/ Join Gary’s weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/40TgDkq

What if your best marketing strategy wasn't paid ads, but the stories your customers tell? In this Mentor Moment, Dan Murray-Serter, co-founder of Heights, explains how authentic customer advocacy became one of the company's biggest growth drivers. From Stephen Fry becoming Heights' very first paying customer to building campaigns around genuine customer experiences rather than celebrity endorsements, Dan shares why trust always outperforms hype. If you're building a brand, marketing a product, or wondering how to stand out in a crowded market, this episode is packed with practical lessons on storytelling, credibility, and creating marketing that people actually believe. 🎧 Enjoyed this Mentor Moment? Listen back to the full conversation with Dan Murray-Serter in Episode 456 of The Entrepreneur Experiment, where he dives deeper into scaling Heights, raising investment, building one of Europe's fastest-growing health brands, and the lessons he's learned along the way. Follow and subscribe to The Entrepreneur Experiment for a new Mentor Moment every week, plus full conversations with world-class founders, creators and leaders. *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26  Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Niall McGarry, the founder of Joe.ie, Her.ie and Fabric Social, fresh from one of the most significant Irish founder exits of the year. After building Joe into one of Ireland and the UK’s best-known digital media brands, Niall started Fabric Social in the aftermath of the pandemic. What began in Ireland in 2021 became a UK-focused social-first creative agency that grew from roughly €2 million to almost €16 million in revenue and from 20 to 120 people in just 24 months, before being acquired by Publicis Groupe UK. This conversation is a deep dive into how Niall spotted the shift from follower-based social media to interest-based, trend-led vertical video, and how Fabric helped major brands like Curry’s and Subway show up with personality, speed and cultural relevance online. Niall also opens up about why he moved his family to the UK to crack the market, the difference between building a media company and an agency, how to know when it is the right time to sell, and why founders need obsession without becoming emotionally trapped by the business. If you are building a company, trying to understand modern social, or thinking about what it really takes to create and exit a business, this episode is packed with lessons. Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🚀 How Niall built Fabric Social from 2021 to its acquisition by Publicis Groupe UK 📈 Growing revenue from roughly €2 million to almost €16 million in 24 months 👥 Scaling the team from 20 to 120 people during Fabric’s biggest growth phase 📱 Why TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts changed the game for brands 🧠 The shift from follower-based social to interest-based algorithms 🔥 Why brands now need “platform specificity” instead of one personality everywhere 💬 Fabric’s approach to “community nourishment” and comment-led brand building 🛒 The Curry’s and Subway social media case studies that helped put Fabric on the map 🎯 Why Niall hired “mavericks” who understood meme culture, trends and tone of voice 🌍 Why moving to the UK was critical to building a bigger business 🏙️ Why Irish founders should not overlook London and the UK market 💰 How recurring agency revenue made Fabric a more attractive acquisition target 🧾 The difference between building a media business and building an agency ⏱️ Why the best time to sell may be when every metric is pointing upwards ⚖️ Why your business is not your baby, and why emotional detachment matters 🔑 The role of obsession, timing and problem selection in founder success “You need to create a degree of separation quite quickly and you need to keep clinical and controlled about it.” - Niall McGarry *Our Sponsors * Nostra: https://bit.ly/nostra26 Azure: https://bit.ly/azure26  Follow The Entrepreneur Experiment: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/entrepreneurexperiment/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@entrepreneurexperiment Links & Resources Fabric Social – Niall McGarry’s social-first creative agency, working with brands including Currys, Subway, Ocado and Sky: https://fabricsocial.com/ Publicis Groupe UK acquisition announcement – Publicis Groupe UK announced the acquisition of Fabric Social in April 2026: https://www.publicisgroupeuk.com/news-and-views/news/publicis-groupe-uk-acquires-fabric-social-to-create-powerhouse-pr-social-and-influencer-offering/ Niall McGarry on LinkedIn – Founder of Fabric Social and previous founder of Joe.ie / Joe Media: https://www.linkedin.com/in/niallmcgarry/