Recipe for Success: How Food Brands Break Through | TikTok, Retail & Margins

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/

What happens when the dream you've spent your entire life chasing comes to an end? In this Mentor Moment, Steve Crosbie shares how retiring from professional rugby at just 26 became the catalyst for building Fad Saoil Sauna. He reflects on the power of obsession, the importance of backing yourself through uncertainty, and why the skills you develop pursuing one dream can become the foundation for the next. Whether you're navigating a career change, starting a business, or simply trying to find your next opportunity, Steve's story is a reminder that reinvention isn't starting over - it's building on everything you've already learned. 🎧 Enjoyed this Mentor Moment? Listen back to the full conversation with Steve in Episode 454 of The Entrepreneur Experiment, where he shares the journey behind building Fad Saoil Sauna, Ireland's pioneering mobile sauna experience, and the lessons he's learned along the way. Follow and subscribe for a new Mentor Moment every week, alongside full conversations with world-class founders, creators and leaders.

In this Mentor Moment, Timo Boldt, founder of Gousto, shares a counterintuitive lesson for founders: sometimes your biggest competitive advantage is the thing everyone else is trying to avoid. Timo explains why building Gousto meant embracing complexity at every level — from AI and supply chains to logistics, manufacturing, and customer experience. He reflects on the reality of scaling a capital-intensive business, raising hundreds of millions of pounds, and why founders need to be great at far more than one thing if they want to build something truly exceptional. If you're building a business and wondering whether the hard path is worth it, this conversation is a powerful reminder that complexity, when managed well, can become your moat. Listen back to the full conversation in Episode 429 of The Entrepreneur Experiment — and subscribe/follow so you don't miss the next Mentor Moment. *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 Sean Noble, one of Ireland’s fastest-rising HYROX athletes, currently ranked among the top competitors in the world. A qualified solicitor who walked away from the traditional career path to go all-in as a full-time athlete, Sean’s story is one of grief, obsession, discipline and reinvention. After a devastating knee injury ended his football ambitions, he spiralled into drinking, weight gain and depression — before discovering fitness as a way back. What began as a means of escape became a new identity. From his first HYROX event in 2023 to winning major races, signing with MyProtein and Puma, and competing on the Elite 15 stage, Sean reveals the mindset, training structure and personal pain that have driven his rapid rise. This is a conversation about going all-in, rebuilding yourself from rock bottom, and what it really takes to compete at the very edge of human performance. The conversation took place at Wellfest, Dublin, as part of the new WellMan Stage. *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 🎧 Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🔥 How a career-ending football injury changed Sean’s life 🧠 The mental toll of losing sport at 22 💔 How grief after his father’s death became part of his driving force 🏋️‍♂️ Why fitness became his “medicine” 🚀 Going from his first HYROX event in 2023 to the Elite 15 ⚖️ The decision to leave law behind and become a full-time athlete 📈 Why HYROX is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world 🧪 The science of lactate threshold, smart training and avoiding burnout 🥇 What it takes to train 28 hours per week at an elite level 🇮🇪 The pride of representing Ireland on the world stage 💬 Standout Quote “Fitness for me was my medicine. That was my why.” — Sean

In this Mentor Moment, Bobby Kerr - former Dragon and former CEO of Insomnia Coffee - shares the strategic lessons that helped scale Insomnia from a small coffee business into a recognised national brand. Bobby breaks down why underfunding was one of his biggest early mistakes, how letting go of ego helped him choose the right brand name and structure, and why partnerships with companies like Spar, Easons, Penneys, and Meadows & Byrne became key routes to growth. This is a practical lesson in playing the long game, building multiple revenue streams, and making the kind of strategic decisions that give a business more ways to survive and scale. Listen back to the full conversation in Episode 439 of The Entrepreneur Experiment - and subscribe/follow so you don’t miss the next Mentor Moment. *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