EE466 - Mentor Moment: Building a Personal Brand & Authentic Entrepreneurship With Conor McHugh
Forget the corporate polished front - authenticity wins every time.
Conor McHugh, founder of Alchemy Search, shares why building a personal brand has been key to his success in Dubai, how honesty drives relationships, and why you should never pretend to be bigger than you are.
🎙️ For the full episode (412) of The Entrepreneur Experiment, listen to Conor’s full story on reputation, relationships, and building trust in business.
💡 New here? Hit follow or subscribe for weekly Mentor Moments and full founder interviews.
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Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.
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EE465 - From Pharmacy Counter to 1,500 Stores: How Laura Dowling Built Fabu Wellness
In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary sits down with Laura Dowling — “The Fabulous Pharmacist” — a pharmacist, founder, educator, entertainer, and one of Ireland’s most recognisable health voices.
From 20 years behind the pharmacy counter to running a fast-growing wellness brand stocked in 1,500+ stores, Laura shares the real story behind Fabu Wellness: the failures, the stolen idea, the long nights in labs with breastfeeding babies, the near-quit moments — and the explosive online launch that changed everything.
She reveals how she built a deeply engaged audience during COVID, why simplifying health information is her superpower, the truth about going viral, and how humour, honesty and empowerment built a movement behind her sell-out show Viva La Vulva.
If you're a founder, creator, health professional or anyone thinking of starting something from scratch — this episode will give you courage, clarity and a reminder that nothing is ever “overnight success.”
Show Notes
In this episode, we cover:
How Laura built her platform by simplifying health information during COVID.
The power of answering real patient questions and showing up consistently online.
Why humour is her secret weapon for breaking taboos in women’s health.
The origin story of Viva La Vulva and how it grew into a national tour.
The 12-year journey behind Fabu Wellness — including the major setback that nearly stopped her.
Leaving pharmacy in 2022 to go “all in” and launching Fabu via Instagram Stories.
Selling out her first launch and securing distribution with Wholefoods Wholesale.
Scaling to 1,500+ stores while staying authentic and refusing fear-based content tactics.
Mistakes entering the UK market — and why toning down the humour didn’t work.
How she handles criticism, customer care, and running a business with her family.
🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned
Fabu Wellness – https://fabuwellness.com/
The Laura Dowling Experience Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLN4xDBAAv7WCZCJ0VJC8lIXiX8_QtHFZJ
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Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.
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EE464 - Mentor Moment: Pádraig Ó Céidigh — From Teaching to Buying an Airline
How does a schoolteacher from Connemara end up buying his own airline?
In this Mentor Moment, Pádraig Ó Céidigh, former owner of Aer Arann, shares how instinct and courage led him to take one of the boldest entrepreneurial leaps in Irish business — remortgaging his home to keep a vital island service alive.
🎙️ Listen to the full conversation in Episode 408 of The Entrepreneur Experiment to hear Pádraig’s full story of risk, resilience, and leadership.
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Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.
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EE464 - The Hidden Industry Powering the World’s Biggest Events
In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary sits down with Mark Breen, co-founder of Safe Events Global, the Irish team behind some of the world’s most ambitious events - from Dublin Zoo’s Wild Lights to Formula 1 in Qatar and mega-city festival sites across the Middle East.
Mark shares the real, behind-the-scenes story of how a student “helping people up at a Frames gig” turned into running safety for shows with half a million attendees, expanding internationally, and building a 25-person specialist team that’s redefining how event safety is done.
He reveals why the best events feel effortless, how the industry changed post-Covid, why “no lazy no’s” is the company philosophy, and how one email from Saudi Arabia transformed their entire trajectory.
If you’re an entrepreneur who loves hearing how niche expertise becomes a global business — and how culture, clarity, and instinct can build a category-leading company — this episode is for you.
Show Notes
In this episode, we cover:
🔥 Mark’s unexpected journey from student security team to global event specialist
🚀 How Safe Events grew from 4 people to a 25-strong team
🔑 The game-changing first hire that accelerated their growth
🌍 The email that opened the Middle East market — and what happened next
🎪 The “invisible hand” behind the world’s best events
🦺 Why great safety is all about design, not control
🧠 The philosophy of “no lazy no’s” — and how it wins clients
💡 Why instincts matter, but structure matters more as you scale
📈 How to build long-term client relationships in a project-based industry
💻 Why Safe Events built a digital operations department and a design team
❤️ Mark’s refreshing view on success, leadership, and building a life you enjoy
Links & Resources
Safe Events Global: https://safeevents.ie/
Mark Breen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breenm/
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Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.
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EE463 - Mentor Moment - Building the Biggest Media Brand in Dubai with Richard Fitzgerald
When opportunity knocks, sometimes the smartest move is to just say yes and figure it out later.
Richard Fitzgerald, founder of Augustus Media - the company behind Lovin’ Dubai, Lovin’ Saudi and more — reveals how 100 days of relentless work and curiosity helped him build one of the Middle East’s leading media companies from scratch.
🎙️ Hear the full conversation in Episode 407 of The Entrepreneur Experiment to learn more about how Richard turned a leap of faith into a global business success story.
💡 If you’re new here, tap subscribe or follow — and join the thousands of founders learning how to build, grow, and thrive every week.
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Subscribe to our newsletter for weekly inspiration on Business, Brain and Body, as well as exclusive events, courses and more, straight to your inbox. It's free! https://www.mrgaryfox.com/subscribe-1
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Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.
Discover how world-class entrepreneurs, elite thinkers, and peak performers master success in business, body, and brain.
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