Business Builders Podcast Por Conor Kearney arte de portada

Business Builders

Business Builders

De: Conor Kearney
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I created Business Builders as a weekly interview series to have honest conversations with business owners, entrepreneurs, and investors about their journeys; their successes, setbacks, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. As a growing business builder myself, I want to learn directly from my guests and share those insights with you. My goal is to provide listeners with practical takeaways, fresh perspectives, and real inspiration to help you on your own path to building and growing a business.

© 2026 Business Builders
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Episodios
  • “There Is No Finish Line in Business” | Gowri Subramanian, Aspire Systems
    Mar 30 2026

    🔔🔔 Gowri Subramanian built a $200M global software company over 25 years - without venture capital 🔔🔔

    Gowri Subramanian, CEO of Aspire Systems, joins Business Builders to share how he built and scaled a global technology services company from zero to $200M in revenue; entirely bootstrapped.

    What started as a group of seven friends with no clear plan or funding became a 4,500-person software and technology services business working with global enterprises across the US, Europe, and beyond. But the journey was slow and difficult. It took years to find product-market fit, pivot away from a non-scaling business model, and reach profitability.

    Gowri explains how Aspire evolved from an industrial engineering consultancy into a software product engineering company, a pivot that unlocked growth. Instead of raising venture capital, the company reinvested profits and used debt funding to scale, taking a long-term approach.

    Moving from $10M to $100M required one set of capabilities; but, scaling beyond that meant competing with global firms like Accenture, Capgemini, and Infosys. Gowri shares why every stage requires a different company, strategy, and mindset.

    The conversation also explores AI and its impact on the software industry. Gowri explains why AI threatens traditional time-and-materials models, while also creating opportunities in legacy modernisation, enterprise transformation, and custom software.

    Beyond strategy, this episode dives into leadership, culture, and long-term thinking. Gowri shares why people and open feedback are critical to scaling, and why he’s focused on building a business for the long term - not for exit - including creating impact through philanthropy in India.

    This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, scaling, AI disruption, and building something that lasts.

    “Business is a rat race - there is no finish line.”

    🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

    How Gowri built Aspire Systems into a $200M global company
    Why the first 7 years of business were the hardest
    The importance of pivoting when a business isn’t scaling
    How to grow without venture capital
    Why scaling from $100M to $200M is so difficult
    What changes at each stage of growth
    How to compete with global firms like Accenture and Infosys
    The real impact of AI on software businesses
    Why AI is both a threat and an opportunity
    How culture and people drive success
    The role of persistence over decades
    Why teaching skills creates more impact than charity

    ⏱️ Timestamps

    00:00 - Cold open
    00:55 - Introducing Gowri Subramanian and Aspire Systems
    02:00 - What Aspire Systems does
    05:00 - Moving from India to Singapore and Ireland
    06:00 - Starting with no plan or funding
    09:00 - 7 founders to 3
    12:00 - Early business model and pivot
    13:30 - Shutting down one business
    14:30 - Road to profitability
    18:00 - Early ambition
    21:30 - Bootstrapping vs VC
    22:30 - Growth to $100M
    25:30 - Scaling challenges
    27:30 - “Business is a rat race”
    29:30 - AI and the future
    34:30 - Culture and leadership
    37:00 - Open feedback
    40:00 - Founder mindset
    47:30 - Angel investing
    50:00 - India’s growth
    59:30 - Philanthropy
    01:05:00 - Long-term vision

    Topics covered:

    Entrepreneurship, scaling a business, bootstrapping, venture capital, AI and business, software industry, technology services, leadership, company culture, global expansion, startups, India economy, product engineering, long-term business building, philanthropy, founders

    Más Menos
    1 h y 9 m
  • Viva La Vulva! with Laura Dowling, fabÜ
    Mar 23 2026

    🔔🔔 Laura Dowling, founder of fabÜ, built a business by talking about topics most people avoid; and it changed everything 🔔🔔

    Laura Dowling joins Business Builders to share how she turned women’s health - one of the most overlooked and under-discussed areas in healthcare - into a fast-growing brand, a platform, and a movement.

    What started as years of frustration working as a pharmacist and seeing women suffer in silence with issues no one was talking about, evolved into a business, a movement, and a platform for education.

    Laura explains how she spent over a decade developing formulations before launching fabÜ from her couch, without retail backing or a traditional business plan. By building an audience on Instagram and speaking openly about topics many considered taboo, she created demand first - and the business followed.

    Along the way, she uncovered something deeper: women’s health has been historically misunderstood, under-discussed, and often dismissed. From menopause to intimate health, many women simply aren’t given the language, knowledge, or confidence to understand their own bodies.

    In this episode, Laura shares how she turned that insight into a brand, a live show, and a bestselling book - all while staying true to her voice and refusing to sanitise the message.

    She also opens up about failure, launching without a plan, living with ADHD as a founder, and why building a business doesn’t always follow a straight line.

    This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, identity, and the power of saying the things no one else is willing to say.

    “People are embarassed to talk about it - but that’s exactly why it matters.”

    🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

    Why Laura started fabÜ and the problem she saw in women’s health
    How she built a business without a traditional plan
    The realities of launching a product with no retail backing
    Why Instagram played a key role in growing her audience
    How taboo topics became her biggest advantage
    What women’s health issues are still not being talked about
    How to build a brand by being unapologetically yourself
    The role of ADHD in her entrepreneurial journey
    Why founders should trust instinct over “perfect” market research
    How purpose and mission can drive long-term business growth

    ⏱️ Timestamps

    00:00 - Cold open
    00:55 - Introducing Laura Dowling and fabÜ
    02:10 - Launching the business from her couch
    05:30 - Preventative health vs “sick care”
    08:45 - Building an audience on Instagram
    14:00 - ADHD and the entrepreneurial mind
    21:00 - Why we don’t talk about women’s health
    24:45 - The talk that changed everything
    27:30 - Turning taboo into a business
    30:15 - Breaking stigma and building a brand
    35:30 - Growing without a traditional plan
    39:15 - Ask for forgiveness, not permission
    43:15 - Trusting instinct over market research
    53:00 - Hiring, team building and culture
    01:00:00 - Asking for help and final advice

    Topics covered:

    Entrepreneurship, women’s health, fabÜ, supplements, startup founders, personal branding, Instagram marketing, ADHD and business, health education, building a brand, taboo topics, consumer products.

    Más Menos
    1 h y 9 m
  • From SAAS to Snacks with Jayne Ronayne (OAC Snacks | Talivest)
    Mar 16 2026

    My guest today is Jayne Ronayne, Co-Founder and CEO of OAC Snacks, an e-commerce company focusing on high protein snacks that are simple, delicious and made for real life.

    Jayne previously founded employee experience platform Talivest, which raised over €3 million in its lifetime (from some very big named investors) and was acquired by the Australian tech company Go1 in 2022.

    In this chat, Jayne talks about:

    • Why she’s turning her back on the business “holy grail” of SAAS, and getting into the difficult & competitive food industry


    • Starting and Growing Talivest to a successful exit


    • Why she views being dyslexic as an advantage in business


    • Burnout, fund raising, and the importance of healthy food in our lives.


    • Much more

    Topics covered:
    Entrepreneurship, SAAS, software companies, raising venture capital, food startups, OAC Snacks, protein snacks, food manufacturing, consumer brands, startup founders, healthy snack industry, product development, building a food brand.

    Más Menos
    1 h y 6 m
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