30: 30. Next Step Event – Sell it, Scale it, IPO it!

Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly

The 30th episode of ‘Everyday Business with Aidan Donnelly’ is a little different to the norm!
We recently staged the first in our ‘Next Step’ series of events in the magnificent surroundings of the old trading floor of The Irish Stock Exchange (Euronext) Building in Dublin, to an audience of business owners and entrepreneurs.
Every entrepreneur reaches a point in the evolution of their business when they are faced with the crucial decision of the ‘Next Step’ on its growth pathway and how that will be funded. For some, selling the business to a larger company makes the most sense, but for others, taking on external capital to scale up the business is more appropriate – in some cases, that external financing comes in the form of taking the company public on the stock market. There is no one right answer, so with this event, we hoped to provide insights into each route from business people who have done it before.
We had an excellent panel comprised of Dermot Crowley, CEO of Dalata Hotel Group plc, the largest hotel operator in Ireland and with a presence in the UK and continental Europe; Leo Mac Canna, CEO and Founder of Ocuco Ltd, a thriving multinational software company with thousands of customers worldwide, who recently had Accel-KKR invested €60m in the company to help fuel its global expansion; and Mark Little, founder and successful seller of the Storyful and Kinzen media businesses.

This podcast brings you insightful conversation between Aidan Donnelly and entrepreneurs and business owners/management with their own unique story to tell. If you like what you hear, please like, share and subscribe.