“People think you have to be a millionaire”: What is angel investing?

Clare McGee is the co-founder of AwakenHub and Awaken Angels — organisations focused on supporting female founders and helping more women get involved in investing and entrepreneurship. Awaken Angels is the first all female investment syndicate. Only 2% of global investment goes into female-found…

“I owed about half a million that I didn’t have”: What business risks are worth it?

Serial entrepreneur Mark Dowds has built million-dollar companies, worked across Belfast, Toronto and Silicon Valley, and backed startups that went on to become global giants. But when he reflects on the moments that have really shaped him, it’s not the successes he points to — it’s the failures …

How BPerfect’s Brendan McDowell went from a £500 stall to a multi-million pound beauty giant

Brendan McDowell is the founder and CEO of BPerfect Cosmetics - one of Northern Ireland’s biggest beauty success stories. He started BPerfect in 2012 with just £500 and a small eyebrow stall in the Kennedy Centre in Belfast. In 2017, Brendan turned down a Dragons’ Den investment of €80,000 at the…

The reality of burnout in your 20s: “I ended up with shingles”

Jordan Graham is a Belfast-based entrepreneur who ‘accidentally’ built one of Ireland’s most recognisable food marketing agencies. He launched Sugar Snap in February 2023 after the startup he was working in collapsed - since then, the agency has attracted clients like Belfast favourites Juice Jar a…

NI financial expert reveals the payment form to avoid: “People lose track and forget what debt they have”

Jenny McGreevy is the founder of Refresh Debt, a business to help people at their most financially vulnerable. In 2007, while many were riding the wave of the housing boom, Jenny believed a crash was coming. What followed was the launch of refresh debt in the midst of the recession. Jenny joined Ca…

How to transform setbacks into start-up success: NI Olympic swimmer Conor Ferguson

Conor Ferguson is an Olympic swimmer who’s faced heartbreak by the narrowest of margins – missing out on the 2016 Rio Olympics by five hundredths of a second, and Tokyo in 2020 by four tenths. Despite setbacks, he qualified for the Olympics 2024 in Paris and competed in the 4x100m Medley Relay. …

How an NI entrepeneur got Steven Bartlett's seal of approval on Dragons' Den

Laura Murphy is the Northern Ireland entrepreneur who turned a lockdown side project into one of the fastest-growing snack brands in the country. Now the founder of Oatco Superfuel, Laura’s oat-based energy balls went from selling out in a small rural shop to landing on shelves in Tesco and Spar st…

Bellamianta’s Linda Stinson on the tan disaster that built her brand, dealing with setbacks, and keys to success

Linda Stinson is the co. Tyrone entrepeneur and brain behind Bellamianta Tan and Iconic Bronze. Following a wedding day nightmare with a patchy spray tan, Linda started to look into creating tan products that looked great, but were also kind to sensitive skin. Now, Bellamianta Tan is stocked in ove…

Introducing: In good Company with Cathy Martin

This is In Good Company, the Belfast Telegraph’s new business and lifestyle podcast, hosted by Cathy Martin. Each week, Cathy will go behind the scenes with the people building our biggest businesses — the founders, the risk-takers, the ones making it happen. We’re talking wins, risks, near-misse…