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 and personal challenges, from building a product years before the market was ready, to being diagnosed with cancer in the early years of his current business.  

Driven by wanting to make a difference in the world, Mark founded Responsible — a company focused on reducing waste in the fashion industry.

He joined Cathy to talk about balancing life and business, learning from failure, and what risks are really necessary to grow a business.

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-misses… the moments that nearly broke them, and the ones that made them. 