EE458: How I Bought a Business Without Spending a Cent – Jenny Johnston’s Story

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Jenny Johnston, CEO and owner of Azure Communications — a print, packaging, and marketing company based in Dublin. Jenny’s story is a masterclass in courage, negotiation, and belief. After joining Azure as CEO, she pulled off a leveraged buyout to acquire the business outright—without putting down her own capital. She shares exactly how she did it, from structuring the deal to getting bank funding and navigating the delicate transition from employee to owner. Jenny also opens up about her earlier ventures — from running a pizza franchise during COVID to launching a sustainable fashion brand — and the lessons they taught her about resilience, leadership, and trusting your gut. For anyone curious about buying a business instead of starting one, this is your essential guide to how it’s done. If you’ve ever thought, “I want to own a business but I don’t know where to start,” this episode will show you what’s possible when you back yourself fully. Show Notes: In this episode, we cover: 💼 How Jenny went from marketing executive to CEO and owner of Azure Communications 💰 The exact structure of her leveraged buyout—and how she financed it without personal capital 🏦 What Irish banks really look for in a business plan or loan application 🚀 Why buying an existing business can be smarter than starting from scratch 🍕 Her lessons from running a pizza franchise and fashion brand 📈 How she plans to double Azure’s turnover by 2028 and hit €100 million 👥 The power of networking, mentorship, and surrounding yourself with the right people 🌟 Why she believes ambition should never be apologised for 💬 “I didn’t personally pay anything to acquire this company. The bank funded it, and the business repays the loan. More people need to know that’s even possible.” — Jenny Johnston Links & Resources: Azure Communications — use code FOX20 for 20% off your first order: https://azurecomm.ie Connect with Jenny on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnstonjenny Connect with Jenny on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennyjohnston.oneill?igsh=MXkxa3FvcTVxaGJqbw== Connect with Azure on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azure_communications_?igsh=OXd5dTgxZmphenZj ——  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  ---  Visit my partners  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo —- Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under royalty-free license.

What does it take to grow from one pharmacy to a nationwide network, and redefine what healthcare means along the way? In this Mentor Moment, Oonagh O’Hagan, founder of Meagher’s Pharmacy, shares how curiosity, courage, and a willingness to step outside your comfort zone can spark incredible innovation. 🎙️ Listen to the full conversation in Episode 374 of The Entrepreneur Experiment for Oonagh’s full founder story and her vision for proactive, people-first healthcare. 💡 If you enjoy these short Mentor Moments, hit follow or subscribe to The Entrepreneur Experiment for more weekly insights from Ireland’s top founders and creators. ——  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  ---  Visit my partners  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Dan Murray, co-founder of Heights, the brain health and wellness brand redefining supplements through science and transparency. From building a startup after insomnia and burnout to scaling Heights to over £25 million ARR, Dan’s story is a masterclass in resilience, product integrity, and founder mindset. Dan doesn’t hold back-calling out the biggest scams in wellness, revealing how Heights earned credibility in a saturated industry, and sharing the truth about raising investment, building trust with scientists, and navigating toxic investor relationships. If you’ve ever wondered how to build a purpose-led brand in a crowded space—or how to rebuild confidence after failure—this episode is for you. Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 💊 The truth about supplements: why Dan believes most gummies and collagen products are “wellness junk food.” 🧠 The origin of Heights: how insomnia and poor nutrition led to a £25M brain health brand. 📚 Science meets storytelling: building credibility by translating research into consumer trust. 👥 Finding the right investors: why the wrong people can destroy your company culture. 🚫 Equity mistakes: how early founders give away too much—and how to stop doing it. 💡 The power of “hope is not a strategy”—the most annoying advice that turned out to be true. 🔥 Growth lessons: how Heights went from 0→10M in four years and doubled again in one. 🌟 Celebrity trust: how genuine users like Stephen Fry became Heights’ biggest advocates. 💬 “We can never regret this choice. If you make the wrong product decision, you bring the whole brand down.”– Dan Murray Heights – Smart Nutrition for Brain & Body Links & Resources: Get 20% off your Heights Order: https://bit.ly/48LyvEv Follow Dan Murray-Serter on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danmurrays Listen to Dan’s podcast: Secret Leaders: https://www.secretleaders.com/ Recommended Book: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle Connect with Gary Fox → https://www.instagram.com/mrgaryfox ——  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  ---  Visit my partners  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo —- Music Credit: “Nobody Knows” by Andrew Applepie — used under purchased royalty-free license.

In this Mentor Moment from episode 403 of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Aimee Connolly shares the behind-the-scenes story of building Sculpted by Aimee: from 19 months of figuring out formulation, logistics, and packaging on her own, to spray-painting roses gold for her first press drop. She opens up about what it really takes to bring an idea to life, the lessons learned along the way, and why embracing what you don’t know is the real superpower of every entrepreneur. 💡 “The difference between someone who becomes an entrepreneur and someone who doesn’t is knowing you don’t know everything, and doing it anyway.” 👉 Watch the full conversation with Aimee in Episode 403 of The Entrepreneur Experiment. ——  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  ---  Visit my partners  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE   Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Steve Crosbie, former professional rugby player turned founder of Fad Saoil Saunas — one of the pioneers of Ireland’s sauna movement. After years playing for Leinster, Munster, and Connacht, Steve walked away from his dream rugby career at just 26. The transition from athlete to entrepreneur wasn’t easy, but it led him somewhere unexpected: into the cold Irish sea. Out of heartbreak and healing came Fad Saoil Saunas - a business that began with one barrel sauna at the 40 Foot and grew into a nationwide wellness brand. Steve shares how he rebuilt his identity, how sport shaped his approach to business, and why starting small (and freezing cold) can sometimes lead to the warmest success. If you’ve ever wondered what happens after the dream ends, this story proves that endings can be the start of something extraordinary. Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🏉 The journey from professional rugby to retirement at 26 💔 How losing his identity in sport sparked a period of rediscovery 🌊 The idea that became Fad Saoil Saunas — and how it all began at the 40 Foot 💡 The lessons sport teaches that translate directly to entrepreneurship 📈 How timing, community, and consistency helped spark Ireland’s sauna boom 🧠 Rebuilding confidence, purpose, and self-belief after walking away from a dream career 💬 “Although my rugby was at its peak, a lot of other parts of my life were on the floor.” – Steve Crosbie Links & Resources Fad Saoil Saunas Website: https://fadsaoilsaunas.com/ Follow Steve Crosbie: https://www.instagram.com/stevecrosbie101/?hl=en Follow Fad Saoil on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fadsaoilsaunas/?hl=en —— 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  ---  Visit my partners  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE   Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo

In this Mentor Moment, tech founder Sean Blanchfield, best known for building and scaling Demonware (acquired by Activision, now part of Microsoft), PageFair, and now Jentic, shares his take on the age-old question: are entrepreneurs born or made? From being the “willing geek” in college to helping shape Ireland’s startup ecosystem, Sean reflects on how curiosity, environment, and sheer drive shaped his journey, and why he still looks for that same entrepreneurial spark in every hire. 💡 Hear the full conversation in Episode 404 of The Entrepreneur Experiment Podcast. ——  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  ---  Visit my partners  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Connor Martin, founder of The JAQ Group, home to the viral fragrance brand The Essence Vault, as well as Thomson Carter and Liquid London. From selling wax melts at a Saturday market to building a £60 million e-commerce empire in just five years, Connor’s story is a masterclass in resourcefulness, experimentation, and resilience. He reveals how he turned a £16,000 credit card experiment into one of the UK’s most successful fragrance groups, scaled during COVID by pure instinct, and rebuilt after nearly losing everything in a logistics nightmare. Connor also shares how he applies ruthless efficiency, “fail fast” culture, and first-principles thinking to stay ahead in the hyper-competitive DTC world. If you want the real playbook for bootstrapping, scaling, and surviving e-commerce chaos, this episode is unmissable. Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 💡 How a bottle of CK One sparked a lifelong obsession with fragrance 🧪 The £16,000 credit card gamble that launched The Essence Vault 🚀 Turning a weekend market stall into £800k/month during COVID 🧱 Building from zero marketing experience to £60 million in revenue ⚙️ How failing fast and “implementing before finishing the module” became his superpower 📉 The moment a shipping disaster nearly destroyed the business overnight 🧭 Why Connor runs his company without forecasts — and how it works 📈 Lessons from scaling, burning out, and rebuilding stronger 🎯 How The JAQ Group keeps innovation alive across multiple brands 🌙 His next move: launching a sleep optimisation brand built around his own daily struggles 🧠 Mindset gems on speed, decision-making, and compounding effort “Knowledge is nothing without implementation — and vice versa.” – Connor Martin Links & Resources The Essence Vault: theessencevault.co.uk Thomson Carter: thomsoncarter.com Liquid London: https://liquid.london/ Book Mentioned: Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed ——  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  ---  Visit my partners  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo

In this week’s Mentor Moment, Protex AI founders Dan Hobbs and Ciaran O’Mara share how they maintain an incredibly high bar when hiring, and why resilience, not just skill, is the real marker of top talent. They reveal how take-home exercises, structured culture frameworks, and a transparent interview process help them find and grow people who thrive under pressure. 💡 “If you hire A-players, they’ll hire other A-players. If you hire B-players, they’ll hire C’s and D’s.” 👉 Listen to the full episode (#402) for the complete conversation on building world-class teams, scaling culture, and the lessons behind Protex AI’s rapid growth. ——  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  ---  Visit my partners:  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Ciara Troy, founder of Oishii Sushi, to uncover the 19-year journey of building Ireland’s most recognisable sushi brand. From her first Saturday market in Greystones to supplying nationwide through Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, and Spar, Ciara shares the grit, resilience, and fearless naivety that kept her going through long days, cashflow struggles, and van deliveries at dawn. She opens up about the pivotal lessons learned along the way: from cutting sushi rolls by hand on chopping boards to investing in her first machines, from maxing out family credit cards to securing Enterprise Ireland support, and from nearly burning out to carving out “Mummy Mondays” to balance entrepreneurship with family life. If you’re an aspiring founder or a food entrepreneur wondering how to scale a product from a kitchen table to a nationwide household brand, this episode is packed with raw insights, honest reflections, and the strategies Ciara used to grow Oishii from a tiny market stall to a 75-strong team serving fresh sushi across Ireland. Show Notes In this episode, we cover: 🍣 How a semester in Tokyo inspired Ciara to start Oishii Sushi 🛒 Testing at local markets before breaking into Dublin shops with barcoded trays 🚐 The early years of 4am sushi-making, van deliveries, and scraping by on petrol money 📊 The “trays per man hour” Excel sheet that showed her the path to profitability ⚙️ Tiny improvements—like piping wasabi instead of hand-filling—that transformed efficiency 💳 Surviving cashflow crises, credit card debt, and the importance of family support 👩‍👧‍👦 Introducing “Mummy Mondays” to balance growing a food brand with raising three children 🏭 Scaling from a small kitchen to a purpose-built Dublin 12 facility with 75+ staff 💡 Why COVID was a turning point, forcing Oishii to shift from van sales to centralised distribution 📈 How Oishii went from 30% retail coverage to nationwide partnerships with Ireland’s biggest chains 🌱 Future of food: functional ingredients, protein-rich meals, and balancing wellness with convenience 💬 “Be patient with the results but aggressive with the action.” – Ciara Troy Links & Resources Oishii Sushi Website: https://oishiisushi.ie/ GS1 Ireland – Barcodes for Food Products: https://www.gs1ie.org/ The Spade Enterprise Centre: https://www.spade.ie/ ——  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  ---  Visit my partners: Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo

In this Mentor Moment, Colin Harmon, founder of 3FE Coffee, reveals why consistency beats occasional brilliance when it comes to building lasting brands. He shares the lesson that changed how he thought about coffee forever: customers don’t need the “best cup ever” - they just need it never to be bad. By raising the floor instead of the ceiling, Colin built trust, scaled his business, and turned 3FE into one of Ireland’s most iconic coffee names. Listen to the full conversation on Episode 400 of The Entrepreneur Experiment. Show Notes Why Colin shifted focus from chasing perfection to building consistency The compliment that redefined his business: “It’s never sh*t” How raising the lowest standard creates long-term trust with customers Why brands should aim to be like Guinness: reliably good, every time The challenge (and opportunity) of standing out in a saturated market Resources & Links 3fe: https://3fe.com/ 3fe on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3fecoffee ——  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  ---  Visit my partners  Azure Communications: https://bit.ly/azureEE  Nostra: https://bit.ly/3HHwSMo