Phil McHugh

A survey conducted by Wolfgang Digital and Amárach Research has revealed the most researched categories on ChatGPT: Travel (48%), Education (46%), Electronics and Gadgets (45%), Food and Dining (35%), Health and Beauty (33%), Finance and Insurance (30%), Home and Garden (27%), Fashion and Apparel (23%). *bracketed %s = the % of surveyed ChatGPT users who declared using ChatGPT when researching during their purchasing cycle. More details here: https://lnkd.in/eg_4_Wzm

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I listened to a panel discussion a few weeks back during which Ronan Murphy spoke about being asked, "What if you're hit by a bus?" in interviews during, what turned out to be, his very successful sale of GetVisibility. The question was obviously figurative, and more a: "Can this business survive if you leave?" Big ole bus - sounds ridiculous right? How many founders get hit by a bus? Answer: 13% 13% of startup failures are directly attributed to the Founder being hit by a bus. Not the big yellow school bus type... but the physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion bus. Known as Founder Burnout. 13% translates to thousands of potentially viable businesses shutting down every single year. Not because of product market fit, or financials, or competition... purely due to founder burnout. The deeper you look into the numbers, the more a problem you realise this is: - 72% of founders experience high levels of burnout - 78% report impaired decision-making when burned out - Solo founders face an 82% burnout rate Yet, how often does this critical risk factor make it into VC due diligence conversations? We extensively analyze market fit, team composition, and financial projections, but what about founder wellbeing? The Work/Life balance shifts when in a startup, even more so when it's your Startup - perhaps this can't be avoided. But if almost 3/4 of founders are being clipped by the bus, surely we must build a crossing... or ensure founders know how to look out for this bus and deal with signs of oncoming. Smart VCs should be asking: "How are you planning to sustain your energy over the marathon ahead?" and "What support systems do you have in place?" or even better "How can we help?" Addressing founder burnout isn't just compassionate—it's good business. Building founder resilience into the investment thesis protects capital and increases the probability of success. VCs: Are you having these conversations? Founders: Are you demanding them or taking appropriate measures to avoid it?

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Irish salary increases average out at 3.5pc, research reveals, but fewer than half of firms offer extras? We launched Gewardz Health so that SME businesses could provide additional benefits that work (or clients see an 48% utilisation by their people) and yet there is a resistance 🤔 Need for a mindset recheck? Fearghal O'Connor and a chance to help make a difference https://lnkd.in/efEQS6pf

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📣 📣 Irish Gender Pay Gap Reporting Changes 📣 📣 Ireland have the The Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 in which when it came in 2022 employers of 250 or more employees had to annually report the employee pay gap report. In 2024 the employee count was reduced to 150. Now, in 2025 employers of 50 or more employees will have to now report their pay gap data. This has been brough in through S.I. No. 212/2025 - Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 20A) (Gender Pay Gap Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2025. https://lnkd.in/eMPAS8vG How to report: https://lnkd.in/eWvvkJWg

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Yo. Tracking the success of marketing has fundamentally changed. I recently visited Veronika Cervenakova at the LinkedIn offices in Dublin and was asked: “How do you think marketers should be tracking success?” Tough question.  I think we need to throw the baby out with the bath water. A reset of what we have considered success in the past. The “old” transactional ways of lead gen are dead. An email address in return for content doesn’t work. The platforms we use for digital marketing are actively pushing us away from that method. Around 2 years ago, LinkedIn increased CPL on lead gen ads by about 3-4x. They are pushing content creator ads and brand campaigns.  Keeping people on the platform, rather than put their attention elsewhere. This is a clear move towards brand for B2B. Standing out by creating the warm and fuzzy feeling you would see in B2C. But how the F do you track that? The answer is looking us in the face: Intent data. All types of it.  1st, 2nd, 3rd party data. 1st party = The data you own. Who’s been visiting your site. Choice of tools = Dealfront, Albacross, Clearbit through HubSpot  Tip = to get the best data, use a mix of a few, they all have different resolution rates. 2nd party = The data about you, but you rent it. Who’s been visiting your profile on review sites. Choice of tools = G2, Capterra.  Tip = If you can afford it, this is great data, but sometimes the packaging of it is rough. You will need a GTM engineer. 3rd party = Market data. Who is in the market for a tool like yours? Choice of tools = Bombora, Cognism, ZoomInfo, Apollo (sorry, you've been kicked off here, so no tag). Tip = Pick a tool that integrates nicely with your CRM. Some of these don’t play nicely with HubSpot, for example. Once you have that data, you can show the following: 1. ICP accounts visiting the website.  2. ICP accounts interacting with your content on your site searching for you on review sites, ICP accounts that are in the market for your product. Pair all of that data together and you not only prove that marketing are driving the right eyeballs, but you can give unbelievable data to your sales team. The next gen of B2B GTM is Intent Data. And we already have all the tools at our fingertips. We just need to implement them. So go implement them. Learn from the data. Aaaaaaand…… Go get em.

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