Larissa Feeney's Entrepreneurial Journey to CEO of Kinore

Many entrepreneurs find themselves unprepared for the realities of running a business which are usually beyond their core technical skills. For them, making the transition from technical expert to business leader requires a difficult shift in focus. Not doing so is a failure point for many.Today we hear about an unexpected journey that provides the essential groundwork for business growth: a profound focus on the customer, a robust problem-solving mindset, and the discipline gained from external investment. You'll hear about the initial struggles, the pivotal decision to embrace a remote, online model and the crucial strategy for scaling a service-based firm through acquisitions and technological adoption.This special episode features our own host and CEO Larissa Feeney, stepping into the hot seat to be interviewed by guest presenter, Richard Curran. THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT The pivotal shift from hospitality to accountancy The early struggle to build an online brand The necessity of outside investment and discipline Stepping back from client work to grow Why commercial awareness is vital for finance.GUEST DETAILSLarissa Feeney is the CEO and Founder of Kinore, a high-growth, remote-first accountancy practice in Ireland. Her main skills are developing business strategy, advocating for women in business, and successfully scaling a professional services firm from a small client base to a team of almost 80, proving that a remote model can achieve significant scale and success in the finance industry.HOST DETAILSRichard Curran is one of Ireland's most respected business journalists and broadcasters, currently presenting the Business Show on Newstalk radio. With over three decades of experience covering Irish business, economics and entrepreneurship, Richard has interviewed thousands of entrepreneurs and business leaders throughout his career. https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-curran-18a3b92b7/|Twitter/X: @RichardCurranABOUT KINOREKinore is an award winning and innovative online Chartered Accountancy service that takes away the worry and headache of running your own finance and related business services functions. Kinore’s services include:Accountancy ServicesAnnual Compliance & Year-EndOnline Bookkeeping ServicesVAT ReturnsPayroll ServicesManagement AccountingXero Conversion & TrainingCompany Secretarial ServicesCompany Formation IrelandVirtual Officehttps://kinore.com/ QUOTES What I see lacking in the industry right now is the lack of commercial awareness, the reality of running a business. It's not just about the numbers, it's about the customer and the client. All of those that were not taught in accountancy school. - Larissa FeeneyThat's something that has stood to you later on. It's how important the customer is, to always keep forefront of mind the customer's journey is important, how the customer's feeling is important, and to always make a decision with the customer in mind. - Larissa FeeneyI realised that location is not an issue. The client doesn't care where you were. The client wants their work done. The client wants to get you whenever they need you, but they don't care where their work is done. - Larissa FeeneyThe only way that you can grow your business is to step back and bring in great people who can deal with the clients on your behalf. That stepping back is really hard.  - Larissa FeeneyPeople think that how do you manage workflow, deadlines, productivity. That's the easy part. The systems take care of all that. What's challenging is building relationships, helping the team get to know each other as people. What you save in accommodation you put into bringing people together. - Larissa FeeneyKEYWORDS #occupationalhealth #startupjourney #businessbootstrapping #entrepreneurship #irishbusiness