Scaling a Specialist Service

Starting a specialist occupational health practice in regional Ireland rather than Dublin seems counterintuitive—but Dan MacCarthy proved it could work. After experiencing burnout in pharmaceutical manufacturing, Dan co-founded MedWise with his wife in 2005, navigating startup challenges from zero customers to cash flow crises that nearly ended the business. Discover how a 50% price increase lost zero clients, why engineering project management skills translate perfectly to business growth, and how twenty years of bootstrapping created a sustainable healthcare service company.THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUTHow travel health and mortgage medicals provided crucial cash flow during startup yearsWhy implementing a 50% price increase resulted in zero customer lossesHow systemizing services helped escape monthly payroll stressHow applying engineering project management skills created sustainable growth in the business.  Why finding specialist occupational doctors remains the biggest constraintDan MacCarthy is co-founder of MedWise Occupational Health Services, established in 2005 with his wife Dr. Deirdre MacCarthy. With over 20 years of technical experience in medical device manufacturing at companies including Boston Scientific and Pfizer, Dan transitioned from senior engineering roles to entrepreneurship. As employee number 74 at Boston Scientific's Galway startup, he gained valuable scaling experience before co-founding MedWise as a regional specialist occupational health provider. Dan applies his engineering background and project management expertise to business challenges, systematizing services and developing innovative solutions like mobile medical clinics for workforce-scale health surveillance. Under his leadership, MedWise has grown from a small regional practice to a 12-person team serving companies across Ireland, pioneering specialist occupational health services outside major cities.Connect with Dan:Company: MedWise Occupational Health ServiceLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danmaccarthy/ABOUT KINORE - AWARD WINNING ONLINE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTSKinore 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 IrelandCompany SecretarialVirtual OfficeBond for Non-EEA resident DirectorsRegistration Of Beneficial Ownershiphttps://kinore.com/ ABOUT YOUR HOSTThe host of this podcast is Larissa Feeney, CEO and Founder of Kinore, an award-winning online accountancy and business services firm based in Ireland. Lasissa’s journey is notable, starting in hospitality before transitioning to accounting, where she qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Driven by a vision to challenge traditional accountancy and leverage technology, Larissa founded Kinore in 2015, establishing Ireland's first online, remote-first Finance and Business Services company. Under her leadership, Kinore has received numerous accolades, and Larissa herself has been recognised with awards like 'Accountant of the Year'.QUOTES We've always had a strong value for work life balance. When we're hiring people, we ask them what they want, what works for you. Quite a lot of our staff work part time, permanent staff, but part time. I think giving people good work life balance at the start is good. - Dan MacCarthyThe business plan is mostly for us. I guess I just have a saying, you know, it's ready, fire, aim, you know, without a plan, it's easy to go astray. So the plan is our roadmap, plan to work and work the plan that was it. - Dan MacCarthy"I kind of like the drama of it. It was do or die, and that's pretty much what I told the customer. We implemented a 50% price increase and we didn't lose one customer. - Dan MacCarthyTurnover is vanity. Profit is sanity and cash is king. We were having a cash flow problem. We weren't that profitable. So it was make or break. - Dan MacCarthyTo a young person starting off doing a startup, either have the skills, learn the skills, or partner with someone who has. No person has it all. Every business is a people business." - Dan MacCarthyKeywords: #occupationalhealth #startupjourney #businessbootstrapping #entrepreneurship #irishbusiness