Take The Plunge

About Take The Plunge

Visit swoopfunding.com to explore your funding options and business savings insights. Take The Plunge is a series about the bold decision to leave comfort behind and build something of your own. Hosted by Ciaran Burke, each episode dives into the real stories of founders who traded stability for ambition — exploring what it really takes to quit your job, start a business, and grow it from the ground up. From funding hurdles and first hires to burnout and big wins, these conversations go beyond the highlight reel to uncover the mindset, grit, and defining moments behind the leap. Real people. Real risks. Real rewards. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Swoop

Category

business · business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Dec 2020

Latest episode

3 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

51 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   3 Mar 2026

   Rachel Harris | Accountant_she | Building a 7-Figure Accounting Firm | Take the Plunge Business Podcast

   When Rachel Harris – better known as Accountant_she – realised the accounting industry didn’t reflect who she was, she didn’t shrink to fit it. She built something better. From starting as a 17-year-old apprentice to founding striveX, Rachel has grown a 7-figure, bootstrapped accountancy firm while simultaneously turning her personal brand into a million-pound business. In this episode, Rachel shares how she spotted a gap in professional services, used Instagram to scale in public, and built systems inspired by McDonald’s to create consistency, performance and profit. She talks candidly about hiring too early (and too cheaply), over-investing in team, and why feedback loops and data dashboards are non-negotiable if you want to scale properly. We also dive into the power of financial education, building recurring revenue without giving away equity, monetising a personal brand beyond vanity metrics, and why being “good at numbers” can unlock real freedom and choice. Rachel opens up about bootstrapping everything, launching a new tech product for accountants, and her long-term mission to make financial literacy more visible – especially for young women who don’t see themselves reflected in traditional business stereotypes. This episode is perfect for founders building service businesses, creators looking to monetise properly, or anyone who wants a transparent look at what scaling really involves behind the scenes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   7 Jan 2026

   Aine Kilkenny | Riley Period Care Products | Take the Plunge |Business Podcast | Menstrual Wellbeing

   Aine Kilkenny, co-founder of Riley Period Care Products, shares how she built a sustainable menstrual wellbeing brand from a kitchen table to international success in this interview.

3. 

   17 Dec 2025

   Jamie Beaumont | Playter Finance | Take the Plunge Business Podcast

   Playter founder and CEO Jamie Beaumont shares his entrepreneurial journey, detailing the risks and resilience required to build a successful lending platform in this interview with the host of Take The Plunge.

Who has been a guest on Take The Plunge

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Aine Kilkenny
• Jamie Beaumont
• Darren O’Reilly
• Lisa Boissel
• Russ Wakeham

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

1.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

5 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 25 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

37

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Contact Take The Plunge

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about Take The Plunge