🔔🔔 Ciaran Burke, CEO and co-founder of Swoop, shares how he built a global fintech platform helping 300,000+ businesses access over £2BN in funding - and the brutal realities behind scaling a startup 🔔🔔

Ciaran Burke joins Business Builders to share the story behind Swoop and the realities of building and scaling a fintech company in the modern funding landscape.

What started as a simple idea - helping small businesses navigate the complex world of finance - has grown into a global platform operating across multiple countries, connecting businesses with loans, equity, grants, and financial insights.

But the journey from early-stage startup to international scale was anything but smooth.

Ciaran shares the often unseen side of entrepreneurship; from sleepless nights during funding rounds to the pressure of keeping a team motivated while facing uncertainty behind the scenes.

Along the way, he learned one of the most important lessons in business; not all revenue is created equal. Growth can look impressive on the surface, but without understanding margins and key drivers, it can actually hold a business back.

In this episode, Ciaran breaks down what it really takes to scale a company: understanding your numbers, making tough decisions about where to focus, and navigating the emotional and operational challenges that come with growth.

He also explains why many founders misunderstand funding, how businesses limit themselves by relying on a single source of finance, and why being “funding ready” is more important than ever.

This is a conversation about entrepreneurship, fintech, and the reality of building a business in an increasingly complex and competitive environment.

“Not all revenue is the same… some of it looks good, but you’re actually giving most of it away.”

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

Why Ciaran co-founded Swoop and the problem it solves for businesses
The hidden realities of fundraising and founder pressure
Why not all revenue is equal - and how to think about margin
How small improvements in key metrics can drive massive growth
What it really means to be “funding ready”
Why many founders give up too early when seeking finance
How to understand and track the most important numbers in your business
The challenges of building a two-sided marketplace
Why having a co-founder can be critical during tough periods
What it takes to scale a business across multiple countries

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open
01:00 - Introducing Ciaran Burke and Swoop
03:30 - The problem with business funding
08:00 - How Swoop works and makes money
12:00 - Early days and building the business
15:30 - The challenge of two-sided marketplaces
26:00 - Why not all revenue is equal
30:30 - Being funding ready and understanding your numbers
40:40 - Founder pressure and fundraising stress
42:00 - The importance of co-founders
48:30 - Building a business internationally
55:00 - Lessons from scaling Swoop

Topics covered:

Entrepreneurship, fintech, Swoop, startup funding, business finance, scaling a business, founders, cashflow, revenue vs profit, two-sided marketplaces, leadership, startup growth.