Founder · Operator · Company Builder
25 years of building, scaling, restructuring and exiting companies across Ireland and the UK. I am still building. When I work with founders or investors, it is because I have been in the same room, with the same problems, and I know what actually helps.
About
I started my first company in 2000. Since then I have founded, built, scaled and exited multiple ventures across technology, software, fintech and consulting. I have also failed, restructured, pivoted and started again. That full history is what makes the experience worth something.
Today I run Ardán Ventures, an execution-led company building platform in Belfast. We take a small number of early-stage companies at a time, embed our own engineering and commercial discipline into each one, and push them through a structured nine-month commercial proof cycle. Through Slán Mór I work with established SME owners on strategic exits. Both keep me close to the real problems founders and operators face every day.
I also mentor through Techstars and the Abu Dhabi SME Hub, working with founders across global markets. The through line in everything I do is the same. Get to the real problem quickly, make the decision, and avoid wasting time and capital.
I am technical and commercial. I have designed and built products, raised capital, structured deals and negotiated exits. I do not take on much external work. When I do, the fit has to be right and I have to believe I can genuinely move the decision forward.
Track record
Numbers from a career of doing it, not advising from the sidelines.
What I am building now
The advisory work matters because it sits alongside companies and operators I am actively working with. I am not looking back at a career and teaching theory from it.
An execution-led company building platform in Belfast. We take a small number of early-stage companies, put real engineering and commercial resource around them, and push towards commercial proof.
Visit Ardán Ventures → Strategic exitsWorking with established SME owners on strategic exits. The focus is practical preparation, positioning and getting the business ready for the transaction owners actually want.
Visit Slán Mór → Direct advisoryFocused diagnostic work for founders, investors and business owners. Independent judgement at the points where getting the answer wrong becomes expensive.
View Advisory →Advisory
I do not take on many external engagements. When I do, I want to be close enough to understand what is really happening and useful enough to change the next decision.
Is there actually a business here, how does it make money, and what should happen in the first 90 days?
Build · Change · Stop Before you raiseAn independent commercial diagnostic before investors pressure-test the business, evidence, capital structure and founder story.
Go · Fix first · Delay After you investWhat is actually happening in the portfolio, what management may be missing, and what I would do about it.
Monitor · Intervene · Act Inside the businessWhere AI and automation can genuinely save time, reduce cost or improve revenue, and where it is not worth the effort.
Use · Automate · Build · IgnoreDefined commercial, fundraising, go-to-market, team or business-model problems that need focused attention and a clean finish.
Occasionally I work alongside a founder through a real inflection point. Less advisor, more second brain. It is rare and only works when the fit is right.
Contact
If what you have read resonates and you think there is something worth a conversation, send me a message. If one of the defined Advisory engagements fits, start there. If it does not, tell me the situation in a few lines.
mark@markgaffney.com View Advisory →