“I can’t believe we actually did it, I think we’re mad,” Mark Barrett on reinvesting

"Entrepreneurship I think is driven by your appetite to reinvest."

As CEO of pharmaceutical company APC, Mark Barrett has had to learn how to change with the times. Investing in just the one idea or sticking to the same mindset isn't the way to go when you're trying to succeed in the entrepreneurial world. Mark was talking to host Tadhg Enright on The Architects of Business, in partnership with EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™. In his experience, it's the businesses who change their approach who end up being the most successful. "The appetite for entrepreneurship I think is driven by your appetite to reinvest," he said.

"You’re just backing the team to deliver"

Finding a gap in the market or turning a profit is one thing, but the 2017 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist said you have to keep backing yourself and your ideas. That isn't just true when it's something new, one good idea is often simply the path to another good idea. "We backed an investment to develop 30,000 square feet of lab and office space... and we started building and we said let’s do another 30,000 square feet!" When it comes to making progress with a business, it often comes down to either taking a risk or losing an opportunity. Even when you're looking back at something that proved to be extremely successful, the initial idea still sounds crazy. "Looking back I can’t believe we actually did it. I think we’re mad but it was brilliant that we did it," he said. Just having one person at the top who feels this way isn't likely to be enough. This attitude towards taking risks and reinvesting has to be something that is ingrained in the company on every level. "You’re just backing the team to deliver and that’s what I’m really proud of within APC," he said. Subscribe to The Architects of Business for free on iTunes, SoundCloud or watch every episode on YouTube.