“You Can’t Build a Business Without Hard Decisions” | Colin Culliton, Kith&Kin

🔔🔔 Colin Culliton reveals why you can’t build a successful business without making hard decisions - and the realities of scaling through crisis 🔔🔔

Colin Culliton joins Business Builders to share the story of how he built and scaled a multi-million euro print and communications group, and the hard decisions that defined his journey.

What began as a small “me too” printing company with six people grew into a €20M group of businesses spanning design, marketing, events, and more. But the path from startup to scale was anything but smooth.

Colin explains how he approached growth in a traditional, highly competitive industry, starting with organic growth before using acquisitions to accelerate scale and expand into new areas.

Along the way, he learned that business success isn’t about avoiding problems; it’s about facing them head-on. Nowhere was this clearer than during the 2008 financial crisis, when Colin made the counterintuitive decision to cut headcount while the business was still booming - a move that ultimately saved the company.

In this episode, Colin breaks down what it really takes to build a long-term business: from making tough calls under pressure, to trusting your instincts, to building teams that can solve problems better than you can.

He also reflects on leadership, the realities of managing multiple businesses, and why the fear of failure never truly goes away - no matter how successful you become.

This is a conversation about resilience, decision-making, and the truth behind what it takes to survive and scale a business over decades.

“If you think you can avoid hard decisions and build a business over the long term - you just can’t.” 

🎧 In this episode, you’ll learn:

•  Why Colin started his first business - and why the idea itself mattered less than taking action 
•  How to grow a company in a traditional, competitive industry 
•  The role of acquisitions in scaling a business faster 
•  Why making hard decisions quickly is critical to long-term success 
•  What founders get wrong about growth during good times 
•  How Colin navigated the 2008 financial crisis and protected his business 
•  Why trusting your instincts is one of the most important skills in business 
•  The challenges of managing multiple businesses and leaders 
•  How to build teams with diverse thinking and strong problem-solving ability 
•  Why fear of failure never goes away - and how it drives performance 

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 - Cold open
 01:00 - Introducing Colin Culliton
 02:00 - Starting a “me too” printing business
 05:30 - Winning early clients and building trust
 10:30 - Dyslexia as a problem-solving advantage
 15:00 - Early growth and first acquisition
 20:30 - Scaling through acquisitions vs organic growth
 25:00 - Spotting risk before the 2008 crash
 27:00 - Cutting headcount before the downturn
 31:00 - Surviving the financial crisis
 34:00 - Lessons from competitors failing
 38:00 - Leadership, learning, and self-development
 41:00 - How to approach buying a business
 47:00 - Managing multiple companies and leaders
 53:00 - Why business is always a fight
 56:00 - Success, money, and what really matters
 59:00 - Sacrifices and work-life balance
 01:01:00 - Fear of failure and final advice

Topics covered:

Entrepreneurship, business growth, leadership, acquisitions, scaling a business, financial crisis, decision-making, founder mindset, SME strategy, resilience, Colin Culliton