In this edition of our Founder Focus series, we explore Colm Dolan's journey as a founder of Publift. This adtech company helps publishers maximize their ad revenue through smart, independent technology solutions.

Originally from Portumna, County Galway, Colm’s path took him from Google in Dublin and Silicon Valley to launching Publift in Sydney. What started as a one-man operation has grown into a global company serving 800+ publishers across 50 countries.

And just last week, Publift announced it will create 50 new jobs in Dublin (careers page), further solidifying its presence in Ireland’s booming tech sector.

Here’s a sneak peek at what to expect:

📖 From Google to entrepreneurship – How Colm’s time at Google sparked the idea for Publift and gave him the confidence to go out on his own.

🚀 Scaling a global adtech company – From a $500 contract to tens of millions in global revenue, Colm shares the biggest milestones in Publift’s journey.

💡 The Irish influence – How hiring Irish talent played a key role in Publift’s success, and why Dublin was the perfect location for its European expansion.

🎯 Lessons in leadership – Colm’s unique approach to developing future leaders, including how he empowered Irish team members like Ben Morrisroe to grow into key leadership roles.

🌎 What’s next? – With Publift’s leadership transition and Dublin expansion in full swing, Colm reflects on his next chapter, mentoring founders and exploring new ventures.

As always, if you or someone you know can help Colm on his journey, please reach out to him.

Enjoy ☕️

Colm Dolan Snapshot 🤳

From Galway to Sydney to Dublin – what has your journey been like as an Irish entrepreneur expanding a business globally?

I lived in Dublin for a while and worked at Google, where I learned a lot. But I just got sick of Irish summers, and it rains a lot. So I wanted to go further afield. I ended up going to the US and working with Google over there. All my friends were living in Sydney, so I headed there.

I worked in Sydney and wanted to join a startup. I tried one that didn't succeed and doubted my fit for startups, then sought jobs at Facebook and Twitter. My confidence was very low during interviews, and I couldn't secure any positions. I thought, "What to do next? Move back home?".

I always wanted to start a business. While at Google, I saw an opportunity to work with publishers. I began from my apartment.

It just snowballed from there. Starting a business in Australia was easy, and I probably would not have done it in Ireland. I don't know if it's the West of Ireland pessimistic attitude or the old age thing that you stay in the business all your life and get a secure job, but I think the shackles are released a bit in Australia.

Did you always have an entrepreneurial mindset, or was there a particular moment that sparked the idea for Publift?

I think it had been brewing. At Google, which is a very corporate environment, especially in the sales team or the account management team in which I was working, it used to annoy me if things were not done in what I thought was the correct way.

You're put in a position like a bit of a robot – you have to turn out calls or update the CRM and all this stuff. I couldn't handle it. Around that time, I probably read "The 4-Hour Workweek" as well. My friend at the time was working in sales at Salesforce, and we're like, "Why are we working for the man? There's more to life than just working."

But I always suppose, if I look at the Irish roots as well, my parents had a bed and breakfast, and I learned so much from that just around customer service.

I was never a star performer at Google—just mediocre. However, when I started Publift, I embraced sales and learned I didn’t mind rejection. Needing to succeed, I became good at it. In leadership, I excelled at guiding people and discovered my strengths, though it took time to realise them.

Publift has grown from a startup to a global company. What have been the biggest milestones in that journey?

I think a few stand out. I started as a consulting business, and people just paid me per month, like a retainer contract, to go into their system in ad tech and optimize the technology they're using. We always used Google technology.

I believe a significant growth factor for us was bypassing Google, creating our own dashboard, and developing our technology platform, “Fuse”. Previously, we typically operated where the publisher generated the revenue, and then we would invoice them based on a percentage rate. However, we modified this approach so that we retained all the revenue.

Our standard revenue share is 20%. Therefore, we retained 100% of the revenue and distributed 80% to the publisher. Once we implemented it, the publishers appreciated it since they no longer had to manage all the payments, allowing us to streamline that process ourselves.

COVID was a blessing in disguise as it prompted our international outreach. This led us to pioneer video presentations (led by Ben) as a sales tactic, which was transformational. Thanks to our thorough and cheeky website analysis and client education, we sent 10 to 15-minute videos to publishers, allowing them to sign after a quick review. Check out one of these teardowns:

Why did you choose Dublin as the place to expand?

Good question. I suppose, look, it's very nostalgic. I grew up in Ireland. I went to university in Limerick, got free education, and received an excellent education. There's always a bit of giving back to the country, so that's number one.

Number two, we had a high-performing sales guy, Roddy O'Caoimh, an Irish guy, and Irish people over here who worked in the business previously. He went over to Dublin to set it up.

Over the years, we have employed many successful Irish individuals. Currently, we have 35 based in Dublin. Interviews in recent years have shown exceptionally high standards. Their expertise, likely gained from large American tech firms, sets a benchmark for others in the region.

What are some of the biggest challenges in scaling Publift so far?

People again – I've made so many mistakes recruiting people. I hired some great people but did not do a great job at that.

Tobin Page and I, my co-founder, have consistently hired graduates, which has proven to be highly successful. We've welcomed many, including Ben Morrisroe, Adam Simmonds, and Brock Munro, our head of product, who began as graduates. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, we were cash-poor, operating as a self-funded startup. Secondly, we could shape those graduates to fit our desired working style.

Over the years, we've learned that when we hired management—about four or five people—they left within six months for various reasons. They likely struggled with the work ethic and were poor culture fits, shaped by corporate environments. Hiring from corporate was detrimental, as startups require handling many tasks simultaneously.

Was there ever a time where you and your co-founder said, "God, we're not going to make it here?" Did that ever happen?

I certainly recall a few occasions when cash flow was quite weak. One month, the cash flow was so low that we were all thinking, "What is happening here?"

It's a roller coaster. The highs were incredible, like signing a client, and I'd shout, "Yes!" on my way home, leaving people curious. Then, losing a client would bring me so low that I couldn't sleep or talk to my wife; I'd need to be alone. It still hurts today when we lose a client.

We made crucial tech decisions at the right time. We could have acted earlier, but we weren't tech founders. Four years ago, we hired a skilled CTO. Before that, we struggled to build what we needed due to a lack of technical expertise. It was hard to assess the competency of technical personnel, which was a significant challenge. Fortunately, we never faced any truly bad times.

You've built a strong team, including developing leaders like Ben Morrisroe, who has taken over as GM. What's your approach to leadership and team building?

It comes from my Google days. At Google, performance reviews occur every six months, requiring you to showcase your achievements. A manager there influenced employees to exaggerate their successes for promotions. I disliked this approach and believed that shaping young talent that way was wrong.

So that was a big thing for me, and a big lesson learned was autonomy – smart people do not want to be told what to do. When we hired these people, it was sink or swim for many of us. Many people did not work out at Publift because of that environment.

Ben is a prime example of this. We hired him as a marketing coordinator, and he was writing blog posts. He went into sales, but he built the sales team himself. I was doing maybe one sale a month or something like that. He moved it up to five sales a week in a short time. He just read every book going, and he just ran with it. That's the way to learn.

The same goes for Brock with products. He was working with Tobin, and he learned so much by making mistakes, failing, and not being told what to do. It's always been our policy.

As an Irish entrepreneur abroad, what role has your Irish background played in your business journey?

The biggest hindrance has been imposter syndrome—feeling "I'm not good enough." Everyone likely feels this, especially with many American competitors who are often 5-10 times larger than us. You think, "We'll never compete with them or be as good as they are."

But every year it's like, "Oh, we're beating them." We only have 20 in our engineering team and they've got 70, but our tech is actually better. And you're just like, "How are we doing this?" So, my biggest learning is just to back myself and think big enough. I never thought big enough.

Even before we went out internationally, it was like, "Oh, we can just make a really good business here in Australia. That would be great. It's a lifestyle business and we can have a nice time." But I just never thought big enough. Never thought that we could compete with the big American competitors. That was a definite mistake.

You've hired and developed several Irish professionals – is there something about Irish talent that stands out?

I think you know what you're getting. They're very straightforward, very transparent. I think that's probably the Irish Catholic upbringing that everyone talks badly about, but it has many positives as well.

The way I describe it is like if you're working in a shop in your local town or something like that, and someone kind of said, "Oh, that guy's a bad worker or something" – that's the worst thing you can say to the family. So people always want to prove themselves and ensure they're also delivering.

You don't get it in Australia as much because there hasn't been a recession here in about 30-odd years. Over here, people are a bit more privileged, and a job is nearly a sense of entitlement. But with Irish people, I think we always have a really good work ethic because we don't come from a place of privilege. We're fighting and we're trying to improve our situation. We have this massive hunger.

Many Irish founders dream of expanding their businesses internationally. What advice would you give to those looking to grow beyond Ireland?

I don't know if I would have started the business at home. I think you have less to lose when you're abroad. I think it's just about backing yourself.

But I think the biggest thing – if I never made any money from Publift–is the actual roller coaster life. I always talk about it as nearly a spiritual journey. It's just like going into the depths of yourself and figuring out what kind of character you have because in the corporate world, you don't get that, or not as much anyway.

When you go to bed at night worrying, "Oh no, I have to make sure I'm going to pay these guys next month", – it can be awful. But then the satisfaction of winning or making it a success, or even not making it a success – you learn so much about your character.

Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. There are a lot of people who like the structure of a corporate job, and that's fair as well. Everyone's a different character. But if you're like me, fed up with a lot of stuff in your current role and it annoys you, I would go for the entrepreneurial journey. You always have to scratch that itch some way, and you'll just be unhappy otherwise.

You've transitioned into a strategic advisor role at Publift. What's next for you?

With young kids, I moved from Sydney to a small farm, reconnecting with my Irish roots. At Publift, we've built an incredible culture and business. I often think, "Wow, our foundations are so strong." Visitors quickly notice this too, as many employees stay long-term and enjoy their autonomy.

So for me, it's just about spreading that love or spreading what we've done really successfully. There are a few different avenues to do that. I could mentor people and help startups. I always do a small bit of that at the moment and always enjoy doing that because I probably lacked a really good mentor.

I was utterly clueless about VC and private equity. Despite reading many books, I was naive. I want to give back to founders and explore entrepreneurship through acquisition, focusing on offline businesses to help. My goal is to ensure people enjoy their work and have autonomy in what they create.

Finally, what does being an Irish founder abroad mean to you?

It's a good question. It definitely can work massively to your advantage, especially if you're in the US. When we started selling to the US, people liked talking to Irish voices. But you think that you're breaking the mould or doing something different.

You're different and being yourself – the more raw you are, the more West of Ireland accent – people love rawness and uniqueness. If you try to fit in, you're screwed.

People genuinely appreciate the kind of character you possess. Laughing at your own expense – in some of the most significant sales I've ever made, I've always been frank with them, saying, "Look, we may not have the best technology, but we genuinely care. We genuinely care, and we'll ensure this works for you."

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