Larry and Paul give me other perspectives, but more importantly they challenge my perspective. They test the validity of where I'm coming from and it helps me to create a balanced view in my own mind. They're not yes men and they're not as emotionally attached to the company as I am and that makes a huge difference. The last thing you should do in business is base a decision on emotion. When you feel emotionally strong about something that's when you should step back, and often Larry and Paul step in and pull me back.

Give me an example? I was contacted by some people in the UK who wanted me to buy their airline. Now I immediately thought this was a great idea, because I could add about 40% to the size of Air Arann really quickly and easily. But when I went to Larry and Paul their "rst reaction was that it was too good to be true. They reckoned there was more to it than met the eye and their instincts were right. We could have de"nitely grown by 40% in one night but there were all sorts of hidden costs.

So, in a nutshell?

They're like Peter Stringer the scrum-half for Ireland. When the Irish forwards are powering through the defence of the opposition with the ball, what's Peter Stringer doing like a good mentor? He's tapping them on the arse to tell them what direction to go. A little subtle tap to go left, or go right, go this way, go that way, move the ball in this direction. He's not running with the ball himself. He's not the guy who's scoring the try, or who's making the extra twenty or thirty yards, but he's the eyes and ears of those guys who are doing it. Paul and Larry are my Peter Stringer.

It's all about backup?

Absolutely! At the start of the business I had no-one. As an entrepreneur you feel very isolated and very much alone. You're under very serious pressure and when you go home and talk to your wife and family about it you end up stressing them out. It was very lonely and it was easy to make a mistake. I made a lot of mistakes in my time but I make a lot fewer mistakes with Paul and Larry by my side.

In conversation with Patrick Freyne