For owners, founders and senior executives

Leadership intelligence from elite sport and business.

Headquartered in Monaco, The Business End is a platform that analyses how leaders perform under pressure, using verified evidence from people who have led through it. The findings strengthen companies’ leadership, their leaders and teams, and the connections they make.

See the platform

Membership is £500, €500 or $500 a year.

Liam MooneyJustin M. Fitzpatrick Founded by Liam Mooney and Justin Fitzpatrick. Both played professional rugby, then built and ran businesses of their own. Meet the founders
  • 655coded findings
  • 58leaders in the evidence
  • 92recorded conversations
  • 409guests at 11 lunches
  • 8patterns of failure

In the evidence

  • Martin Johnson CBE
  • Ben Franks
  • Dean Richards
  • Catherine Spencer
  • Mark Evans
  • Al Charron
  • David Moffett
  • Andy Gomarsall MBE
  • Rocky Clark MBE
  • Tony Dalwood

The founders

Who is behind this

Liam Mooney

Liam Mooney

Founder
  • Founder, Blue Pencil Legal
  • Cambridge MA, Economics
  • Solicitor
  • Ireland A and the Barbarians

Liam founded Blue Pencil Legal, the specialist legal search firm, in 2002. It now places lawyers across 44 jurisdictions, with a focus on the offshore and Middle East markets, and he has built and led businesses in the UK, Monaco, Dubai and Guernsey. Liam built The Business End Intelligence Platform from his own experience of doing business across the world.

A Cambridge economics graduate and Solicitor of England and Wales, he played professional rugby for London Irish and Exeter Chiefs, and represented Ireland A and the Barbarians.

Justin M. Fitzpatrick

Justin M. Fitzpatrick

Founder
  • 26 caps for Ireland
  • European Cup winner, Ulster
  • London Irish and Castres Olympique

Justin M. Fitzpatrick is the Managing Partner and Founder of The Business End, a leadership intelligence platform exploring performance, leadership, and decision-making under pressure through the lens of elite sport and business.

A former Ireland rugby international with 26 caps and a European Cup winner with Ulster, he also played professionally for London Irish and Castres Olympique. He has built and led high-performance programmes, teams, and businesses across the UK, Europe, and North America.

What we do

Six ways to work with us

One evidence base and one network, used six ways.

  1. 01
    Business clubs

    We power your business club

    Our platform, white-labelled under your club’s name, with the lunches behind it.

    Live with a rugby clubTalk to us about your club →
  2. 02
    Sponsors

    Private events for sponsors

    A private lunch for your clients and senior people, built with you from the guest list to the speaker.

    A written report from every roomTalk to us about an event →
  3. 03
    Leaders, teams and companies

    Leadership Stress Tests

    For one leader, a whole leadership team or a company, read against the evidence.

    Report in two working daysTalk to us about a Stress Test →
  4. 04
    Members and companies

    Introductions and executive search

    Introductions made by our team. Executive search through our partner firms.

    Nothing shared without agreementTalk to us about a hire →
  5. 05
    Members

    Private events for members

    Private lunches where members meet the speaker and each other.

    Member prices at every lunchSee the lunches →
  6. 06
    Individuals

    Membership

    The platform, the Stress Test, the weekly brief and curated introductions.

    £500, €500 or $500 a year

The Business End Intelligence Platform

One platform, built on the evidence

Everything a member uses runs on the same evidence, from the Stress Test to the introductions.

Decision Intelligence

Example question

A senior manager keeps missing the standard and nobody has dealt with it. What is the risk?

Searching 655 coded findings
Recovery DeficitSeverity 2 of 3
“I think I failed as a leader sometimes where I didn’t step up and call some of those people out”

Al Charron, former Canada captain, four Rugby World Cups. The Business End podcast, episode 12.

Up to 15 findings per questionEvery quote checked against the transcript

The Leadership Stress Test

Find out where your business could break under pressure, and how it compares with the leaders in our evidence.

  1. About twelve minutesone version for owners, one for senior leaders
  2. Our teamreads every answer and confirms each rating
  3. Two working daysyour report and 90-day plan, then a call
  4. 90 daystick off each step as you go, with a coach if one stalls, then a re-test shows what has changed

Decision Intelligence

Ask it about any decision in front of you. It uses AI to retrieve the findings that bear on your question from our verified evidence, and answers with what the leaders actually said, read against your own profile.

Curated Connections

Tell us once what you need and what you can offer. Every morning we check you against new members and guests, both ways, and nothing is shared until you and they agree. You can also search the network yourself and have an answer in about a minute. A month and three months after an introduction, we ask whether anything came of it.

The Lunch Network

Before a lunch, members can see who is in the room and the table plan, and Curated Connections suggests who is most worth meeting, and why. Afterwards the people at your table appear in your own follow-up list, so the conversations do not go cold.

Also for members

  • Your weekly briefEvery Monday, written for you: the next step in your 90-day plan, who we think you should meet, a finding that bears on your business and your next lunch.
  • Executive CoachingA live group session every quarter with Ben Franks, the two-time Rugby World Cup winner, on the issues members send in, followed by a written action report.
  • Test your teamTwo tests our team runs for you: how your people see the business under pressure, and how to lead one person well.
  • The TBE ExchangeCredit on every lunch ticket you buy and every member you introduce, to spend on lunches.
  • Special ReportsIn-depth reports from our events and sessions.
  • The Room IndexEvery guest answers three questions before a lunch. The totals from every room show what senior leaders are worried about, set against the evidence.
  • Psychological SafetyEvery moment in our conversations where people stopped speaking up, and what made them start again.
  • Partners & BenefitsPreferential terms from the club’s partners, including the TBE Wine Club.

How it works

Where the intelligence comes from

Everything a member reads on the platform traces back to something a leader actually said. This is how it is made.

  1. Step 1

    The conversations

    Long interviews on our podcast and talks at our lunches, with leaders who have performed under real pressure.

    48 podcast episodes, all coded

  2. Step 2

    The coding

    Each transcript is read line by line and coded against a fixed codebook: what happened, how serious it was, and the exact words used.

    Severity rated from 1 to 3

  3. Step 3

    The check

    Every quote is checked word for word against the full transcript before it goes live.

    655 findings, every quote checked

  4. Step 4

    The patterns

    Each finding is tied to one of eight patterns that show how organisations break under pressure.

    58 leaders, 8 patterns

Then the answersDecision Intelligence uses AI to pick out the findings relevant to each question and answers from them, naming the leader and the source every time. It adds no outside statistics, and when the evidence is thin it says so.

The intelligence

Eight ways organisations break

The same eight patterns keep returning, in dressing rooms and in boardrooms. Each ring shows how many of the 58 leaders in our evidence faced that pattern.

  • 42of 58

    Succession Void

    Nobody is ready to step in.

    Why it matters

    If one person leaves or one contract ends, the business loses capability or revenue overnight.

  • 30of 58

    Standards Drift

    The bar is slipping, and nobody decided it should.

    Why it matters

    Results can look fine while quality slips underneath, so the problem shows up late and costs more to fix.

  • 29of 58

    Authority Concentration

    Everything runs through you.

    Why it matters

    The business can only move as fast as that person, and it stalls when they are busy, ill or away.

  • 29of 58

    Invisible Overload

    You are carrying more than you can see.

    Why it matters

    Decisions slow down and standards slip, and the strain often shows only when something gives.

  • 27of 58

    Trust Fragility

    Trust that holds in calm times and cracks under change.

    Why it matters

    It holds while things are stable, but new people or a change of direction can break it quickly.

  • 26of 58

    Recovery Deficit

    Hard things get put off until they cost more.

    Why it matters

    Problems come back in a different form, and each delay makes them more expensive to deal with.

  • 23of 58

    Narrative Flattery

    The story you tell yourself hides the problem.

    Why it matters

    Problems grow quietly because the story feels true, until they are too big to explain away.

  • 19of 58

    False Confidence

    Plan A has always worked, so there is no Plan B.

    Why it matters

    When the one route fails there is nothing ready to replace it, and recovery takes far longer.

Members take the Leadership Stress Test to find out which of the eight apply to their business, and get a 90-day plan to deal with them.

Martin Johnson CBE at our London lunch, May 2026

At our London lunch, May 2026

“You can’t see everything, you can’t do everything, you can’t be everything all the time. You just can’t. You need a group of people.”

Martin Johnson CBEEngland’s 2003 Rugby World Cup-winning captain

The network

The lunches

Around 60 senior leaders and a speaker who has led under pressure. Guests answer a few questions before they arrive, and what the speaker says is coded into the evidence afterwards.

A Business End lunch A Business End lunch A Business End lunch A Business End lunch

Coming up

Members book at the member rate on the platform.

Leadership Lunch with Neil Back, 13 November 2026, Hawksmoor, Wood Wharf, London

Leadership Lunch with Neil Back

2003 Rugby World Cup winner and former England captain

Fri 13 Nov 2026
Hawksmoor, Wood Wharf
London

This lunch is sold out.

Sold out
Leadership Lunch with Rose Lopez Keravuori, 25 November 2026, Castelroc, Monaco

Leadership Lunch with Rose Lopez Keravuori

Retired U.S. Army Brigadier General

Wed 25 Nov 2026
Castelroc
Monaco

Tickets €125. Members €85.

Buy tickets

Where we have been

Where we have been: London, Brighton, Chichester, Exeter, Guernsey, Dublin, Belfast and Monaco, with Ottawa and Sydney further afield LondonLondonBrightonBrightonChichesterChichesterExeterExeterGuernseyGuernseyDublinDublinBelfastBelfastMonaco, head officeMonacoHead office Ottawa, 6,273 km from MonacoOttawa6,273 km from MonacoSydney, 16,721 km from MonacoSydney16,721 km from Monaco
Martin Johnson CBE on stage at a Business End lunch, with Justin Fitzpatrick
  1. October 2026SydneyBenn Robinson, Katie Ferrier and Dan Watts, with Achilles
  2. October 2026MonacoJamie Cudmore, former Canada captain
  3. September 2026ExeterGareth Steenson and Tony Rowe CBE
  4. September 2026DublinPrivate event, with Achilles
  5. September 2026BrightonAndy Gomarsall MBE, England 2003 Rugby World Cup winner
  6. June 2026MonacoAntoine Zeghdar, Monaco-born Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist
  7. May 2026LondonMartin Johnson CBE, England’s 2003 World Cup-winning captain
  8. May 2026OttawaAl Charron, World Rugby Hall of Fame
  9. March 2026ChichesterMike Brown, England, 72 caps
  10. March 2026MonacoPrivate lunch
  11. March 2026BelfastPrivate event
  12. January 2026GuernseyDean Richards, England and British & Irish Lions

The podcast

The evidence starts here: long conversations with people who have led at the highest level of sport and business, about what pressure did to them and to their teams. Every episode is coded.

48

Latest episode

Jamie Cudmore

Former Canada captain, on three lost finals, the title that followed and who makes the call under pressure.
Watch episode 48

All episodes on YouTubeListen on Spotify

Also on the podcast

  • Dr Elin Haf DaviesFounder of Aparito
  • Matt PerryEngland and the 2001 Lions
  • Rob HendersonIreland and the Lions
  • Topsy OjoBroadcaster, London Irish Foundation

News

What we are building

See all news →

What members and guests say

Senior operators on the rooms, the people, and the intelligence behind them.

“

I signed up to The Business End expecting a good look at high performance in sport and business, with its shared mindset, habits and skills that drive success in both, plus a chance to network over decent food and company. It’s all that, and more. The members-only Intelligence Platform adds real depth, with useful decision-making tools, speaker analysis, and genuine engagement with others keen to learn and share.

James Copeland
Managing Director at Tempcon Instrumentation Ltd
“

My third Business End Live, and they’ve got better each time. Venue, food, drink, attendees, all top drawer. Martin Johnson was brilliant: insightful, with incredible stories and anecdotes laced with genuine leadership gems.

Rob Chapman
Operations Manager, Cormack Advertising
“

The networking before the event is what makes it valuable. Instead of turning up to a business lunch and hoping for useful conversations, you arrive knowing who you want to meet and why. A good lunch becomes a far more productive one.

Sean Connor
Senior Advisor, I-OnAsia

The members’ platform

Everything on this page, in one place for members: The Business End Intelligence Platform.

Member sign in

Sign in with your email address and a one-time code. There is no password to remember.

Sign in

Not a member?

Three ways to start

Apply for membership

Tell us who you are, then pay to activate your membership.

Come to a lunch

Meet the room before you decide.

See the lunches

Book a conversation

Talk to our team about whether it fits.

Email us

Not ready yet? Get the podcast, the lunches and our news by email.