Mark Walton is cofounder of Voya. Founded in Strandhill, Co Sligo, Voya is a globally recognised name in sustainable, organic skincare. In 2025, Voya achieved the world\u2019s leading sustainability and social impact accreditation.<\/p>\n
Are you a saver or a spender?<\/p>\n
Probably both, but I\u2019m primarily a saver. I had a very modest upbringing which taught me not to be frugal necessarily, but it showed me the value of money. To this day, even though we have to work around the world in different locations, I\u2019m still very conscious of what we\u2019re paying for things.<\/p>\n
What was the first job you received money for, and how much were you paid?<\/p>\n
My first job was when I was about 12 or 13. My parents had their own businesses, so I would have worked with them. When I was about 15, I lied about my age and got a job in Sligo\u2019s Four Lanterns, an iconic chipper that isn\u2019t around any more.<\/p>\n
Do you shop around for better value?<\/p>\n
I do, but I also think quality is sometimes more important than price. I\u2019ll do some initial research but I don\u2019t necessarily shop around every time after that for a repeat purchase.<\/p>\n
What has been your most extravagant purchase, and how much did it cost?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve spent a lot of money on some artwork but you could argue that\u2019s an investment, so I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s necessarily extravagant \u2013 it was approximately \u20ac15,000. Looking at it every day also brings me pleasure.<\/p>\n
What purchase have you made that you consider the best value for money?<\/p>\n
We recently bought an outdoor sauna. For us, that\u2019s an investment in our own longevity and wellbeing, so I think it\u2019s a great investment. We use it three times a week. Being analytical, we looked at the cost of visiting a sauna twice a week, and we calculated that ours would pay for itself within three years. It also adds value to our house and improves the quality of our lives.<\/p>\n
Is there anything you regret spending money on?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t think so. I don\u2019t tend to make very foolish decisions, but if I do, I probably don\u2019t give it a huge amount of energy. I move on, and that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n
Do you haggle over prices?<\/p>\n
I will do a competitive analysis on things. In business, particularly, I\u2019m very aware of what the price is for something, but I also factor in the quality of the service, the partner I\u2019m working with and the quality of the product.<\/p>\n
Do you invest in shares and\/or cryptocurrency?<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t invest in cryptocurrency. I looked at it very early on and viewed it as a highly volatile investment strategy, so it\u2019s not something I really explored. I\u2019m not a dabbler in shares but I do take a very active interest in investment portfolios, usually funds that we invest in. We\u2019ve made some good decisions over the years that have worked quite well for us.<\/p>\n
Do you have a retirement or pension plan?<\/p>\n
Yes, both Ciara and I have a retirement plan, and I\u2019ve had one since my early 20s. I was working with Rothschild at the time, and I received some very good advice about investing a small amount of money at an early age. It definitely paid significant dividends.<\/p>\n
What was the last thing you bought, and was it good value for money?<\/p>\n
The last thing I bought was a [surf] foil. I\u2019m into wing foiling and prone foiling. It was expensive, but was it good value? Yes, it was.<\/p>\n
Have you ever successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase?<\/p>\n
Yes, we would have saved a lot of money for our wedding and for our house. <\/p>\n
Have you ever lost money?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve never lost any significant amount. Every now and then, we make some investments that could be considered speculative, but I take the attitude that because they\u2019re speculative, I have to be prepared to lose that money.<\/p>\n
Are you a gambler, and if so, have you ever had a big win?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not a gambler in the traditional sense. In a personal capacity, I have absolutely no interest in gambling. I\u2019ve gone to racecourses and I go in with my \u20ac200 or \u20ac300, accepting that I\u2019m going to lose it. I\u2019ve been to casinos, and it\u2019s the same thing, but it\u2019s not something I would actively want to do or necessarily enjoy. I\u2019m there for the whole environment.<\/p>\n
What is your best habit when it comes to money? And your worst?<\/p>\n
The best habit when it comes to money is having the right infrastructures set up to ensure that our son avoids any possible future liabilities. My worst habit is that I\u2019m not organised enough when it comes to my international travel. A lot of the time, I end up booking flights or hotels too late and pay too much money because of it.<\/p>\n
How much money do you have on you now?<\/p>\n
I have about \u20ac500, but that\u2019s spread across at least five different currencies. Maybe \u20ac150, and then dollars, sterling, dirhams and a random selection of other currencies I\u2019ll probably never use again.<\/p>\n
In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mark Walton is cofounder of Voya. Founded in Strandhill, Co Sligo, Voya is a globally recognised name in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,10119,18,19,17,1759,7011],"class_list":["post-363943","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-cryptocurrencies","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-me-my-money","tag-sligo"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116159790134483676","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}