Ep 1. BIIRD Case Study

I've been studying creators, movements and businesses that people seem to naturally gravitate towards. You know the ones: They don't need to convince to buy something. They don't use manipulative or desperate sales tactics. You just naturally want to follow them because you genuinely appreciate the work they're doing. They are what I call World Builders.

For a lot of us, being a World Builder feels more true to what we are trying to experience when we create businesses/art/music for others: Build something that matters → something that feels like us → something other people actually want to be part of.

In this series, I deep dive the World Builders I find most interesting today and reverse-engineer their worlds to reveal an underlying pattern that seems to exist across them all. Think of it as mapping the DNA of World Builders – the core patterns that show up regardless of industry, mission, or medium.

I'll kick off with some appreciation for my Irish roots: BIIRD.

Lisa has been immersed in the trad scene since she was 4 years old. You can tell her primary motivator is the work itself. This is a major characteristic of World Builders: they've found something that genuinely captivates them, and that becomes their primary fuel.

You can hear it in how she talks about her process. She doesn't switch off from music, not in a stressful way, but because she genuinely loves it that much. She also has plenty of impressive projects on the go at any one time here.

"I'm obsessed with my projects. I'm constantly thinking about them. I have Pinterest boards galore for like, BIIRD clothing. BIIRD photo shoot ideas...I don't think I switch off from work or music mode ever, because it's kind of all one, right? It is your life, it is your fun, it is your passion, and it is how you make money, too."

Lisa knows exactly who she's creating for. She tells this story about playing tunes at 4am after a night out - everyone still dressed up from the night out, looking amazing, having a good time.

That's the vibe she's recreating. Actual modern trad sessions that are happening today, the feeling of being in a living room with your friends, letting the music carry the room. She's designing for that specific feeling and inviting more people in.

World Builders don't try to appeal to everyone - they know exactly who they're creating for and build something meaningful for those people.

World Builders don't try and force themselves into someone else's blueprint. They write their own story. Instead of waiting for industry validation or the "perfect" moment, they start where they are and build piece by piece.

BIIRD wasn’t built on a big record deal or investor-funded. Lisa had been saving for a house for 2 years but used it to launch BIIRD instead. She said “The house will have to wait”. BIIRD was built from inside the community, with her own skin in the game.

They also don't rush the processes. BIIRD was assembled by hand, slowly and very intentionally. The idea had been simmering with Lisa for over a decade, but she first mentioned BIIRD in this interview in 2021, and then launched in 2024.

World Builders don't wait to be discovered - they start create from the resources they have, give things the time it needs and build from there.

Early in Lisa's solo career, people told her she needed to pick a lane - that the banjo didn't belong in pop, she couldn't mix trad with R&B. At one point she considered a project called Identity Crisis because of all the confusion.

But somewhere along the way, she realised no one else had to "get it" - they hadn't lived her life. They didn't grow up immersed in Irish social music while being shaped by pop and hip hop simultaneously.

World Builders draw from their lived experience rather than trying to fit into existing categories.

"They can't understand what I'm doing because they haven't lived my life. They haven't been immersed in Irish social music for most of my upbringing in 20 years, and then been really influenced by hip hop and pop, and then they can't play the harp like I can, and they can't play the banjo like I can. So no... they don't understand it, and that's okay. It's my job now to make them understand." - Lisa in this interview.

When she faced pushback from traditionalists who called her "a disgrace", Lisa didn't collapse. She reflected, looked at the history, and decided that the people pushing back weren't the people BIIRD was created for. Then leaned further into what made them different.

World Builders develop muscles to weather criticism. They use resistance as information, not instruction to conform.

She told Image.ie - "I understand that all levels of protection and exploration need to exist in order for trad to continue to be as important in our culture as it is... from the purest traditionalists all the way to the most experimental artists using its elements. Wherever the limit is, someone has always been pushing it.”

• A clear vision: To connect more people through trad music by creating a modern, powerful image of what it means to be a trad musician in 2025 and beyond. "I asked myself why it wasn't cutting through more in a contemporary way. The answer I came up with was that it needed a new image." - Lisa in Image.ie interview
• Counterintuitive ideals: Pairing two things that don't ordinarily go together. Traditional instruments, like the harp – the most sacred, magical and elegant of Irish instruments – with punky styling that is both feminine but powerful.
• Aligned values: Sisterhood. Sacredness for Irish roots, without rigidity. Beauty as power. Creative excellence.
• An opportunity: A way for two parts of your identity usually kept separate, to co-exist. The part proud of being Irish, and the part that values authentic self-expression.
• Shared cultural experience: Shared Irish culture.

• Evidence of expertise: BIIRD weren't newcomers capitalising on a trend. When launching on Instagram, they shared stories showcasing decades of traditional training. They kicked things off sharing the receipts to back up their vision.
• Aesthetic, aesthetic, aesthetic: Every visual choice reinforces their vision. They work with young Irish designers. Long acrylic nails, modern designs with accents of old-school Irish dancing dress styles, dramatic makeup. This isn't random styling - it's intentional cultural messaging.
• Handling adversity with reflection: When faced with criticism, they didn't collapse. They studied the history, looked to others who experimented, and leaned further into what they were doing. World Builders use resistance as information, not instruction to conform.
• Taking us on the journey: They share regularly on Instagram and TikTok, not in an overly curated way, in a way that feels effortless and authentic. This is where I really see the values come through, sisterhood, creative excellence, and beauty as power play out most clearly for me.
• Building visibility over time: This is key - landscapes develop over time and are directly correlated to how solid your core is. A lot of us compare our starting point to someone else's end point. From appearances on TG4 (August 2024) to Late Late Show (February 2025). Social media growth: launched in May 2024, 11k followers in Nov to 55k followers by June 2025. They also appeared in more niche press publications in 2024, then featured in Image.ie in March 2025 - Each step earned, not rushed.
• Authentic connections: Their first break came through Lisa's friendship with Annie Mac . Every World Builder I know has had doors opened by people they built relationships with authentically over time. You have to build your network without an agenda. Networks are cultivated over time with authenticity, just like landscapes.