Shane Ryan is the brains behind one of Ireland’s fastest growing food brands. In less than 12 months, Shane has gone from an idea in his head to being listed in retailers across Ireland in outlets including Tesco and Fresh.

That’s not the whole story however, as his rapid rise to success came at a great cost to him personally. He quit a highly promising international hospitality career to start delivering meals on his bike around Dublin city. That startup almost broke him, financially and emotionally as he strived to make it a success.

The chat with Shane has been one of the most honest and revealing conversations I’ve had with a fellow entrepreneur around the area of mental health.

Hope you enjoy the episode and please do get in touch with feedback and comments.

In this episode we discuss:

Entrepreneurs, are they born or made?

How to know when you are working in the wrong job

He started his first business by cycling a fridge around Dublin city
His battle to get his first business off the ground and the fall out from its failure.
The fine line entrepreneurs walk when dealing with their mental health
The strategies and systems Shane now uses to look after both mind & body.
How the idea for Fiid actually came to him in the baby food aisle of his local supermarket
The rapid growth of Fiid and the huge role his parents have played in his success
How an early partner kept faith and his loyalty is now being repaid

About Shane

After a career in international hospitality spanning 7 different countries, Shane returned to Ireland as a 26 year old with his sights set on making a positive impact. Working a busy and demanding job he found that there was always a glaring conflict between how he aspired to eat and how he had time to eat and so he set about creating a solution for himself. Obsessed with making real, delicious and nourishing food accessible to everyone, the journey hasn’t been easy and his current business, fiid, is his third attempt at doing so.