EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist: Brian Lee, Freshly Chopped

Thirty-year-old Brian Lee has a passion for business that can be traced back to setting up his own gardening company at the age of 11. His entrepreneurial spirit continued throughout his teenage years, running his own stalls at markets across Dublin.

By the ripe old age of 22, Brian had earned enough money working long hours as a carpenter to set up a successful property management company and to acquire a city centre convenience store.

In 2012, his obsession with health and wellbeing led him to open up FIT Studios in Fairview, now one of Ireland's most popular fitness studios. That same year Brian also set up Freshly Chopped, a healthy fast food company with seven outlets. The company, which was recently awarded "best emerging franchise" at the Irish Franchise Awards, aims to have over 20 stores open by the end of 2016.

What is your greatest business achievement to date?

The development of the Freshly Chopped brand. In a short space of time it has become incredibly well known and to see it go from an idea to a reality was amazing. I love that we’ve been able to create a brand that really resonates using only our instincts for what would work.

How will your market look in three years?

Ireland is still in the early stages of a healthy food revolution and we know that this will continue. Ireland’s young people are becoming more health focused. We’re confident that the decline in the fatty fast foods will continue while brands like Freshly Chopped will flourish.

What numbers do you look at every day in your business?

Every morning I look at the sales figures for the previous day. I like to see how each outlet is performing and what’s popular. At Freshly Chopped we always introduce new menu items so it’s important for me to see which ones are performing well.

What moment/deal would you cite as the “game changer” or turning point for the company?

The recession was in many ways a game changer for us. It forced people to go out on their own, it forced people into being an entrepreneur. For our business it definitely helped to negotiate rents to get into the market.

What was your “back-to-the-wall” moment and how did you overcome it?

Last year I heard rumours of a potential new entrant that would be a direct competitor. This made us accelerate our growth and communications strategy to ensure we were positioned as the number one healthy fast food outlet. Thankfully we were successful in this and the potential new entrant decided not to come to Ireland.

What is the hardest thing you have ever done in business?

Taking the franchise route. We knew we needed to capitalise on our growth trajectory and franchising was the way to do it. We explored a number of options for growth and ultimately decided on franchising. It was a tough decision but it has paid off.

What is the most common mistake you see entrepreneurs make?

I think staying focused is really important. Entrepreneurs are very creative people and have great ideas and it’s important not to get too distracted by the next big idea before setting yourself up comfortably in the one already in motion.

What are your future plans for the company?

I would love to see Freshly Chopped as ubiquitous as McDonalds. For now though our focus is on conquering Ireland through franchises and strategic partnerships like ones we've signed recently with Maxol and Aramark.