Female Founder Spotlight: Breffney O’Dowling-Keane of FruitCubed

How much fruit and vegetables get wasted every year, or don’t look quite right and are left on their branches to rot?

FruitCubed is a Food-X company tacking food waste and turning it into something delicious and nutritious for people who need it most. The company’s CEO and co-founder, Breffney O’Dowling-Keane, is a food pusher we’re proud of, and we wanted to know more about her experience being a female founder in the startup world.

Which women have had the biggest influence on your life and/or career?

B: My sister, mum, and grandmother have influenced my life the most, not just my career. Besides being avid foodies and amazing cooks, they are all serious business women and have always instilled in me that you can become anyone you want, as long as you work hard. They gave me my love of food, but also my love of a challenge! My sister is a complete bookworm, and I will always remember on my twelfth birthday how she sat me down and told me I was no longer allowed to use to text language because I was going into secondary school and bad grammar was not okay. That day changed my whole outlook on attention to detail.

What positive impact do you aim to have through your company, FruitCubed?

B: Food for me is medicine. Preventative and healing. When I look around me, I think the biggest need in this world is to supply people with the tools to be able to live a nutritious life through good, whole ingredients and education. FruitCubed is all about making healthy choices more accessible to consumers, but our corporate social responsibility is built around educating consumers and giving back!

In your opinion, what is the biggest advantage and the biggest roadblock to being a female founder?

B: This is always something I struggle with. No one, ever, told me I wasn’t good enough because I was a girl! In fact, I think women bring a totally different approach to business. I am definitely more emotional than my male counterparts that I have worked with, and while some people may see it as a weakness, for me it acts as a reminder of how much I care about what I am fighting for and why I get up every morning. Starting a business is extremely hard, and if you do not stay true to yourself, then you lose your exact reason for beginning. Being more emotional allows me to stay in tune with my ‘true north’ at all times.

What advice do you have for women entering the business world?

B: Ask for help!! When I first began my business, I was so afraid to ask for help. I was afraid of wasting people’s time and asking stupid questions, but I realized (over time) that people love to help and feel like they’re part of something new and exciting. The best bits of business advice I have gotten have been over a casual coffee with someone I reached out to on a whim!

Originally published at sosv.com on June 15, 2017.