Pandemic planted the seeds of new podcast business

MICHAEL KEAVENY

When Castletown-based Irish Micro Greens grew from a 200 sq ft polytunnel in his back garden to a 6,000 square foot grow space, a 3,000 square foot workshop with office and canteen space and delivery vans, company founder Fran McKeown knew he was onto something special.

That was before the pandemic struck.

“I was in the middle of a big expansion when things just ground to a halt”, says Fran (36). “I was supplying thousands of boxes of microgreens, which are things like pea shoots and parsley to restaurants. I had just taken on a third labour unit, which is a big step for a small business and was getting ready to launch a new line of products so the pandemic came at the wrong time for us. We went from supplying thousands of boxes to zero per week practically overnight.

Never one to sit still, Fran has launched himself into the world of podcasting with 'Off The Lead' while his business has been closed. While it has been up and running for several years he has focused more time and attention on developing it during the pandemic.

Off The Lead, which is listened to in over 50 countries around the world and has thousands of hits every month features a series of solo podcasts in which Fran discusses a wide range of topics such as death, morality, greed and much more.

“I think we’re becoming more domesticated, the idea of the podcast is to push back against it.

"I’ve worked in a wide variety of different jobs such as sales, digital advertising, construction, the food service industry and being self-employed. I also have a wide variety of hobbies including MMA, archery, winemaking, etc., so I’ve gained a lot of different insights into different areas.

"The idea of the podcast is to talk to as many different people from as many different loops as possible to gain a better understanding of how things work. The mission statement of the podcast, which I wrote four or five years ago but is still true today is “Off The Lead's mission is a movable feast. But one thing that has stood the test of time is its efforts to spread useful information that helps people improve their lives.

"I want to both democratise information and meet interesting people to have interesting conversations but I want to dispense with the jargon to make it accessible for anyone who wants to listen.

Fran is reusing the equipment that was used in Irish Microgreens for podcasting. He has developed a Covid-safe mobile recording studio on the back of his delivery truck which he can take in and out with his forklift and has turned one of his grow tunnels into a studio for recording conversations and making demo videos.

“As far as I’m aware the mobile Covid-safe studio is the first of its kind. The person I’m talking to could have Covid and vice versa but it’s not a problem because we’re separated by perplex glass. I have very strict protocols for getting in and out of it, so I’m happy it’s safe. The aim is to make it 100% soundproof so in theory, I could chat to someone like an artist at a concert or a public figure on O'Connell Street and nobody would know any different. I’ve had a few conversations with friends to iron out the creases so I can be ready to hit the ground running if I ever get any public figures on."

While he has a Patreon account where members of the public can give a fixed amount of money to help fund 'Off The Lead' Fran is taking the slow and steady route to let it expand organically.

“If people want to pay they can but I’m in no rush to monetise the podcast, I want it to grow at its own pace. I’m learning as I go along. If I push it too fast too soon I could get in over my head, but if I take it slow from the start and build a stable foundation it will be a better bet in the long run. It’s like Irish Micro Greens, if I got a €2million loan to build a massive facility before I knew how to manage it properly and things went wrong then I’d be in trouble, instead I gradually built it up."