From Basement to Boardroom: How Shena Brien Built Ireland's Most Customer-Obsessed Telco

"If you have an idea and you feel passionately about it, you will not fail. If you have enough dedication, and you believe in your product, you believe in yourself — you will not fail." 🏢 From Basement to Boardroom: How Shena Brien Built Ireland's Most Customer-Obsessed Telco! 🎙 In this episode of the InvestHer Podcast, host Anne Ravanona speaks with Shena Brien, Co-Founder & CEO of IPTelecom, one of Ireland's leading cloud communications companies. Shena shares what it really takes to bootstrap a tech company from scratch, grow it organically for over a decade, and then make the leap to private equity — all while building one of the most gender-diverse teams in Irish tech. 🌍 Discover how Shena and her co-founder, Brian Chamberlain, turned a house basement, second-hand servers, and a shared passion for customer service into a 40-person, PE-backed scale-up now targeting a place in Ireland's top five telcos. With a 50/50 gender split across the company, Shena is rewriting what leadership in the telecom sector looks like. 💡 Don't miss this episode with insights on: Why staying self-funded for 13 years gave IPTelecom the structure and stability to attract the right investor — at the right time How Shena "interviewed" potential investors just as hard as they interviewed her, and what made Development Capital stand out Building a gender-diverse, multinational team (15 nationalities!) in a male-dominated industry — without a quota in sight The "telecom in a box" concept that powered an international proof-of-concept in South Africa — and what it signals for IPTelecom's global future Why zero downtime and customer centricity aren't just values — they're a competitive moat Hard-won founder wisdom: direct debit billing from day one, outsourcing HR until you're ready, and why your employee handbook is your Bible Her message to every woman who hesitates to walk into a room full of men: you belong here Learn how to build a fundable, scalable business — on your own terms. 🔗 Listen Now 🎧 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | ▶️ Full Show Notes Resources Mentioned 🏢 IPTelecom: iptelecom.ie 🏛 Enterprise Ireland: enterprise-ireland.com 💼 Development Capital (investors): developmentcapital.ie Connect with Shena 📧 Email: [email protected] (Shena with one 'e'!) 🌐 Website: iptelecom.ie 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iptelecom_ireland/ 🐤 Twitter (X): https://x.com/iptelecom Connect with Anne & Global Invest Her 🌐 investherpodcast.com 📂 Funder Directory: https://funderdirectory.globalinvesther.com/ 🛍 Buy From Her Directory: https://www.buyfromher.com/ 🗨️ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anneravanona/ #WomenFounders #IrishTech #Telco #InvestHerPodcast #WomenInSTEM #Bootstrapped #PrivateEquity #ScaleUp #WomenInBusiness #CustomerFirst #WomenEntrepreneurs #InvestHer #FemaleFounders #StartupFunding