CEO, Tom Ryan, on "Feel the fear and do it anyway"

Swag Hut CEO, Tom Ryan, tells his story

Growing up as the youngest of four, my mother would say, I was an impatient and inquisitive child. While the impatience has been tempered; thanks in part to growing up and not always getting my own way, being inquisitive is a characteristic that has never left me.  

“Feel the fear and do it anyway”, is my favourite saying and sometimes in business that’s what you must do; just go for it.

To prove it, I decided to launch my entrepreneurial self into the middle of the world’s worst recession in 2009! I soon learnt about “Feel the fear”, but I got through it with the support of a great team of people including customers who were open to new ideas and who challenged us to be more progressive. That’s how SwagHut came about. The company evolved from asking questions and listening to clients who wanted a more meaningful sustainable offering on a technology-based platform that would alleviate their pressures when ordering swag. At the same time, they wanted experienced experts on hand to help them with ideas and make the whole process seamless. There are a lot of swag companies out there, offering thousands of products. Yet the client can end up doing the heavy lifting. At SwagHut, we want people to come for the product and technology but stay because of the service we offer.

I’m proud that we are on track to become one of the few carbon-neutral businesses in our space; that we support 1% for the planet, Weforest and surfers against sewage, and that we will continue to practice what we preach in trying to eliminate single-use plastics and provide only meaningful merchandise in our offerings.