“The Local Enterprise Office supports were invaluable to me when I started up and now during my international growth phase, as I levelled up, so did their supports.”
From hurling fields to fortune 500 offices, the growth of Inspiring Excellence over the past few years has been nothing short of remarkable, and there’s more to come.
Founded by Shane O’Sullivan, Inspiring Excellence is a leading coaching and performance business that integrates sports psychology, data-driven insights, and high standards to deliver measurable improvements in leadership and team performance. Since 2019, it has worked in over 100 cities across 5 continents, and partnered with Fortune 500 companies as well as 3 of the world’s top workplaces.
Shane explains how his background in sports laid a foundation for the business, “Specialising in performance under pressure, Inspiring Excellence applies proven sports psychology principles to relevant business environments. This enables leaders and teams to make better decisions, manage scrutiny, and consistently convert pressure into peak performance, particularly in complex or competitive settings.
“We deliver tailored, high-level programs and serve as a long-term partner rather than a transactional provider. Each engagement aligns with organisational goals, fosters authentic relationships, and adapts to the demands of modern leadership and work.”
It is obviously working, as Inspiring Excellence has built an impressive portfolio of blue-chip and multinational clients. “We operate a network model, engaging elite coaches who undergo rigorous vetting and onboarding. This quality-controlled approach has enabled the company to scale to 20 coaches while maintaining consistently high delivery standards.”
Shane engaged with the Local Enterprise Office in Waterford from the start, from initial mentoring, to supporting him in exploring and accessing international markets.
Two supports in particular precipitated Inspiring Excellence’s international growth, when the LEO assisted Shane with a Market Explorer Grant and helped him gain access to an Export Advisor.
The Market Explorer Grant helped Inspiring Excellence establish its first in-person presence in the U.S. market, targeting key cities such as Boston and New York. Shane attended ADI Boston Expo, with the aim of securing an initial U.S. client and build a sustainable pipeline of export opportunities across Healthcare and MedTech sectors. To support this expansion, a comprehensive Market Research programme was also undertaken to access U.S. market reports and databases.
The LEO assigned Shane an Export Advisor. This gave him the opportunity to meet one-to-one with an experienced export advisor to discuss his ambitions, challenges and opportunities in international markets. Together they developed an export plan for Inspiring Excellence to set a clear path for the export journey.
These supports bore fruit when a programme, devised for an Italian client was scaled into a global initiative, with ongoing organisational performance coaching. This demonstrated Inspiring Excellence's ability to deliver at enterprise scale on a multinational level. “The Local Enterprise Office supports were invaluable to me when I started up and now during my international growth phase, as I levelled up, so did their supports.”
Shane certainly isn’t slowing down, “The long term view is for Inspiring Excellence to be recognised as a premier global executive coaching brand. I intend to do this through sustained growth, of coaches, clients and calibre of clients. Our next phase is to increase our international activity, focusing on business development and establishing a real presence abroad, particularly in the U.S.”
If you would like to avail of LEO Waterford's Export Advisor Clinic and have the opportunity to meet one-to-one with an experienced export advisor to discuss your ambitions, challenges and opportunities in international markets then visit our dedicated page.
To find out more about the Shane and Inspiring Excellence check out www.inspiringexcellence.ie
