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Speaker 1: Just because somebody says no, it actually means it hasn't

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Speaker 1: been done before, and that's an incredible opportunity versus just

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Speaker 1: a challenge.

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Speaker 2: What's going on, everyone, Emily A body here. You are

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Speaker 2: listening to episode two hundred and sixty one of Hurdle,

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Speaker 2: a wellness focused podcast where connect with everyone from your

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Speaker 2: favorite athletes to top experts and industry CEOs about their

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Speaker 2: highest highs, toughest moments, and everything in between. We all

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Speaker 2: go through hurdles in life, and my goal through these

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Speaker 2: discussions is to empower you to better navigate yours and

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Speaker 2: move with intention so that you can stride towards your

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Speaker 2: own big potential and of course have some fun along

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Speaker 2: the way. For today's episode two hundred and sixty one,

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Speaker 2: I am chatting with Kat Schneider.

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Speaker 3: She's the founder of Ritual.

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Speaker 2: You likely know them for their multi vitamin, but as

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Speaker 2: we talk about today, there is an extreme amount of

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Speaker 2: options within their portfolio. As we also gm about today,

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Speaker 2: this has been an interview that has been in the

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Speaker 2: works since pre pandemic, so I'm so so thankful that

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Speaker 2: Kat and I were finally able to find.

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Speaker 3: The time to sit down together.

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Speaker 2: In today's episode, Kat talks to me about the why

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Speaker 2: why she decided to create this company after going through

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Speaker 2: her own experience while pregnant hunting for supplements that she

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Speaker 2: felt safe putting into her body. As a result of

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Speaker 2: being dissatisfied with what was on the market, she made

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Speaker 2: it her mission to create a safe portfolio of options,

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Speaker 2: not just a prenatal which is what she was after,

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Speaker 2: but also a multivitamin and then other options that individuals

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Speaker 2: could feel good about putting into their bodies. Kat opens

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Speaker 2: up about how she felt during this process. Like I mentioned,

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Speaker 2: she was pregnant while starting this company, which came with

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Speaker 2: its own set of challenges. Now she has three girls,

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Speaker 2: which as an entrepreneur, not exactly the easiest thing to

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Speaker 2: start a family at a company.

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Speaker 3: At the same time.

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Speaker 2: She talks about someone who gave her feedback on that

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Speaker 2: decision and how that feedback felt. I really appreciate Kat

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Speaker 2: for her openness and honesty during this episode. So many

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Speaker 2: amazing takeaways and for someone who may be unsure about

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Speaker 2: their personal routine when it comes to supplementation and vitamins,

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Speaker 2: this episode has so much information on what we all

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Speaker 2: should be looking for when it comes to a regular

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Speaker 2: supplement routine.

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Speaker 3: Now. As you know, I am an ag one girly.

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Speaker 2: But Ritual wants to make sure that you have an

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Speaker 2: opportunity to try the product. So if you're interested, they

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Speaker 2: have a deal for you. Head on over to ritual

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Speaker 2: dot com and use the code Hurdle at checkout to

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Speaker 2: save thirty percent off today. Again, that is code hurdle

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Speaker 2: at checkout at ritual dot com. Make sure you're following

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Speaker 2: along with Hurdle over on social It's at Hurdle podcast.

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Speaker 2: I myself am over at Emily a Body and I

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Speaker 2: call this out all the time, but y'all.

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Speaker 3: Subscribe to the weekly Hurdle newsletter.

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Speaker 2: It is the same inspiration motivation stuff you love from

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Speaker 2: the show, and it lands directly in your inbox every

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Speaker 2: single Friday. The link to subscribe is in the show notes.

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Speaker 3: You're welcome.

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Speaker 2: Plus it's absolutely free. And with that, let's get to it.

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Speaker 2: Let's get to hurdling.

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Speaker 3: Today.

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Speaker 2: I am sitting down with Cat Schneider. She is the

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Speaker 2: founder of a ritual. How you doing today, Cat?

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Speaker 1: I'm doing amazing. How are you?

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Speaker 2: I'm so good. I'm so excited that we're finally doing this.

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Speaker 2: I think literally we've been going back and forth about

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Speaker 2: recording this episode since maybe twenty nineteen.

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I remember, I was a genius idea for

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Speaker 1: a podcast, and I'm so excited to be on here.

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Speaker 3: Well, I'm so happy that you're here.

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Speaker 2: And wow, I mean I was just perusing Richul's website

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Speaker 2: and I'm kind of having a moment because I remember,

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Speaker 2: and I'm sure you reflect on this all the time

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Speaker 2: when Ritual was just one multi vitamin and now you

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Speaker 2: go on the site and there's a symbiotic, there's a

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Speaker 2: multivitamin for eighteen plus, there's a multivitamin for fifty plus,

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Speaker 2: there's a pre natal, there's a post natal, there's protein powder,

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Speaker 2: there's Hiya Sarah.

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Speaker 3: Like it keeps going. The line has expanded so much.

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Speaker 1: Definitely, Yeah, I mean it was all intentional. We started

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Speaker 1: with one multi vitamin, and we built this company online

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Speaker 1: and wanted to earn the trust of the customer, and

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Speaker 1: we did that through traceability, traceable sourcing, and science. And

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Speaker 1: then you know, years later, we launched the prenatal and

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Speaker 1: now we have one of the leading prenatal vitamins in

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Speaker 1: the US. But I would say, even though it's expanded

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Speaker 1: a lot, we've done it really slowly and methodically and

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Speaker 1: with a lot of depth around the science and the sourcing.

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Speaker 3: A lot of depth.

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Speaker 2: So when you say slowly, give us some insight as

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Speaker 2: to when you began.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so I began in twenty sixteen. I think you

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Speaker 1: remember this was I was four months pregnant when I

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Speaker 1: started the company and I couldn't find a prenatal vitamin

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Speaker 1: that I trusted. The prenatals out there we ranged from

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Speaker 1: artificial colorance to even lacking in key nutrients that women

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Speaker 1: needed during pregnancy like Colin, and I knew that we

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Speaker 1: deserved better. So I set out not just to reinvent

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Speaker 1: the pre prenatle, that not just to set up to

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Speaker 1: reinvent the prenatle, but set a totally new standard in

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Speaker 1: the category. And that's exactly what we did. And as

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Speaker 1: you said, we'd launched our multi vitamin for women eighteen

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Speaker 1: plus as our first product and really a case study

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Speaker 1: of how we're doing things differently. That product now has

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Speaker 1: a peer reviewed and published human clinical study with a

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Speaker 1: leading university. It also has USP verification, which is the

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Speaker 1: ultimate certificate third party certification, which less than one percent

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Speaker 1: of supplement companies have, and it also has a patent

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Speaker 1: on the delivery technology. None of this is required by

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Speaker 1: the industry, but it's part of the standard that we're

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Speaker 1: setting with Ritual.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's something that a lot of individuals don't

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Speaker 2: know is that the FDA does not have the authority

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Speaker 2: to prove dietary supplements for safety and effectiveness, which basically

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Speaker 2: means that there is, unlike Ritual, a lot of products

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Speaker 2: on the market that don't go through this type of

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Speaker 2: scrutiny because unfortunately, the people that are putting them out

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Speaker 2: they just don't care, which is frightening.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and that was basically the reason for starting a company.

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Speaker 1: Although the FDA does regulate vitamins and supplements at Ritual,

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Speaker 1: we believe that they should have even more oversight, and

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Speaker 1: we even recently rolled out an advocacy roadmap that includes

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Speaker 1: things like more health protective measures when it comes to

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Speaker 1: heavy metals, the other plant based proteins are notoriously high

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Speaker 1: and heavy metals, so you really don't know what you're getting,

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Speaker 1: and we recently actually listed all of our heavy metal

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Speaker 1: results for our plant based proteins. And then the second

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Speaker 1: piece of advocacy that we're really lobbying for is around

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Speaker 1: the term clinically studied to have more regulation over what

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Speaker 1: that means. That term is loosely defined. A lot of

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Speaker 1: companies are using that term, and you know, consumers have

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Speaker 1: to be their own advocates when it comes to safety

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Speaker 1: and efficacy. So when you see products that say clinically studied,

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Speaker 1: it many times the products have ingredients that have been

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Speaker 1: clinically studied, but not even at the right dosages or forms.

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Speaker 1: And at Ritual, we have a commitment to have clinical

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Speaker 1: studies on every single one of our products by twenty thirty,

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Speaker 1: which again is not a requirement by the industry, but

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Speaker 1: it's something that we think is necessary.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and that's so impressive.

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Speaker 2: I mean, even that note that a lot of plant

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Speaker 2: based proteins have heavy metals, I'm sure that kind of

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Speaker 2: raised our red flag for some of the people that

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Speaker 2: are listening, not knowing why. And that's because in general,

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Speaker 2: plants are especially prone to absorbing those heavy metals from

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Speaker 2: the soil. So we're talking about anything from arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury,

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Speaker 2: I mean, the list goes on.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and not to scare people, because everything, everything has

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Speaker 1: heavy and I think sometimes I say, oh, you know

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Speaker 1: your plant by startein has is high and heavy metals,

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Speaker 1: and they're like, this has heavy metals, and I'm like, yeah, actually,

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Speaker 1: even you know, even your water has heavy metals. And

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Speaker 1: it's really just the amounts that matter. And we need

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Speaker 1: the FDA to have even more oversight around setting those

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Speaker 1: health protective measures so we know what the limits should

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Speaker 1: be because obviously, you know, you consume all these things

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Speaker 1: daily and those things kind of accumulate in your body.

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Speaker 3: Over time over time.

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Speaker 2: So it's interesting to hear you talk about how you

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Speaker 2: were seeking something it wasn't around and you decided, Okay,

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Speaker 2: I'm going to make it now. Clearly that is indicative

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Speaker 2: that you are a forward thinker. You're the kind of

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Speaker 2: person that is up for a challenge to say the least.

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Speaker 3: Is this learned.

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Speaker 2: Behavior or was this something that you were raised with

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Speaker 2: from a young age.

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Speaker 1: It's interesting I was head of doing this podcast is

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Speaker 1: something I was reflecting on because I knew we were

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Speaker 1: talking about the hurdle. And for me, I think I

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Speaker 1: was always meant to be an entrepreneur, but in many

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Speaker 1: ways I was holding myself back. And so I was

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Speaker 1: an immigrant. My family we immigrated from Ukraine. We were

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Speaker 1: refugees and grew up in a welfare hotel, and my

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Speaker 1: dad became an entrepreneur. Eventually my mom ended up working

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Speaker 1: on Wall Street. And I had been around this entrepreneurial

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Speaker 1: hustle really my whole life, and then I ended up working.

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Speaker 1: I ended up working with a lot of startups and

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Speaker 1: running an investment fund here in LA and was partners

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Speaker 1: with Troy Carter, who was Lady Gaga's manager at the time,

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Speaker 1: and he'd invested in Uber, drop Box, Warby Parker, Spotify,

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Speaker 1: And so not only was I around my dad, who

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Speaker 1: was an incredible influence for me, but I'd also been

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Speaker 1: around these incredible founders that had built some of the

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Speaker 1: world's most inspiring brands. And then I met my husband,

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Speaker 1: who was also an entrepreneur. So I'd always been around

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Speaker 1: these really entrepreneurs and people that I admired, but I

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Speaker 1: don't know, there was like voices in my head that said, yay,

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Speaker 1: you know, you're not good enough or your idea is

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Speaker 1: not good enough, or you need a co founder, or

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Speaker 1: you need you know, you need, you need to learn more,

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Speaker 1: you need to work in this industry, you need to

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Speaker 1: get an MBA. You know, the list goes on and on,

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Speaker 1: and I think there was just so much, so much

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Speaker 1: of a kind of a lack of confidence. I think

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Speaker 1: that I was good enough to do this, and yet

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Speaker 1: I think I was in many ways groom to be

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Speaker 1: an entrepreneur since I can remember.

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Speaker 2: How did you silence that nagging voice that was saying

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Speaker 2: you're not good enough to do this?

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Speaker 1: So the silence actually happened when I was pregnant, And

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Speaker 1: oddly enough, you know, I think there's little science to this,

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Speaker 1: so my team would kill me because we're so focused

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Speaker 1: on science at ritual. But in some ways I became

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Speaker 1: a lot more creative when I had been pregnant. And

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Speaker 1: part of the brain that was so my brain that

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Speaker 1: was so analytical, you know, I studied applied math in college.

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Speaker 1: I ended up in investment banking, worked with numbers. Part

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Speaker 1: of that, that part of my brain that was so

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Speaker 1: analytical kind of mildly shut down, and I became more creative.

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Speaker 1: And I had this idea that I couldn't stop thinking

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Speaker 1: about every night. You know, it kept me awake, and

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Speaker 1: I knew that I wanted to create something better for

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Speaker 1: not just myself, but for future generations. And it just

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Speaker 1: it just was nagging me, and so it was a

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Speaker 1: combination of the idea and what was happening to me

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Speaker 1: I think biologically. And then, you know, I still had

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Speaker 1: a little bit of a lack not a little bit,

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Speaker 1: a lot, a lot of a lack of confidence, where like, well, well,

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Speaker 1: am I the right person to start this company? You know,

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Speaker 1: I know that people deserve to know what they're putting

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Speaker 1: in their bodies and why. But in my you know,

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Speaker 1: I'm not a scientist. I'm so nervous. You know, I've

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Speaker 1: been on the other side of investing, but I had

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Speaker 1: never raised money before. I didn't have an MBA. Am

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Speaker 1: I the one to do this? And ultimately, you know,

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Speaker 1: I think it was actually my husband, who had started

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Speaker 1: so many businesses in his life, and he's like, you

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Speaker 1: could do this. You don't need you don't need a

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Speaker 1: co founder. You got it, Like everything you've been doing

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Speaker 1: in your life has really added up to this moment,

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Speaker 1: and just go for it. And which was really a

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Speaker 1: risk for us because as a couple, we were, you know,

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Speaker 1: about to have a child, we were both two entrepreneurs. Previously,

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Speaker 1: I was more of the kind of steady breadwinner and

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Speaker 1: he was the one taking the risk. And here we

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Speaker 1: are about to you know, have a family, and we're

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Speaker 1: both risking it all and yet you know, he kind

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Speaker 1: of pushed me to do it, and I'm so grateful

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Speaker 1: for that.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Wow, talk about a vote of confidence.

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Speaker 2: It speaks to concept that sometimes all we need is

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Speaker 2: one person to express their belief in us to help

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Speaker 2: us get over our own gremlins. So when you decided, Okay,

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Speaker 2: I'm going to be the person that goes for it,

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Speaker 2: how did you even know where to begin?

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Speaker 1: Kat, Yeah, that was It was tricky because I came

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Speaker 1: from the tech world, and you know, if I were

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Speaker 1: to look for a CTO or an engineering team or

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Speaker 1: something like that, that would be second nature for me.

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Speaker 1: But finding someone in the nutraceutical space, I never met anybody.

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Speaker 1: I was like, wait, I don't know, I don't even

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Speaker 1: know where to begin. And the you know, when I

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Speaker 1: did start doing research, because I'm a very research oriented person,

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Speaker 1: I realized that what was lacking in the industry with science.

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Speaker 1: So the first thing for me was really talking to

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Speaker 1: as many scientists in the space that I could find.

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Speaker 1: Anyone who was a PhD in nutritional science, anyone who'd

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Speaker 1: been in the industry for decades, aids and the only

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Speaker 1: way that I could do that was through LinkedIn. And

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Speaker 1: so I went on LinkedIn and I messaged you know,

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Speaker 1: hundreds of people and some of them responded to me.

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Speaker 1: I even remember meeting, you know, this guy who was

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Speaker 1: an SVP of innovation at one of the largest pharmaceutical companies,

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Speaker 1: and he met me in a strip mall in New

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Speaker 1: Jersey because that's where a lot of people in the

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Speaker 1: industry are based. And he met with me for a

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Speaker 1: coffee and he told me he broke down the industry

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Speaker 1: for me. He introduced me to scientists. I reached out

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Speaker 1: to scientists on LinkedIn and I met our founding scientists

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Speaker 1: that way. I also realized that to hire some of

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Speaker 1: the world's best scientists and to invest in clinical studies,

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Speaker 1: which was not a requirement it's not a requirement in

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Speaker 1: the category, and to double down on research and development,

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Speaker 1: I actually need money. And so after meeting scientists, I

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Speaker 1: started praising venture capital money. And that was both challenging

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Speaker 1: and interesting at the same time, having been on the

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Speaker 1: other side of the investing table. I was pregnant and

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Speaker 1: I had, you know, I had a little bit of challenge,

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Speaker 1: a little bit of a lot of challenges, and one

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Speaker 1: experience was walking into a well known investor's office and saying, Hey,

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Speaker 1: I'm going to change the supplement industry. Everyone deserves to

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Speaker 1: know what they're putting in their bodies and why invest

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Speaker 1: in me? And his answer was, you can either start

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Speaker 1: a family or a company, but I don't believe that

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Speaker 1: you can do both.

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Speaker 3: And how did that make you feel?

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Speaker 1: At first? I was incredibly furious, but I think it

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Speaker 1: was probably the best catalysts that I had probably my

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Speaker 1: whole career to prove somebody wrong and to do things differently.

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Speaker 1: And now it's just become such a big part of

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Speaker 1: my motivation for Ritual and doing what I'm doing is

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Speaker 1: to show other women and people that they can have

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Speaker 1: families and thrive and having a family and a career

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Speaker 1: if that's what they choose, and you know, family and

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Speaker 1: passion and following their passions, really doing both. It's really possible.

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Speaker 1: It's challenging, but it's so exciting and it's so motivating,

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Speaker 1: and you can do both. I've had three girls since

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Speaker 1: starting Ritual. I think since I've known you, and the

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Speaker 1: company is, you know, beyond what I thought it could

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Speaker 1: possibly be, and we're really just getting started, and it's

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Speaker 1: honestly like having the kids and running the company as

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Speaker 1: a CEO is like the kids are recharging me every day.

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Speaker 1: They're challenging obviously me as well, but it's the biggest

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Speaker 1: recharge I have, and it's it. They've become the reason

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Speaker 1: why I, you know, do what I do every single day.

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Speaker 1: Just even seeing them and them understanding what I'm building

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Speaker 1: is so motivating.

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Speaker 2: So special, truly so special. And two things to click

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Speaker 2: on here. One have you spoken to that man since

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Speaker 2: you started your company?

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Speaker 1: I have, but in not, you know, I kind of

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Speaker 1: just didn't. I'm not the type of person to like

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Speaker 1: bring something up again. I just kind of, you know,

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Speaker 1: I've seen him out socially, and I think he knows,

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Speaker 1: you know, he's he's definitely like impressed by the business.

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Speaker 1: But I don't need his I don't need his approval

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Speaker 1: or his you know, congratulations or anything like that. It

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Speaker 1: doesn't it really doesn't matter to me. There's been so

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Speaker 1: many other, so many other moments of kind of knows

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Speaker 1: in starting this company and doing things differently in this

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Speaker 1: industry that I would say that was like one of

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Speaker 1: the many, one of the many now, but one of

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Speaker 1: the most kind of impactful and also, you know, I

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Speaker 1: think his comment also had an impact to how I

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Speaker 1: think about leading the business, how I think about parental

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Speaker 1: leave ritual in this country, and how to enable more

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Speaker 1: people to do both because the system is not designed

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Speaker 1: that way.

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Speaker 3: And when you say leading the business in what way?

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Speaker 1: In terms of taking care of the people that work

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Speaker 1: for our company, we more recently became finalists in Fast

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Speaker 1: Company's Most Innovative Workplace Awards, And I take that seriously

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Speaker 1: because I think that how you treat your employees and

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Speaker 1: how people feel working at your company impacts how the

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Speaker 1: success one hundred percent. And I think for me having

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Speaker 1: three girls while starting this business, and I wanted I

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Speaker 1: wanted people working at Ritual to also feel like if

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Speaker 1: they wanted to have families, they were supported here. And

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Speaker 1: so we have five months of paid leave and then

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Speaker 1: eight weeks of support when they return into the workplace

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Speaker 1: as well, and we also have childcare stipends and just

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Speaker 1: a lot of a lot of support when it comes

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Speaker 1: to benefits as well. And that was important to me

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Speaker 1: because I knew how challenging it was for myself having

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Speaker 1: you know, multiple children and running this business, and I

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Speaker 1: wanted to make sure that our employees didn't have to

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Speaker 1: choose between those things as well.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that's really awesome to hear that you're really

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Speaker 2: just standing behind what you're passionate about here. I also

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Speaker 2: had a laugh because you said New Jersey basically the

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Speaker 2: home of pharmaceuticals.

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Speaker 3: Now, knowing that and going back to your.

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Speaker 2: Story about you know, reaching out to as many people

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Speaker 2: as possible and networking. For someone who may be listening

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Speaker 2: to this and is trying to do their own networking,

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Speaker 2: is trying to make their own connections, what advice do

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Speaker 2: you have to offer them to kind of stay steadfast

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Speaker 2: on the path in the same way that you did.

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Speaker 1: My advice would be to not be afraid to cold

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Speaker 1: outreach anybody on LinkedIn. I can't like, I can't say

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Speaker 1: how incredible of a tool it's been for me in

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Speaker 1: terms of going into a new industry. And I was

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Speaker 1: just surprised by how many people return my messages. I

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Speaker 1: think sometimes people are in the back of their heads

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Speaker 1: they think, hey, if I'm going to reach out to

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Speaker 1: this person, they're not going to write back. I was

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Speaker 1: blown away by having like almost more people than I thought,

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Speaker 1: and I'm like, oh geez, now I have to now

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Speaker 1: I have to do take all these meetings because I

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Speaker 1: thought no one was going to write back. I was

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Speaker 1: blown away by how many people write back and then

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Speaker 1: also not being not being deterred. If people don't write

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Speaker 1: you back, just just write more people. There's so many

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Speaker 1: people that are experts in different industries, and I think

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Speaker 1: you learned, you know, before you actually start the company.

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Speaker 1: It's so important to learn from people that that had

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Speaker 1: been have been in the industries before. It's actually why

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Speaker 1: I hired our first scientists, doctor Luke, who'd been in

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Speaker 1: the industry for decades, and you know, my first question

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Speaker 1: to him was where all the skeletons buried? You know where,

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Speaker 1: what has what has the industry done wrong for all

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Speaker 1: these decades. And the biggest issue that he talked about,

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Speaker 1: which really changed how I thought about what ritual does,

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Speaker 1: was he always wanted to use more premium ingredients, but

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Speaker 1: they were so expensive. He wanted to use more bioavailable ingredients.

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Speaker 1: He wanted to use you know, Omega three is from Micrology,

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Speaker 1: D three from lichen K two, m K seven from Norway,

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00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,840
Speaker 1: this full light that came from Italy, and he'd always

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Speaker 1: been turned down because these companies had been targeting a

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Speaker 1: certain gross margin or they'd been targeting a certain price point,

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Speaker 1: and they didn't want to use really expensive ingredients. But

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Speaker 1: a lot of times those ingredients actually worked it better.

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Speaker 1: In the body. For instance, a third of people have

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Speaker 1: a genetic variation where they can't properly utilize full like acid,

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Speaker 1: which is in most Boltsy vitamins, and so we instead

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Speaker 1: opted for a methylated fulet from Italy that bypasses genetic

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Speaker 1: variations and makes it easier to utilize full it. And

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Speaker 1: I would have never done that had it not been

401
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Speaker 1: for him. And we became obsessed with all of these

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Speaker 1: suppliers from all over the world, and we started listing

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00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:46,520
Speaker 1: them on our site, so you can literally see where

404
00:23:46,680 --> 00:23:48,720
Speaker 1: ingredients come from in the world and why they're there.

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Speaker 1: But that would have never happened had I not met

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Speaker 1: this scientist who was like, Hey, this is actually what's broken.

407
00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:58,080
Speaker 1: And I'm like, oh, that's so interesting. And I think,

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Speaker 1: you know, even if you have an idea and you're

409
00:24:00,880 --> 00:24:04,439
Speaker 1: really passionate about something, I think that getting some history

410
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:08,159
Speaker 1: about the category or the industry is really important and

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Speaker 1: can be a total game changer.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and to hear you talk about this, it makes

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Speaker 2: me think that it's good that you came into this

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00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:25,840
Speaker 2: as quote unquote an outsider, right because doing that empowered

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00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:30,200
Speaker 2: you to ask questions from that outside point of view

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00:24:30,280 --> 00:24:33,440
Speaker 2: to get to a place where you're like, help me understand,

417
00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:38,000
Speaker 2: and through that understanding, you were able to get this

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Speaker 2: to a place where you really felt it needed to be.

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Speaker 1: One hundred percent. I mean I remember the you know,

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Speaker 1: the first couple months of starting the company, I literally

421
00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,960
Speaker 1: went on like a road tour of different manufacturers in

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00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:59,000
Speaker 1: California that we're making not just the ingredients, but the encapsulation,

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00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,600
Speaker 1: the tablet, the soft gels, the capsules. And I was

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Speaker 1: like wow, Like the more I learned, I was so

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00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:10,399
Speaker 1: disgusted by it all, and I felt like a little

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00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:13,960
Speaker 1: bit of an investigative journalist in a way. And you know,

427
00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,719
Speaker 1: it's like there weren't that many options. It was you know,

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00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,640
Speaker 1: put your ingredients in a gelatin capsule where you don't

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00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,000
Speaker 1: know where the animals, how the animals were being treated

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00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,159
Speaker 1: before they were killed, or you know, it was like,

431
00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,320
Speaker 1: well you can use if you want a vegetarian, we

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00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:33,399
Speaker 1: have Karra gain in that there was a study that

433
00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:36,520
Speaker 1: that caused tumors and rodents on karragain in and I

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00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:38,600
Speaker 1: was like, well, I don't want that. And then the

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00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,359
Speaker 1: other option was was a fish gelatin. I was like, okay,

436
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,119
Speaker 1: well maybe maybe the consumers would be better around that,

437
00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,600
Speaker 1: and then it was farmed to Lopia from Korea. You know.

438
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,480
Speaker 1: And it's the more, you know, I think the questions

439
00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,360
Speaker 1: that I asked people probably never I know, they never

440
00:25:54,400 --> 00:25:58,240
Speaker 1: really asked before because I'd have I'd be asking these

441
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:01,760
Speaker 1: manufacturers and be a room full of men and they'd

442
00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,359
Speaker 1: have to go and ask somebody else. And it was

443
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:08,800
Speaker 1: just like this wild goose chase. And it's only become

444
00:26:09,040 --> 00:26:13,760
Speaker 1: even more interesting as the company has gotten bigger, because

445
00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 1: we have all this documentation and requirements and processes for

446
00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:23,560
Speaker 1: even getting an ingredient into our products, that you realize

447
00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:26,160
Speaker 1: that a lot of a lot of companies don't don't

448
00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:28,560
Speaker 1: have their ship in order.

449
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:30,199
Speaker 3: Yeah.

450
00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:33,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, And so when you get into this R and

451
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:38,119
Speaker 2: D process, how long does it take you to land

452
00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:42,480
Speaker 2: on your first original version of the product.

453
00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:48,879
Speaker 1: In some cases it takes several years. For the Symbiotic Plus,

454
00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,200
Speaker 1: which is our pre pro post biotic all in one

455
00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:55,119
Speaker 1: single capsule, that product took several years. I think it

456
00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,720
Speaker 1: was four years to make this product. And it wasn't

457
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:01,800
Speaker 1: even just about things ingredients, which you know, we use

458
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,320
Speaker 1: two of the world's best clinically study ingredients. It was

459
00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:07,600
Speaker 1: about the but still alive at the expiration date. I

460
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,199
Speaker 1: think people don't even think about that. Or does the

461
00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,800
Speaker 1: product get into the colon instead of the stomach or

462
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,480
Speaker 1: the small intestine because that's the ideal place for the

463
00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:21,400
Speaker 1: probiotics to thrive. These are the kinds of questions that

464
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:24,640
Speaker 1: we ask ourselves. And why are you know why our

465
00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,359
Speaker 1: products take longer to make? I would say than others.

466
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:29,120
Speaker 1: I wish we could have a lot more products because

467
00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:32,320
Speaker 1: our customers trust us, but it just takes so long

468
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:36,920
Speaker 1: to go through the rigorous testing that we have and

469
00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:41,359
Speaker 1: the quality standards, the stability, the and it's all. You know,

470
00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:44,359
Speaker 1: we also run third party testing, which a whole whole

471
00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:47,760
Speaker 1: other conversation. I like, I will never take anything that's

472
00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:50,960
Speaker 1: not third party tested. You know, it's it's wild because

473
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,320
Speaker 1: it just took us so long to even get this

474
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:59,200
Speaker 1: product stable. Whereas you have probiotics, they're they're not in capsules,

475
00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:03,240
Speaker 1: they're in other forms. And it says like CFUs at

476
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:08,080
Speaker 1: data manufacturing, which means that the probiotic count at the

477
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:12,800
Speaker 1: date it was made, and you have no idea if

478
00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:16,960
Speaker 1: it's the same count at when you're actually taking the

479
00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,199
Speaker 1: product or when it's expiring. And so subtle things like

480
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:24,480
Speaker 1: that make it even longer for us to make our

481
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:26,840
Speaker 1: products and to make sure they meet the standards that

482
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:28,439
Speaker 1: we need them to.

483
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:32,639
Speaker 3: All Right, two basic questions.

484
00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:35,080
Speaker 2: I feel like i'm you when you're like asking people

485
00:28:35,160 --> 00:28:37,119
Speaker 2: questions about why is it's so hard to find the

486
00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,000
Speaker 2: right drugs? So I'm going to ask these questions on

487
00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:41,760
Speaker 2: behalf of the listeners who I know might be wondering this,

488
00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:45,960
Speaker 2: although they may seem basic. First and foremost, third party certification.

489
00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:47,680
Speaker 2: What is it and why is it important?

490
00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,720
Speaker 1: You know, third party certifications are important because you're saying, hey,

491
00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:53,680
Speaker 1: don't just take our word for it. Here is a

492
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:58,160
Speaker 1: third party certifier that is actually in many times depends

493
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:02,000
Speaker 1: on what the certification is, but is actually testing your products.

494
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,160
Speaker 1: And it's different than third party testing. So third party

495
00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:08,440
Speaker 1: testing as you use a third party lab. We use Eurofins,

496
00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:11,520
Speaker 1: one of the best labs in the US, and they

497
00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,160
Speaker 1: actually test our products so we know what's in there

498
00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:17,560
Speaker 1: is actually in there and our customers can trust that

499
00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:21,400
Speaker 1: versus us just using our manufacture. Our manufacture is the

500
00:29:21,440 --> 00:29:23,680
Speaker 1: one that makes the product and then says, hey, you

501
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:26,360
Speaker 1: know what I made is right. You want a third

502
00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:30,640
Speaker 1: party to test your products because they're independent. And then

503
00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:34,840
Speaker 1: on the certification front, you know, we invest in certifications

504
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:39,760
Speaker 1: varies by product, like Project non Gmo Verified, so verifying

505
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,920
Speaker 1: that our ingredients and our product overall is our non GMO.

506
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,680
Speaker 1: We also on our multi vitamin invested in USP certification,

507
00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:51,480
Speaker 1: which is kind of the ultimate certification to get in

508
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:54,480
Speaker 1: the category. I would definitely look out for that, and

509
00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:58,800
Speaker 1: that means that they're actually testing our batches, certain batches

510
00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:04,120
Speaker 1: and making sure that what's on the label is actually

511
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,160
Speaker 1: there and is verified. And I think that's really important

512
00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:10,520
Speaker 1: because it's really hard to tell as a consumer if

513
00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:13,520
Speaker 1: not only what you're getting is safe, but is it effective,

514
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:18,840
Speaker 1: Like is the dosage actually there? And that's you know,

515
00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:22,240
Speaker 1: I can't believe that I didn't have to say that, but.

516
00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:26,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know it's definitely true. So that's super helpful.

517
00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:29,840
Speaker 2: And then the second thing, and I've talked about probiotics

518
00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:31,520
Speaker 2: so many times on the show, but I feel like

519
00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:35,720
Speaker 2: it's helpful to reiterate here that probiotics are basically they're

520
00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,080
Speaker 2: made up of good bacteria that helps keep your body

521
00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:41,440
Speaker 2: healthy and working well in Layman's terms. And so for

522
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:44,960
Speaker 2: the person who may not be integrating them into your diet,

523
00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:46,680
Speaker 2: aside from the fact that they know that they quote

524
00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:50,600
Speaker 2: unquote make your body help healthy and help it work well,

525
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:51,680
Speaker 2: what else should they know?

526
00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:57,200
Speaker 1: Yep. The field of microbiome research and probiotics, probiotics and

527
00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:00,360
Speaker 1: post biotics is kind of relatively new, but it's so

528
00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:05,720
Speaker 1: fascinating because there's different bugs that correspond to different benefits.

529
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,840
Speaker 1: And what they should know is that while there are

530
00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,160
Speaker 1: so many, not that many of them have been well

531
00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:17,479
Speaker 1: researched or studied. And that's why a virtual we use

532
00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:21,240
Speaker 1: strains like LGG, which is the world's most clinically studied strain,

533
00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:24,600
Speaker 1: because we don't want to experiment with what people are

534
00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:28,280
Speaker 1: putting in their bodies and the science really matters to us.

535
00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:31,320
Speaker 1: The thing that they should also know is probiotics and

536
00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:36,200
Speaker 1: post biotics are also really beneficial for the gut. Probiotics

537
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:40,240
Speaker 1: are oftentimes the food for the probiotics, so the probiotics

538
00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:43,800
Speaker 1: eat the food and the post biotics are the waste

539
00:31:43,840 --> 00:31:47,480
Speaker 1: product between that and what they're saying now is that

540
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,640
Speaker 1: potentially the benefits, a lot of benefits can be found

541
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:55,520
Speaker 1: from the post biotics, which is the byproduct of the

542
00:31:55,560 --> 00:32:00,520
Speaker 1: probiotics eating the prebiotics, and it helps fuel your gut bining,

543
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:05,840
Speaker 1: and so it's really important I think for most Americans

544
00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:11,040
Speaker 1: to be consuming a probiotic, probatic and postbiotic. And you know,

545
00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:12,880
Speaker 1: I think in other cultures we eat a lot of

546
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:16,320
Speaker 1: fermented food, but in the US, a lot of people

547
00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:20,200
Speaker 1: are you know, have digestive issues, whether it's gas or

548
00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:24,800
Speaker 1: bloating or others, and they can be really beneficial, which

549
00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:27,040
Speaker 1: you know, for me has been a game changer because

550
00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:31,000
Speaker 1: I think, you know, having digestive issues impacts how I

551
00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:34,480
Speaker 1: how I feel throughout the day, and so taking a

552
00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:36,840
Speaker 1: product like this has kind of helped me in more

553
00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:39,040
Speaker 1: ways than one.

554
00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,320
Speaker 2: Taking a break from today's episode to give some love

555
00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:49,520
Speaker 2: to my sponsor at Future Future is a workout experience

556
00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:50,200
Speaker 2: that pairs.

557
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558
00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:56,200
Speaker 2: You'll get unlimited personal training and all the support you

559
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Speaker 2: need to stay on track. Plus your coach will map

560
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Speaker 2: about a plan based on you and your goals, build

561
00:33:02,560 --> 00:33:05,080
Speaker 2: the workouts to get you there and keep you accountable

562
00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:08,480
Speaker 2: every day. Future your Apple Watch, and if you don't

563
00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:10,479
Speaker 2: have one, don't worry, they'll lend you one.

564
00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:12,560
Speaker 3: All of it and the app they.

565
00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,440
Speaker 2: All pair seamlessly to allow you to track metrics like

566
00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:19,200
Speaker 2: calories burned and heart rate. Together, you and your coach

567
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:23,360
Speaker 2: can then track your progress, celebrate achievements, and tune your

568
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:27,400
Speaker 2: routine to perfection. I have been using Future for months now.

569
00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:31,720
Speaker 2: Me and my coach, Brendan, we are so in sync.

570
00:33:31,880 --> 00:33:35,959
Speaker 2: I'm so grateful for him during this marathon training cycle,

571
00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:38,920
Speaker 2: keeping me accountable to make sure that I'm integrating the

572
00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,800
Speaker 2: string training that I know helped my body get to

573
00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:44,480
Speaker 2: where I want it to be to put me in

574
00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:48,640
Speaker 2: a better position to get to my goals. Get fifty

575
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576
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577
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578
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Speaker 2: dot co so slash hurdle. That's Future dot co slash

579
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:07,160
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580
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Speaker 2: unlimited workouts Today, personalized training made to fit your life

581
00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:21,760
Speaker 2: totally and I mean, there's so much research about how

582
00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:24,919
Speaker 2: your gut health can impact everything in the body from

583
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:28,600
Speaker 2: not only how you feel mentally physically, but then also

584
00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:33,600
Speaker 2: can play a role in either depression or illnesses like diabetes.

585
00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:37,520
Speaker 2: So taking care of your gut super super important. Now,

586
00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:41,920
Speaker 2: in twenty sixteen, after launching the product, when did you

587
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:45,120
Speaker 2: know get to a place that you were really, really

588
00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:48,920
Speaker 2: firm on Okay, we truly have something here.

589
00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:49,960
Speaker 3: It's catching on.

590
00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:54,320
Speaker 1: That's a great question. I would say it happened pretty

591
00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:59,720
Speaker 1: early for us, actually surprisingly, and I would say after

592
00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:05,600
Speaker 1: the first couple months, maybe like five months in, it's

593
00:35:05,680 --> 00:35:08,600
Speaker 1: kind of started to take off like hockey stick style,

594
00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:13,680
Speaker 1: and people started asking us, you know, I decided to

595
00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:15,960
Speaker 1: not launch the pre Needdle first because I wanted to

596
00:35:16,040 --> 00:35:19,760
Speaker 1: build trust with our consumer online. Everyone thinks that's crazy,

597
00:35:20,239 --> 00:35:23,120
Speaker 1: because you know, my initial problem that I was having

598
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:25,080
Speaker 1: was I couldn't find a pren addle that I trusted.

599
00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:27,000
Speaker 1: And yet here I was, and I launched a multi

600
00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:30,719
Speaker 1: vitamin from an eighteen plus instead of the Prenatle. But

601
00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:34,040
Speaker 1: I was worried that an investor told me this too.

602
00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:36,960
Speaker 1: They're like, you need to earn her trust, and so

603
00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,360
Speaker 1: we launched this multi vitamin and we kind of quickly

604
00:35:40,400 --> 00:35:43,040
Speaker 1: started earning her trust and she was like, we want

605
00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:46,480
Speaker 1: I want a prenodle. I'm getting pregnant. I want a

606
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:47,800
Speaker 1: pre neal for me. When are you guys going to

607
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:51,799
Speaker 1: make a prenatal because they didn't see, you know, a

608
00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:56,400
Speaker 1: one hundred percent traceable product out there. And so we

609
00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:59,920
Speaker 1: soon after about two years in launched a prenial vite

610
00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:02,520
Speaker 1: in and that was game changer for us because we

611
00:36:02,600 --> 00:36:04,960
Speaker 1: now have one of the leading pre needle vitamins in

612
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,719
Speaker 1: the US, and so that was really interesting. And I

613
00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:12,240
Speaker 1: think all of this happened because we built this traceable

614
00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:15,320
Speaker 1: supply chain. We showed our ingredients suppliers on our site

615
00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:19,759
Speaker 1: down to the to the name of the supplier and

616
00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:24,359
Speaker 1: also the vital destination of manufacturing. Now our products are

617
00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:28,239
Speaker 1: one hundred percent traceable, and I think that was a

618
00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:31,320
Speaker 1: radical thing for people at the time. At the time,

619
00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:36,319
Speaker 1: you know, people started questioning their food sources, where their

620
00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:40,160
Speaker 1: kill was grown, or where the chickens were and who

621
00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:43,040
Speaker 1: they played with. It was a funny Portland episode. I

622
00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:46,400
Speaker 1: don't know if you saw it, but it was like

623
00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:49,279
Speaker 1: it wasn't something people ever thought about with supplements, and

624
00:36:49,320 --> 00:36:51,960
Speaker 1: it's still not something people you know, really think about

625
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:54,840
Speaker 1: with supplements. But I think everyone deserves to know if

626
00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,319
Speaker 1: they're putting something in their bodies every single day, they

627
00:36:58,400 --> 00:37:00,760
Speaker 1: deserve to know where those in great dents are coming

628
00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:04,799
Speaker 1: from and why. And so I think for us, we

629
00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:09,239
Speaker 1: kind of had really fast product market fit because we

630
00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:13,680
Speaker 1: had done something so drastically different. I love the example

631
00:37:13,920 --> 00:37:17,319
Speaker 1: of the Ford, the classic Ford quote. If I asked

632
00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:19,720
Speaker 1: them what they want, they would want a faster horse

633
00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:23,960
Speaker 1: versus a car. And I think in the when it

634
00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:28,239
Speaker 1: comes to ritual I don't think people wanted a more expensive,

635
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:32,719
Speaker 1: more premium, traceable multi vitamin. But what they wanted was

636
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:37,680
Speaker 1: something that they could trust and something that they knew

637
00:37:37,719 --> 00:37:40,239
Speaker 1: where the ingredients came from. And I think that that

638
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:43,760
Speaker 1: was you know, that took a lot of conviction versus

639
00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:46,920
Speaker 1: just only listening to consumers needs.

640
00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:51,000
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean again just kind of walking into such

641
00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:57,240
Speaker 2: unchartered territory. So then as this kind of catches on fire,

642
00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,280
Speaker 2: you said, like you had people reaching out look looking

643
00:38:00,320 --> 00:38:03,480
Speaker 2: for other things, how were you able to discern what

644
00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:05,360
Speaker 2: you wanted to work on?

645
00:38:05,560 --> 00:38:07,840
Speaker 3: Kind of from a priority standpoint.

646
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:12,200
Speaker 1: That's probably the hardest thing as a CEO and founder

647
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:15,160
Speaker 1: is like figuring out what you're going to do next,

648
00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:17,279
Speaker 1: because it could be so tempting to go into so

649
00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:21,000
Speaker 1: many different directions. I get so excited about so many things,

650
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:25,160
Speaker 1: and I have so many personal needs. So we went

651
00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:29,480
Speaker 1: into after multi vitamins. We did multi vitamins for the

652
00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:33,320
Speaker 1: whole family, and our men's multi vitamins are just growing

653
00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:35,839
Speaker 1: so fast right now, which is so exciting. We've also

654
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:39,920
Speaker 1: launched Kids and teens and women fifty plus. We launched

655
00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:44,840
Speaker 1: the post needle next because we saw that it's interesting

656
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:47,319
Speaker 1: a lot of people were taking a pre needle when

657
00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:50,160
Speaker 1: they're pregnant. I should actually be taking a pre nedle

658
00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:51,920
Speaker 1: when they're trying to conceive that. It's a whole other thing.

659
00:38:52,160 --> 00:38:54,440
Speaker 1: But what we saw was the there was a there

660
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:57,520
Speaker 1: were big nutrient gaps when it came to postpartum, and

661
00:38:57,520 --> 00:39:00,600
Speaker 1: it's one of the most nutrient demanding stages of life,

662
00:39:00,680 --> 00:39:03,920
Speaker 1: and yet this category was just totally underserved. You hear,

663
00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:07,160
Speaker 1: you have this mom that's taking care of her new baby,

664
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:10,479
Speaker 1: but who's taking care of her? And so the pose

665
00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:14,240
Speaker 1: needle was something that I felt personally really passionate about,

666
00:39:14,520 --> 00:39:19,080
Speaker 1: and it kind of completed the line for our preodle

667
00:39:19,640 --> 00:39:22,840
Speaker 1: and allowed the woman to transition, a person to transition

668
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:28,480
Speaker 1: from a pregnancy to postpartum. We then went into protein,

669
00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:32,080
Speaker 1: and the reason is I hired a chief scientist, chief

670
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:36,319
Speaker 1: scientific officer ex faculty at Harvard PhD in physiology, and

671
00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:41,080
Speaker 1: protein and muscle synthesis was his kind of life's work

672
00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:45,359
Speaker 1: and mission, and so he came to me with this

673
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:48,440
Speaker 1: idea of, hey, you know, we can do with protein

674
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:52,000
Speaker 1: what we did with multi vitamins. This category is not traceable.

675
00:39:52,080 --> 00:39:55,240
Speaker 1: People don't know where the protein is being sourced. Many

676
00:39:55,239 --> 00:39:57,719
Speaker 1: times it's not even a you know, the powders are

677
00:39:57,760 --> 00:40:01,520
Speaker 1: not complete amino acids, and that's a whole other thing

678
00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:04,120
Speaker 1: because a lot of plant based proteins don't have complete

679
00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:07,560
Speaker 1: amino acids, so you have to layer in different plant sources.

680
00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:12,360
Speaker 1: And so we did that and we created a protein

681
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:16,400
Speaker 1: with regeneravely farmed peas grown here in the US instead

682
00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:20,040
Speaker 1: of overseas. We added methionine to complete the amino acid

683
00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:23,760
Speaker 1: and it's just amazing product because, as I mentioned earlier,

684
00:40:24,120 --> 00:40:28,279
Speaker 1: this category is notoriously high in heavy metals, and people

685
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:29,799
Speaker 1: don't know what they're getting and so we list our

686
00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:33,440
Speaker 1: protein we list our heavy metal results over protein online

687
00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:36,600
Speaker 1: on our Certificate of Traceability tool. And then I would

688
00:40:36,600 --> 00:40:40,080
Speaker 1: say the next product came from just deeply listening to

689
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:44,000
Speaker 1: our customers. We actually call them healthy skeptics, and we

690
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:47,359
Speaker 1: have hundreds of thousands of subscribers to our products, and

691
00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:48,920
Speaker 1: we asked them, hey, like, what do you want to

692
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,319
Speaker 1: see next from us? In over ninety percent of our

693
00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:55,840
Speaker 1: healthy skeptics that we serveed, so they wanted something in

694
00:40:55,840 --> 00:41:00,560
Speaker 1: the gut health space, and I think we over we

695
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:03,600
Speaker 1: delivered there for sure with this Symbiotic Plus, which has

696
00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:07,799
Speaker 1: been our fastest growing SKEW to date with tens of

697
00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:11,440
Speaker 1: thousands of subscribers tens of millions of dollars in revenue

698
00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:15,120
Speaker 1: within the first year, and it's really exciting to see

699
00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:18,439
Speaker 1: how it's changing people's lives. But I think what's more

700
00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:23,239
Speaker 1: exciting is that we actually surveyed our customers about a

701
00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:26,719
Speaker 1: month after launch, and we served hundreds of people, and

702
00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:29,799
Speaker 1: we created a ninety seven page report of like what

703
00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:31,800
Speaker 1: we could do better, how do we evolve the product

704
00:41:31,880 --> 00:41:36,239
Speaker 1: experience and the packaging, And it was just, you know,

705
00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:38,839
Speaker 1: it's a good example of how much we invest in

706
00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:42,520
Speaker 1: things like consumer insights and listening to our customers like

707
00:41:42,680 --> 00:41:45,600
Speaker 1: deeply even after we launched products.

708
00:41:46,520 --> 00:41:49,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I want to go back to Kat the

709
00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:53,240
Speaker 2: person and not Kat the founder. So you mentioned being

710
00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:59,359
Speaker 2: pregnant when starting this company. How do you take care

711
00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:03,319
Speaker 2: of you? Because along this journey you said, now mother

712
00:42:03,440 --> 00:42:05,799
Speaker 2: of three, a lot's been going on.

713
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,759
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, that's that's hard. I mean it's hard.

714
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:11,759
Speaker 1: I think in the beginning I was not taking care

715
00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:14,440
Speaker 1: of myself well, which is so funny because I'm like

716
00:42:14,560 --> 00:42:18,719
Speaker 1: running a health company trying to take care of you know,

717
00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:24,359
Speaker 1: hundreds of thousand, a million plus customers today, and it's

718
00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:26,239
Speaker 1: like the one person I wasn't really taking care of

719
00:42:26,320 --> 00:42:29,759
Speaker 1: was myself. And I think that's easy to it's kind

720
00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:34,160
Speaker 1: of easy to get into that place when you're running

721
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:38,640
Speaker 1: a million miles you know, a minute, but it's actually

722
00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:41,880
Speaker 1: it was actually I think I had a tipping point

723
00:42:42,200 --> 00:42:44,600
Speaker 1: where I was just kind of burnt out and like

724
00:42:44,719 --> 00:42:48,719
Speaker 1: dealing with some mental health issues and you know, not

725
00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:52,080
Speaker 1: taking care of myself but like giving everyone else by all.

726
00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:55,399
Speaker 1: And I think it's an interesting thing that people don't

727
00:42:55,440 --> 00:42:58,120
Speaker 1: talk about often. It's just like people that are running

728
00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:02,799
Speaker 1: health businesses that you know, how interesting it is that

729
00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:05,560
Speaker 1: they're taking care of so many people's health where there's

730
00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:10,040
Speaker 1: doctors or healthcare professionals or people running health related startups,

731
00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:12,600
Speaker 1: and then are they actually taking care of themselves? It's

732
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:16,000
Speaker 1: funny you'll see that most people are probably not. But

733
00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:18,880
Speaker 1: it was, you know, wellness and health and alless has

734
00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:21,600
Speaker 1: always been a big passion of mine and I and

735
00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:25,799
Speaker 1: I found it again, and especially kind of after having kids.

736
00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:32,680
Speaker 1: I became ruthless about protecting my time and space for

737
00:43:32,800 --> 00:43:36,160
Speaker 1: working out. I have been a plant based eater and

738
00:43:36,239 --> 00:43:40,319
Speaker 1: vegan for you know, ten fifteen years, not fifteen years now,

739
00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:45,320
Speaker 1: and really started eating in a more even more healthy

740
00:43:45,360 --> 00:43:48,719
Speaker 1: way than before. And I kind of actually got back

741
00:43:48,760 --> 00:43:52,000
Speaker 1: to the basics. Like I had been so passionate about

742
00:43:52,640 --> 00:43:56,799
Speaker 1: wellness my whole life and a little too much, like

743
00:43:56,880 --> 00:43:59,480
Speaker 1: I used to experiment on myself with lots of different

744
00:43:59,520 --> 00:44:04,799
Speaker 1: herbs and you know, different diets and different like I

745
00:44:04,840 --> 00:44:07,719
Speaker 1: did a blood type diet when I was younger, kind

746
00:44:07,719 --> 00:44:10,640
Speaker 1: of into wellness before it was a thing. And as

747
00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:14,320
Speaker 1: I got older, I started really thinking about this idea,

748
00:44:14,800 --> 00:44:19,719
Speaker 1: how do you do the basics just exceptionally well, and

749
00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:23,000
Speaker 1: how do I like perfect the basics, and that's something

750
00:44:23,040 --> 00:44:25,000
Speaker 1: that I'm still working on.

751
00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:29,120
Speaker 2: I love the word I got really ruthless in protecting

752
00:44:29,400 --> 00:44:33,920
Speaker 2: my time for myself. When you say basics, what falls

753
00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:35,360
Speaker 2: into the basics.

754
00:44:37,200 --> 00:44:40,680
Speaker 1: It's so interesting to be in the space. People are

755
00:44:40,719 --> 00:44:44,480
Speaker 1: always looking for quick fixes when it comes to benefits

756
00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:49,040
Speaker 1: or health ailments, and after doing this for so many years,

757
00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:53,280
Speaker 1: there's no quick fix. And part of it is really

758
00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:57,600
Speaker 1: doing the basics exceptionally well. And I would say the

759
00:44:57,640 --> 00:45:01,560
Speaker 1: basics for me are sleeping well, Like how do you

760
00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:05,879
Speaker 1: set up a situation where your sleep hygiene is exceptional?

761
00:45:06,680 --> 00:45:11,000
Speaker 1: How do you eat really well for your body and

762
00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:14,160
Speaker 1: for who you are? How do you kind of fuel

763
00:45:14,239 --> 00:45:17,840
Speaker 1: yourself every day in the best possible way. How do

764
00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:20,719
Speaker 1: you drink enough water? A lot of us are dehydrated,

765
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:25,200
Speaker 1: and yet we're always seeking alternative solutions for that. But

766
00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:27,440
Speaker 1: how much water are you drinking? Is it getting in?

767
00:45:28,280 --> 00:45:31,360
Speaker 1: And are you working out and moving your body? And

768
00:45:31,719 --> 00:45:34,600
Speaker 1: those I would say are like the four things that

769
00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:39,319
Speaker 1: are really important to me, And how do you move

770
00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:43,719
Speaker 1: on to other things until you have that foundation down,

771
00:45:43,920 --> 00:45:47,799
Speaker 1: you know, and so setting up you know, making sure

772
00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:49,399
Speaker 1: that you know even though I have three kids, it's

773
00:45:49,560 --> 00:45:51,960
Speaker 1: sometimes impossible to get sleep. But what can I do

774
00:45:52,080 --> 00:45:55,600
Speaker 1: to protect the sleep that I'm getting? How do I

775
00:45:55,640 --> 00:45:57,279
Speaker 1: go to bed earlier? How do I set up a

776
00:45:57,280 --> 00:46:00,480
Speaker 1: sleep environment that works for me really well? How do

777
00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:03,400
Speaker 1: I make sure I'm drinking enough water and hydrating properly.

778
00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:05,320
Speaker 1: What are the tools that I have there On the

779
00:46:05,400 --> 00:46:08,680
Speaker 1: nutrition side, obviously we have a multi vitamin that fills

780
00:46:08,680 --> 00:46:11,319
Speaker 1: the gaps in your diet. That's really important, But how

781
00:46:11,360 --> 00:46:14,279
Speaker 1: do I also make sure that the food that I'm

782
00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:17,960
Speaker 1: eating throughout the day is really nutritious. I also end

783
00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:20,480
Speaker 1: up buying all of our you know, really privileged. I

784
00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:23,200
Speaker 1: get to buy all of our groceries at the farmer's

785
00:46:23,280 --> 00:46:26,400
Speaker 1: market in La year round, which is insane, and I

786
00:46:26,440 --> 00:46:30,040
Speaker 1: support local farmers. But I know that even just given

787
00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:33,759
Speaker 1: how the soil has changed over the last few decades, like,

788
00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:38,480
Speaker 1: that's just so important. And yeah, those are some of

789
00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:40,680
Speaker 1: the things that I'm really focused on. And I would

790
00:46:40,719 --> 00:46:42,840
Speaker 1: say when I was growing up, we had a Norman

791
00:46:42,920 --> 00:46:46,000
Speaker 1: Walker juicer, I did a blood type diet. There were

792
00:46:46,040 --> 00:46:50,000
Speaker 1: so many experimental things that I was doing. I was,

793
00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:52,799
Speaker 1: you know, and I moved to La fifteen years ago.

794
00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:55,040
Speaker 1: I was getting a Green Goddess ice cream from air

795
00:46:55,080 --> 00:46:59,280
Speaker 1: one that cost twenty something dollars and then I figured

796
00:46:59,280 --> 00:47:01,040
Speaker 1: out how to recreate it at my own house. But

797
00:47:01,080 --> 00:47:02,719
Speaker 1: I was like, you know what, I don't really need that.

798
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:05,640
Speaker 1: I don't need that that, that's not something I need

799
00:47:05,640 --> 00:47:10,719
Speaker 1: every day. And I think the best things around kind

800
00:47:10,760 --> 00:47:13,360
Speaker 1: of wellness are actually the things that don't cost that much.

801
00:47:14,880 --> 00:47:18,840
Speaker 1: My mom is a macrobiotic chef, and like literally the

802
00:47:18,880 --> 00:47:23,319
Speaker 1: foundation of macrobiotics is like beans and rice and you

803
00:47:23,360 --> 00:47:26,200
Speaker 1: look at at you know, the blue zones and the

804
00:47:26,239 --> 00:47:28,440
Speaker 1: work that Dan has done there and the people that

805
00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:33,520
Speaker 1: are living over one hundred years of age centurions and

806
00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:37,439
Speaker 1: they're they're really consuming mostly plant based diets there. They're

807
00:47:37,440 --> 00:47:41,240
Speaker 1: not going to the gym, they're actually like walking around

808
00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:45,520
Speaker 1: and they're they're moving their bodies as part of their days,

809
00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:49,120
Speaker 1: and they have really strong relationships and communities and so

810
00:47:49,520 --> 00:47:51,719
Speaker 1: those things are really I think key, and I just

811
00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:54,000
Speaker 1: for me, it's like, I know, you know, I'm supposed

812
00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:56,200
Speaker 1: to be selling our vitamins, which I love doing because

813
00:47:56,200 --> 00:47:59,600
Speaker 1: I think they they help people a lot, But I'm like,

814
00:47:59,719 --> 00:48:03,440
Speaker 1: if I meet people, I love helping them think through

815
00:48:04,480 --> 00:48:07,560
Speaker 1: those foundational things first Yeah.

816
00:48:07,680 --> 00:48:10,440
Speaker 2: I mean, there's definitely so much that we can do

817
00:48:10,560 --> 00:48:13,120
Speaker 2: by just taking a closer look at the things that

818
00:48:13,160 --> 00:48:17,000
Speaker 2: we may be or not be doing already. And I

819
00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:21,759
Speaker 2: really appreciate you in your explanation of the basics kind

820
00:48:21,800 --> 00:48:24,760
Speaker 2: of stressing the importance of also meeting yourself with where

821
00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:27,600
Speaker 2: you're at, considering the fact that, again you are a

822
00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:31,080
Speaker 2: mother of three. You mentioned that you try to do

823
00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:34,960
Speaker 2: what you can to sleep better. Aside from getting to

824
00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:38,920
Speaker 2: bed earlier when possible, what other variables are you controlling

825
00:48:38,960 --> 00:48:41,600
Speaker 2: so that you're getting better shut eye?

826
00:48:42,440 --> 00:48:44,719
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a good question. So the first thing, I've

827
00:48:44,719 --> 00:48:47,760
Speaker 1: realized that alcohol really impacts my sleep, So I actually

828
00:48:48,280 --> 00:48:52,120
Speaker 1: stop drinking six plus months ago and that's had a

829
00:48:52,160 --> 00:48:56,040
Speaker 1: really great impact. I've read somewhere that I don't know

830
00:48:56,080 --> 00:48:58,960
Speaker 1: how much science is in this, but actually not consuming

831
00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:02,560
Speaker 1: alcohol three or four hours before bed as well is helpful.

832
00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:06,000
Speaker 1: The other thing is I put my phone in airplane mode.

833
00:49:06,040 --> 00:49:08,120
Speaker 1: I don't look at it an hour before I go

834
00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:12,640
Speaker 1: to bed. There's something I knows, there's a little research there,

835
00:49:12,680 --> 00:49:17,120
Speaker 1: but it's more mental for me to to not be

836
00:49:17,800 --> 00:49:19,799
Speaker 1: you know, not get that work email and not get

837
00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:23,239
Speaker 1: that text from a family member as you're trying to

838
00:49:23,239 --> 00:49:26,319
Speaker 1: fall asleep that you literally can't stop thinking about. In fact,

839
00:49:26,400 --> 00:49:29,239
Speaker 1: I broke my own rule yesterday and then all my

840
00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:33,200
Speaker 1: dreams were around that particular situation. I was like, Wow,

841
00:49:33,239 --> 00:49:36,200
Speaker 1: this is so wild. How what you're you know, what

842
00:49:36,239 --> 00:49:39,719
Speaker 1: you're consuming before you fall asleep has an impact on

843
00:49:39,880 --> 00:49:43,279
Speaker 1: what you're thinking throughout the night. So that's really important.

844
00:49:43,440 --> 00:49:47,040
Speaker 1: I would say the consistency of the same time going

845
00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:51,480
Speaker 1: to bed is really important. And obviously, as somebody who

846
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:55,640
Speaker 1: is into supplements in different things, I am experimenting with

847
00:49:55,760 --> 00:50:00,680
Speaker 1: certain products that help me fall asleep. More to come

848
00:50:00,680 --> 00:50:04,600
Speaker 1: on that, but that those are the things where my

849
00:50:04,680 --> 00:50:08,360
Speaker 1: basics I think. Also just I'm really into obviously rituals,

850
00:50:08,360 --> 00:50:12,640
Speaker 1: like ritual is the foundation of the company, but it's

851
00:50:12,680 --> 00:50:16,920
Speaker 1: it's around how do you turn a routine into a

852
00:50:16,960 --> 00:50:19,480
Speaker 1: habit into a ritual And so with all these things

853
00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:24,120
Speaker 1: like how do you actually like, really deeply enjoy the

854
00:50:25,360 --> 00:50:28,799
Speaker 1: thing that you do every single day around these you know,

855
00:50:28,920 --> 00:50:31,600
Speaker 1: basic elements of wellness and so how do you set

856
00:50:31,680 --> 00:50:34,600
Speaker 1: up your bed in a way we really investing in

857
00:50:34,719 --> 00:50:38,160
Speaker 1: that space, like you like your sheets, you like your pillow,

858
00:50:38,280 --> 00:50:42,600
Speaker 1: you know, and really creating a really incredible environment. A

859
00:50:42,719 --> 00:50:46,200
Speaker 1: temperature also plays a role in that, so people sleep

860
00:50:46,239 --> 00:50:49,640
Speaker 1: better when the temperature is lower, and there's certain temperatures

861
00:50:49,640 --> 00:50:53,680
Speaker 1: that correspond to better sleep. Light plays a big role,

862
00:50:53,800 --> 00:50:57,319
Speaker 1: so making sure there's absolutely no light in your room

863
00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:02,720
Speaker 1: is really critical, and I think just like really looking

864
00:51:02,760 --> 00:51:06,160
Speaker 1: forward to those moments really matters a lot. I mean,

865
00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:09,400
Speaker 1: it's actually I think working out is another area that

866
00:51:09,440 --> 00:51:12,160
Speaker 1: I love talking about because I went from somebody who

867
00:51:12,280 --> 00:51:16,360
Speaker 1: wasn't working out at all, basically maybe doing yoga sometimes,

868
00:51:16,400 --> 00:51:19,319
Speaker 1: to somebody who works out every single day, can't live

869
00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:22,040
Speaker 1: without it, and it's becomes such a ritual for me,

870
00:51:22,239 --> 00:51:27,879
Speaker 1: like I deeply look forward to it. So that's it's

871
00:51:27,920 --> 00:51:29,320
Speaker 1: become a huge part of my life.

872
00:51:29,560 --> 00:51:32,440
Speaker 2: Well you know that the listeners hearing that want to

873
00:51:32,520 --> 00:51:34,399
Speaker 2: know what changed and how you stick with it.

874
00:51:34,960 --> 00:51:37,680
Speaker 1: I used to think that working out was for my

875
00:51:37,840 --> 00:51:41,279
Speaker 1: physical health. Like I would, you know, go to a

876
00:51:41,360 --> 00:51:43,440
Speaker 1: yoga class or plates and I'd be looking at my

877
00:51:43,640 --> 00:51:47,680
Speaker 1: like abs in the mirror the whole time, and you know,

878
00:51:48,040 --> 00:51:50,200
Speaker 1: like I wouldn't think about anything else, like oh did

879
00:51:50,200 --> 00:51:53,440
Speaker 1: that you know, did it change? Did it did it

880
00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:57,560
Speaker 1: get tighter? And that was like definitely not sustainable. I

881
00:51:58,360 --> 00:52:00,319
Speaker 1: did it sometimes, but I think what you see is

882
00:52:00,360 --> 00:52:02,160
Speaker 1: like you work out and you don't see a difference

883
00:52:02,239 --> 00:52:05,400
Speaker 1: right away. It takes it takes years, And so there

884
00:52:05,520 --> 00:52:08,240
Speaker 1: was no there's no when you think about forming a habit,

885
00:52:08,400 --> 00:52:11,600
Speaker 1: there's no reward, and you need that reward to actually

886
00:52:11,640 --> 00:52:14,440
Speaker 1: form a habit, if anyone's read The Power of Habit,

887
00:52:14,640 --> 00:52:18,920
Speaker 1: great book. And so the reward for me became mental,

888
00:52:19,080 --> 00:52:22,600
Speaker 1: like I've dealt with major anxiety, I think my whole

889
00:52:22,680 --> 00:52:26,920
Speaker 1: life more recently running a business and having three kids.

890
00:52:26,960 --> 00:52:31,400
Speaker 1: And for me, the reward was feeling less anxious for

891
00:52:31,480 --> 00:52:33,880
Speaker 1: me personally, you know, I can't claim that for anybody else.

892
00:52:34,680 --> 00:52:38,960
Speaker 1: And I would work out and I feel better, and

893
00:52:39,040 --> 00:52:41,080
Speaker 1: I was like, wow, I crave that. I crave that

894
00:52:41,200 --> 00:52:44,319
Speaker 1: every single day and it helps me be a better mom,

895
00:52:44,360 --> 00:52:46,480
Speaker 1: it helps me be a better CEO. And when I

896
00:52:46,520 --> 00:52:49,360
Speaker 1: stopped looking at the physical elements at all, because you

897
00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:51,200
Speaker 1: know you're not going to get those right away anyway,

898
00:52:51,800 --> 00:52:55,680
Speaker 1: and it was more meditative, I like, can't I literally

899
00:52:55,719 --> 00:52:57,400
Speaker 1: can't live without it. As you know, I'm on a

900
00:52:57,480 --> 00:53:00,120
Speaker 1: vacation here in Mexico and I already have it. In

901
00:53:00,120 --> 00:53:02,080
Speaker 1: the middle of the jungle and already found a trainer here.

902
00:53:03,800 --> 00:53:06,160
Speaker 1: My kids just diod yoga under a pull out. But

903
00:53:06,239 --> 00:53:09,000
Speaker 1: together the three of them, it's and I think it's

904
00:53:09,040 --> 00:53:11,040
Speaker 1: what's really interesting when you have kids is they like

905
00:53:11,160 --> 00:53:13,480
Speaker 1: see that and they become that as well, and they're

906
00:53:13,520 --> 00:53:17,080
Speaker 1: inspired by that, and it's just such a healthy part

907
00:53:17,120 --> 00:53:20,920
Speaker 1: of your life that I wish I had earlier. You know.

908
00:53:21,520 --> 00:53:25,800
Speaker 2: Yeah, No, that's so special that that model behavior. And also,

909
00:53:26,000 --> 00:53:29,640
Speaker 2: I mean on that concept of habits, it's so interesting

910
00:53:29,719 --> 00:53:33,160
Speaker 2: right because of that feedbook feedback loop. So often the

911
00:53:33,239 --> 00:53:36,000
Speaker 2: habits that are bad for us quote unquote, let's talk

912
00:53:36,040 --> 00:53:38,680
Speaker 2: about like I don't know, smoking or drinking for instance.

913
00:53:38,719 --> 00:53:43,560
Speaker 2: To access in that moment, it feels very enjoyable and rewarding.

914
00:53:43,640 --> 00:53:48,480
Speaker 2: But the aftermath of that is what is the thing

915
00:53:48,520 --> 00:53:52,719
Speaker 2: that we aren't thinking about when we're partaking in that activity.

916
00:53:52,920 --> 00:53:57,160
Speaker 2: So good on you for being able to distinguish what

917
00:53:57,320 --> 00:54:00,840
Speaker 2: worked for you and know that it didn't happen overnight.

918
00:54:00,880 --> 00:54:03,520
Speaker 2: And I think that is a huge, huge takeaway in

919
00:54:03,560 --> 00:54:07,040
Speaker 2: this instance, specifically, it's that you had to learn what

920
00:54:07,160 --> 00:54:10,160
Speaker 2: worked for you and your body, and then throughout that

921
00:54:10,239 --> 00:54:13,239
Speaker 2: process you were able to come to enjoy it.

922
00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:14,920
Speaker 3: Even more definitely.

923
00:54:14,960 --> 00:54:17,840
Speaker 1: And I think the type of workout matters too, because

924
00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:20,280
Speaker 1: not everyone's going to enjoy the same type of workout,

925
00:54:20,280 --> 00:54:21,759
Speaker 1: and so you could try to go in the gym

926
00:54:21,760 --> 00:54:24,080
Speaker 1: and you hate it and then you're over it. You're

927
00:54:24,080 --> 00:54:25,919
Speaker 1: never going to work out again. But like, it took

928
00:54:25,920 --> 00:54:28,799
Speaker 1: me a while in so many different classes to like

929
00:54:28,880 --> 00:54:32,440
Speaker 1: find the workouts and the people that lead those workouts

930
00:54:32,480 --> 00:54:36,279
Speaker 1: that make it more meditative for me. In one of

931
00:54:36,320 --> 00:54:38,360
Speaker 1: my yoga teachers was like, hey, I know why you

932
00:54:38,440 --> 00:54:40,239
Speaker 1: like coming here, and it's like I love coming here,

933
00:54:40,640 --> 00:54:43,560
Speaker 1: and he's like, it's because you're leading people all day.

934
00:54:43,640 --> 00:54:45,200
Speaker 1: You're leading people all day, and this is the one

935
00:54:45,239 --> 00:54:49,719
Speaker 1: time someone is leading you. And I think that's so interesting.

936
00:54:49,800 --> 00:54:52,000
Speaker 1: And sometimes we don't have time to go to the gym,

937
00:54:52,040 --> 00:54:54,560
Speaker 1: and I think what's amazing recently and now is like

938
00:54:54,600 --> 00:54:56,719
Speaker 1: ten minute videos. You know is doing a bunch of

939
00:54:56,719 --> 00:54:59,120
Speaker 1: them after giving birth in the middle of COVID, and

940
00:54:59,120 --> 00:55:00,920
Speaker 1: it's like, I didn't even have to go to a space,

941
00:55:00,960 --> 00:55:03,799
Speaker 1: you know, I love going to a space, and it's

942
00:55:03,840 --> 00:55:04,960
Speaker 1: just a lot more accessible.

943
00:55:05,520 --> 00:55:05,920
Speaker 3: Yeah.

944
00:55:06,400 --> 00:55:10,439
Speaker 2: Now, I'm curious, when was the last time you had

945
00:55:10,480 --> 00:55:11,720
Speaker 2: a pinch me moment?

946
00:55:11,840 --> 00:55:12,880
Speaker 3: Building your business.

947
00:55:13,800 --> 00:55:16,080
Speaker 1: I think my pinch me moment became when I found

948
00:55:16,120 --> 00:55:18,759
Speaker 1: out we were number one in one of the channels.

949
00:55:19,160 --> 00:55:21,799
Speaker 1: I can't say one. That was so exciting to me

950
00:55:21,920 --> 00:55:24,880
Speaker 1: because here I was, you know, four months pregnant starting

951
00:55:24,960 --> 00:55:27,440
Speaker 1: this business. People told me I couldn't earn the trust

952
00:55:27,440 --> 00:55:30,480
Speaker 1: of the consumer online with what people are putting in

953
00:55:30,520 --> 00:55:33,120
Speaker 1: their bodies, and here we were a number one in

954
00:55:33,160 --> 00:55:35,759
Speaker 1: a certain channel, and I was like, Wow, this is

955
00:55:35,880 --> 00:55:39,399
Speaker 1: so crazy that in such a short amount of time

956
00:55:40,480 --> 00:55:44,880
Speaker 1: this is happening. Because it also means that people actually

957
00:55:45,040 --> 00:55:48,640
Speaker 1: care like people. It's not just a niche thing that

958
00:55:49,040 --> 00:55:52,600
Speaker 1: people care about, you know, the ingredients that go into

959
00:55:52,600 --> 00:55:55,239
Speaker 1: their premiums. Like it's becoming a mass thing. And that's

960
00:55:55,239 --> 00:56:00,319
Speaker 1: really exciting that in you know, mainstream America, people are

961
00:56:00,360 --> 00:56:03,600
Speaker 1: prioritizing the ingredients that they're putting in their bodies, and

962
00:56:03,600 --> 00:56:04,920
Speaker 1: they're prioritizing their health.

963
00:56:05,719 --> 00:56:08,960
Speaker 2: Definitely, I love to hear that, and truly it's something

964
00:56:09,000 --> 00:56:13,919
Speaker 2: that is commendable that you persevered in so many instances

965
00:56:14,000 --> 00:56:17,400
Speaker 2: where you had those nos and you had those doubts

966
00:56:17,400 --> 00:56:20,600
Speaker 2: of others coming in and to see what you've built

967
00:56:20,920 --> 00:56:25,120
Speaker 2: despite that is really really rad. Now someone goes to

968
00:56:25,560 --> 00:56:28,600
Speaker 2: let's say your social media page, and they see this

969
00:56:29,480 --> 00:56:33,239
Speaker 2: woman that I love. How you introduce yourself, it's you're

970
00:56:33,280 --> 00:56:36,879
Speaker 2: the mother of three girls and ritual. Now when you

971
00:56:36,920 --> 00:56:39,439
Speaker 2: look in the mirror, what is it that you see

972
00:56:39,480 --> 00:56:40,279
Speaker 2: looking back at you.

973
00:56:41,080 --> 00:56:43,520
Speaker 1: It's hard because I feel like I still have those

974
00:56:44,160 --> 00:56:48,480
Speaker 1: fears and doubts in some ways that I had, you know,

975
00:56:48,560 --> 00:56:51,040
Speaker 1: when I was starting the company. I don't think anybody's perfect.

976
00:56:51,120 --> 00:56:54,680
Speaker 1: I'm far from perfect and I and I would say

977
00:56:54,719 --> 00:56:57,239
Speaker 1: that that's something I'm working on, and like I could

978
00:56:57,280 --> 00:56:59,239
Speaker 1: be a little bit more confident when I look in

979
00:56:59,280 --> 00:57:01,920
Speaker 1: the mirror, but I always figure out. I think it's

980
00:57:01,960 --> 00:57:04,279
Speaker 1: what drives me too, is like I'm the type of

981
00:57:04,360 --> 00:57:06,319
Speaker 1: person that's like, oh, this is wrong with this, or

982
00:57:06,360 --> 00:57:08,359
Speaker 1: this is wrong with that. I have to change it.

983
00:57:08,440 --> 00:57:12,360
Speaker 1: And so I think in some ways I look at myself,

984
00:57:12,400 --> 00:57:16,320
Speaker 1: I feel more proud and confident than I've ever felt before,

985
00:57:16,360 --> 00:57:19,320
Speaker 1: but I would say that I'm still super insecure. If

986
00:57:19,360 --> 00:57:20,520
Speaker 1: that makes sense.

987
00:57:21,160 --> 00:57:22,600
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it can be both.

988
00:57:22,680 --> 00:57:25,480
Speaker 2: Right, you can be both proud of yourself for how

989
00:57:25,560 --> 00:57:28,880
Speaker 2: far you've come and still look in the mirror and

990
00:57:29,160 --> 00:57:33,280
Speaker 2: have sporadic thoughts. Right, but ultimately it comes down to,

991
00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:37,040
Speaker 2: for the most part, how you talk about yourself or

992
00:57:37,080 --> 00:57:41,000
Speaker 2: talk to yourself when you're by yourself and continually working

993
00:57:41,200 --> 00:57:43,520
Speaker 2: on that inner dialogue, so it can be coming from

994
00:57:43,560 --> 00:57:46,840
Speaker 2: more of a place of grace and positivity than you know,

995
00:57:47,080 --> 00:57:48,160
Speaker 2: the other way around.

996
00:57:48,920 --> 00:57:57,200
Speaker 1: Absolutely, I would say that I feel so lucky. I

997
00:57:57,200 --> 00:57:59,560
Speaker 1: think that's something I've been feeling a lot. I don't

998
00:57:59,560 --> 00:58:01,560
Speaker 1: know if lucky the right word. I feel really grateful

999
00:58:02,200 --> 00:58:06,240
Speaker 1: and I'm just I think it's a combination of like

1000
00:58:06,280 --> 00:58:09,880
Speaker 1: pinch me and when I you know, the last even

1001
00:58:09,960 --> 00:58:12,439
Speaker 1: last couple of mornings where I'm like, Wow, I'm so

1002
00:58:12,520 --> 00:58:14,560
Speaker 1: grateful that I get to live this life. I'm so

1003
00:58:14,640 --> 00:58:18,160
Speaker 1: grateful that I have beautiful kids, and I'm so grateful

1004
00:58:18,160 --> 00:58:21,560
Speaker 1: that I have a business that's impacting the lives of

1005
00:58:22,840 --> 00:58:25,120
Speaker 1: hundreds of thousands of people and we've had over a

1006
00:58:25,160 --> 00:58:28,800
Speaker 1: million customers, and in such a positive way, like how

1007
00:58:28,800 --> 00:58:32,040
Speaker 1: did I how do I? How did I get here?

1008
00:58:32,160 --> 00:58:34,920
Speaker 1: And how do I get to the next place? Like

1009
00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:38,160
Speaker 1: what's next? And I think that's something that I'm thinking

1010
00:58:38,160 --> 00:58:40,000
Speaker 1: about a lot recently.

1011
00:58:40,960 --> 00:58:41,840
Speaker 3: So what's next?

1012
00:58:41,960 --> 00:58:48,040
Speaker 4: Kat Well, I think the advocacy stuff is I think

1013
00:58:48,080 --> 00:58:52,120
Speaker 4: the advocacy work is what's next for ritual and also

1014
00:58:52,160 --> 00:58:57,360
Speaker 4: a focus on sustainability having three kids and.

1015
00:58:57,360 --> 00:58:59,840
Speaker 1: Thinking about the world that they live in. You know,

1016
00:59:00,280 --> 00:59:02,840
Speaker 1: as a supplement industry, as a health industry, we've been

1017
00:59:03,040 --> 00:59:05,920
Speaker 1: kind of asleep at the wheel at one of the

1018
00:59:05,960 --> 00:59:10,120
Speaker 1: biggest health threats of our time, which is climate change.

1019
00:59:10,560 --> 00:59:16,720
Speaker 1: And I feel more than ever responsible for making a change,

1020
00:59:16,840 --> 00:59:20,200
Speaker 1: which with how we lead our business and what we do,

1021
00:59:20,400 --> 00:59:24,360
Speaker 1: and more recently we became a b CORP certified company.

1022
00:59:25,040 --> 00:59:30,200
Speaker 1: We set really science based climate targets. So we set

1023
00:59:30,240 --> 00:59:34,240
Speaker 1: a goal of having one hundred percent traceable products and ingredients,

1024
00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:38,360
Speaker 1: which we met, to one hundred percent sustainable packaging, which

1025
00:59:38,920 --> 00:59:42,160
Speaker 1: we're seventy plus percent of the way there. Ninety two

1026
00:59:42,160 --> 00:59:44,520
Speaker 1: percent of our packaging is made from recycled materials, and

1027
00:59:44,560 --> 00:59:48,000
Speaker 1: we also set a goal of net zero by twenty thirty.

1028
00:59:48,320 --> 00:59:51,280
Speaker 1: We actually ran life cycle assessments on every single one

1029
00:59:51,320 --> 00:59:55,440
Speaker 1: of our products, so we can see our carbon impact

1030
00:59:55,480 --> 00:59:59,320
Speaker 1: and what we do to move forward from here. It's

1031
00:59:59,360 --> 01:00:03,040
Speaker 1: interesting because this category is, you know, hopefully focused on

1032
01:00:03,080 --> 01:00:06,400
Speaker 1: science at times. For us, we're always focused on science,

1033
01:00:06,480 --> 01:00:09,640
Speaker 1: but we don't really think about science based climate goals.

1034
01:00:09,720 --> 01:00:12,400
Speaker 1: It's kind of arbitrary, and I think there's what's next

1035
01:00:12,400 --> 01:00:15,240
Speaker 1: for me is like actually educating the consumer and what

1036
01:00:15,320 --> 01:00:19,080
Speaker 1: that means and how we set this new standard not

1037
01:00:19,160 --> 01:00:21,640
Speaker 1: just for ourselves but for the category when it comes

1038
01:00:21,720 --> 01:00:26,000
Speaker 1: to climate change, because I want my kids to live

1039
01:00:26,000 --> 01:00:27,160
Speaker 1: in a better world, do you know?

1040
01:00:27,680 --> 01:00:28,000
Speaker 3: Yeah?

1041
01:00:28,320 --> 01:00:31,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's so clear that you're so passionate about this,

1042
01:00:31,840 --> 01:00:36,080
Speaker 2: and it's so awesome to hear about how you want

1043
01:00:36,480 --> 01:00:39,520
Speaker 2: to move forward and make the world a better place,

1044
01:00:39,600 --> 01:00:43,120
Speaker 2: not just clearly for your family, but also for all

1045
01:00:43,200 --> 01:00:45,360
Speaker 2: of the ritual customers and the people that have come

1046
01:00:45,400 --> 01:00:50,640
Speaker 2: into your ecosystem. Now, Kat, you have an opportunity to

1047
01:00:50,760 --> 01:00:54,160
Speaker 2: offer yourself a piece of advice looking back on the

1048
01:00:54,240 --> 01:00:58,200
Speaker 2: hurdle moment that is starting your business. It's being in

1049
01:00:58,200 --> 01:01:00,480
Speaker 2: that room and being told that you can't you both.

1050
01:01:00,560 --> 01:01:06,520
Speaker 2: It's being at the beginning, not exactly knowing where to

1051
01:01:06,640 --> 01:01:08,480
Speaker 2: pivot to next.

1052
01:01:08,240 --> 01:01:11,760
Speaker 3: Knowing what you know. Now, what do you tell yourself?

1053
01:01:13,240 --> 01:01:17,920
Speaker 1: I would tell myself to embrace the nos and just

1054
01:01:17,960 --> 01:01:22,160
Speaker 1: because somebody says no, it actually means it hasn't been

1055
01:01:22,200 --> 01:01:28,640
Speaker 1: done before. And that's an incredible opportunity versus just a challenge.

1056
01:01:29,400 --> 01:01:33,800
Speaker 2: An incredible opportunity versus just a challenge. Cat Schneider so

1057
01:01:33,840 --> 01:01:36,160
Speaker 2: happy that we were able to make this happen. For

1058
01:01:36,240 --> 01:01:38,960
Speaker 2: those that don't follow you just yet, how do they

1059
01:01:38,960 --> 01:01:39,720
Speaker 2: follow along with you?

1060
01:01:39,800 --> 01:01:43,080
Speaker 3: How do they keep up with ritual? Give us the details.

1061
01:01:43,560 --> 01:01:49,360
Speaker 1: We are at richual on Instagram and now threads, as

1062
01:01:49,440 --> 01:01:54,000
Speaker 1: well as TikTok and I'm just Kat and Kal on Instagram.

1063
01:01:54,040 --> 01:01:56,960
Speaker 1: Although I'm pretty you know, family, I don't know if

1064
01:01:56,960 --> 01:01:57,760
Speaker 1: everyone wants.

1065
01:01:57,560 --> 01:01:59,200
Speaker 3: To follow me.

1066
01:01:59,280 --> 01:02:01,360
Speaker 1: I'm just like me and my three kids and my

1067
01:02:01,440 --> 01:02:03,960
Speaker 1: husband like biking around everywhere, so I don't know if

1068
01:02:04,000 --> 01:02:04,920
Speaker 1: that's that interesting.

1069
01:02:05,200 --> 01:02:07,880
Speaker 2: Well, I'm over at Emily a Body and at Hurdle

1070
01:02:07,920 --> 01:02:10,320
Speaker 2: Podcast another Hurdle Conquered.

1071
01:02:10,640 --> 01:02:11,720
Speaker 3: Catch you guys next time