WellBuilt

On this episode of WellBuilt, Jon spoke to Rachel Sanders, Co-Founder & CEO of Rootine.

Rootine leverages data about your DNA, blood, hormones, diet, activity, sleep, stress levels, and more, to understand your baseline health and determine what type of personalized supplementation your body needs to perform optimally.

They discussed how Rachel's own health issues and wellness journey led her to start the company, how their at-home health testing & personalized multivitamins work, and her vision for building a brand focused on precision nutrition.

Check out Rootine and enjoy!

On this episode of WellBuilt, Jon spoke to Dr. Molly Maloof, author of the book, THE SPARK FACTOR: Supercharge Your Batteries for Limitless Energy and a Fitter, Stronger, More Resilient Future.

As a physician and Stanford lecturer, Dr. Molly Maloof has spent her career providing personalized medicine services to high-performing technology executives, billionaire investors, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, and Academy Award-winning actors. What she noticed is that women, specifically, were feeling the spark that once energized their lives beginning to dim. Not just metaphorically but in a measurable reduction in the energy output from their cells.

In response, Dr. Molly developed a science-backed program focused on mitochondrial health, used successfully by her patients, which offered lifestyle changes that target the unique biology of women and provide immediate and long-term benefits--now available in her book The Spark Factor. "The idea is steady gradual improvement, not perfection. The goal is to help get your spark back, so you can spend the rest of your life empowered, alive, mobile, and resilient," she writes.

In their conversation, they discussed the ways in which Dr. Molly's roles as a concierge physician, Stanford lecturer, and advisor to digital health companies inspired her new book, which is focused on how women can optimize mitochondrial health and enact lifestyle changes targeted to their unique biology, for immediate and long term improvements on their overall energy and wellbeing.

Molly is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to health optimization, and they also spent a nice chunk of their conversation discussing the importance of relationships and community, and sexual wellness for long-term life satisfaction and health.

Check out the Spark Factor, and Enjoy!

On this episode of WellBuilt, Jon spoke to Rachel Mack Robinson, Founder & CEO of DotCom Therapy.

DotCom Therapy partners with schools and employers to provide virtual on-demand mental health services for children and teenagers.

In their conversation, they got into how Rachel's experience as Speech-Language Pathologist drove her to start the business. Surrounded by entrepreneurs in her family, Rachel got into the medical field as a way to avoid that career path, but identified big problems and a huge need as a clinician.

They got into the ways she validated a teletherapy-based solution and why DotCom Therapy is needed in the pediatric mental health space. They discussed how the conversation around mental health is evolving for children today, and how the pandemic played a role in that. They spoke about why DotCom Therapy has gone about innovating on the provider front by hiring their therapists full-time.

And finally, they chatted about Rachel's experience with therapy as a kid, her relationship to mental health today, and her perspective on psychedelic-assisted psychedelic therapy treatments for mental health.

Enjoy!

On this episode of WellBuilt, Jon spoke to Shane Heath, Founder & CEO of MUD\WTR

MUD|WTR makes a low-caffeine coffee alternative made with masala chai, functional mushrooms like chaga, lion's mane, cordyceps, reishi, and spices like cinnamon, turmeric, and himalayan salt.

In their broad-ranging conversation, they got into the brand's founding story, and how Shane's health and wellness journey, travel experiences in India, and experience as a graphic designer all played a role in the creation of the company.

They discussed the brand's simple design aesthetic, but how being named after "Mud" as well as creative marketing messages on paid Instagram ads like "We're not mad at coffee, just disappointed" led to the brand's virality and rocketship growth.

They got into Shane's vision for the brand, in creating not just products, but content and experiences that help people develop better health and wellness habits. They also spoke about his own rituals and morning routines, how he thinks about building and investing in a world-class team with a wellness-focused culture, as well as their commitment to give-back initiatives, notably in the psychedelic space.

Enjoy!

On this episode of WellBuilt, Jon spoke to Michael Fenchel, co-founder of Breathe for Change, an online yoga, meditation, and mindfulness-focused education and training platform for educators, students, and their communities.

Besides the fact that Breathe for Change is doing impactful work, and has built a sustainable and profitable multi-million dollar business, Jon wanted to have Michael on because he's a serial entrepreneur who is passionate about leadership development, wellness, and authenticity.

In their broad-ranging conversation, they discussed what it means to lead from an embodied place. They spoke about Michael's firsthand experience training with indigenous wisdom keepers that hold nature-based tools, practices, and modalities to improve life quality, satisfaction, and wellbeing.

They got into specific rituals such as Michael and his partner's experience with Vision Quests, a rite of passage in some Native American cultures, and how it felt to spend time immersed and isolated in nature without technology. And dug into learnings from having those types of peak experiences in nature, and how we all might be able to integrate lessons from nature to live more balanced lives.

Last but not least, they got into how psychedelics have played a role in Michael's wellness journey, and the practices and questions he's incorporated into his relationships for deeper connection.

Hope you enjoy this meaningful conversation with Michael Fenchel!

On this episode of WellBuilt, Jon spoke to Gurjeet Singh, Co-Founder & CEO of Oma Fertility.

In their chat, they spoke about why Fertility Treatments and IVF are in high demand but still inaccessible to a majority of Americans. And how Oma Fertility has created an innovative technology stack and business model to automate parts of the fertility journey and make treatments more affordable to more people.

Oma Fertility's embryologists leverage Oma's proprietary technology to identify the most promising sperm in every sample and increase the chances of a successful pregnancy for their clients.

Gurjeet is a serial entrepreneur, who previously raised over $100M for a company in the AI and machine learning space, and we discussed the ways this experience led him to building Oma.

Beyond diving into Oma's founding story, they discussed Oma's price point and how it compares to the rest of the IVF market. They got into Oma's key differentiators, technology-driven approach, and why they're actually opening their own clinics rather than licensing out their technology.

They discussed how it's going so far and where they're going as a business, how Gurjeet thinks about employer distribution, the biggest misconceptions about fertility and stigma around it, average failure rates of IVF, the future of fertility, and much much more!

Enjoy this fascinating conversation!

On this episode of WellBuilt, Jon spoke to Jeff Byers, Co-founder & CEO of Momentous.

Momentous is a newer wellness brand with an innovative suite of products and supplements focused on helping people optimize their health and achieve peak performance. They pair their product offering with expert knowledge to help customers understand the why behind different supplements and how to use them.

Jeff and the Momentous team have a board of scientific advisors including the likes of Andrew Huberman, who Jeff has known for years through the "performance world". And in their conversation, they got into the nuances of what it means to incentivize these experts with revenue sharing, and what people should look out for when buying "science-backed" health products through thought leaders.

They discussed the Momentous origin story, and how Jeff and his co-founder's brand was called AmpHuman, with a flagship product called PR lotion, still super popular in the world of endurance sports like cycling and triathlons. They bought Momentous with the hopes to create a more inclusive performance-focused brand with a more expansive product line and broader reach.

Outside Momentous, Jeff got into how his grandfather inspired his personal why, his favorite products and brands, and his passion for helping others reach their potential!

Check out Momentous and enjoy!

On this episode of WellBuilt, Jon spoke to Will Nitze, Founder & CEO of IQBAR.

IQBAR is known for its great tasting, low sugar, low carb plant-based protein bar. IQBAR also recently created IQMIX, a sugar-free hydration blend with electrolytes. Both their bars and electrolytes have functional brain ingredients like Lion's Mane mushroom.

In their chat, they got into IQBAR's founding story, and how Will's passion for nutrition and entrepreneurship inspired the brand. They dove into the protein bar space, and why there's still a lack of low-sugar, clean-label options.

Will Nitze is an active thought leader in the CPG space, and we mind-melded on his content, and why he began writing on LinkedIn.

They unpacked a few of Will's "Monday Morning Shower Thoughts", got into what it's like to work with his wife as his CMO, spoke about product formulation in the early days, crowdfunding on Kickstarter, and more.

WellBuilt listeners can get 25% off IQBAR & IQMIX with the code "JOON25".

Try it and let us know what you think, give Will a follow on LinkedIn and enjoy the fun conversation!

On this episode of WellBuilt, Jon spoke to Jessica Bell van der Wal, Co-founder & CEO of Frame Fertility.

Frame Fertility offers an evidence-based holistic platform for early identification of fertility risk and care navigation. Their proactive solution empowers anyone that may want children someday to take early action on their fertility, and fill in the care gaps to improve overall health and drive better outcomes.

In their conversation, they got into both Jessica's personal and professional reasons for starting Frame Fertility with her co-founder who also happens to be her husband! They both have many years of leadership experience in the healthcare space, and also decided to start a family in their mid 30s, which impacted their fertility journey.

Jessica is also open about her experience with a condition called PCOS, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, and how this played into the challenges she and her husband faced when trying to have a baby.

What's really amazing is how they found opportunities to support other people in their own struggle. Their own experience highlighted the major pain points in fertility and family planning, and how this could be solved through a coaching and care navigation solution offered through employers and health plans.

Enjoy!

On this episode of WellBuilt, Jon spoke to Dr. Lisa Dyson, Co-Founder & CEO of Air Protein.

Air Protein is an innovative food science company on a mission to create a more sustainable meat alternative.

During the 1970s space program, NASA scientists explored a way to feed astronauts on space journeys by transforming elements in the air they breathed into protein. This process was forgotten, but recently rediscovered by Dr. Lisa Dyson, Dr. John Reed and the Air Protein team.

In their conversation they got into Dr. Lisa's physics background, startup experience, and what inspired her to start this business. They got deeper into how Air Protein's technology works, and how it will be combined with modern food-making technology, to create more sustainable, delicious, and nutritious versions of chicken, seafood, and other protein rich foods people love.

Unlike factory farming and other plant-based meat alternatives, Air Protein meat has no hormones, antibiotics, herbicides or pesticides, and can be produced incredibly quickly, with very little water and resources.

Outside of their core technology and brand, they got into the ways in which Air Protein's product philosophy finds its way into the company values and culture, and Lisa's favorite wellness activities, which includes dancing!

Enjoy this fascinating conversation with Dr. Lisa Dyson!

Bonus: For more on Lisa and Air Protein, here's a link to a Ted Talk she did a few years ago.