Mushroom Moments with Shane Heath, Co-Founder and CEO of MUD\WTR
Explicit content warning
08/30/22 • 67 min
Description:
Shane Heath, the Co-Founder and CEO of MUD\WTR joins the show to chat about his journey to founding the coffee alternative company on a mission to heal the mind through their daytime and evening beverages. In this episode, Shane shares with us his journey from experiencing a psychedelic trip as a 14-year-old, to starting his first company ishBowl, to moving to Silicon Valley, to taking a leave of absence to Bombay, where he was able to reconnect with his creativity and began questioning his caffeine addiction to coffee. He talks about the difference between lantern versus spotlight consciousness, how the business grew in revenue since 2018, and why he allows microdosing at work.
Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:
- Get 30 days FREE with Okendo by clicking HERE!
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
- (1:07) More about MUD\WTR, a coffee alternative company on a mission to heal the mind through their daytime and evening beverages designed to provide natural energy and relaxation
- (2:30) The experience of his first founder conference, how it made a good example of how taking swings is sometimes a good learning experience
- (6:38) What it was like growing up in Santa Cruz, California, with an entrepreneurial spirit and eventually ending up at San Deigo State
- (12:30) His experience starting his first company right out of college and what it taught him about the startup world, and how the feelings of it all help him in his role today
- (22:52) His experience with a psychedelic trip as a 14-year-old and how the deep philosophical questions scared him
- (26:30) How listening to a Joe Rogan podcast in a time of a lot of stress made him realize he should take a leave of absence
- (30:00) How he came up with the idea for MUD\WTR because he was really interested in rituals, and how he begins and ends the day
- (45:00) How the idea for MUD\WTR came to be, from making his own drinks to fall asleep and having the idea for others to experience the same thing
- (49:00) How he brought on his Co-Founder, and how they continued to grow from 2018 to now
- (54:00) His experience in fundraising and the advice he has for others looking to bring in more revenue
- (1:01) Why he allows microdosing at work, in a safe and effective way
- (1:04) What we can expect to see next from MUD\WTR including expansions to Amazon and a flagship store in Santa Monica, as well as new product launches
To Find Out More:
Quotes:
“Seeing drawings turn into physical environments that I was living in was very transformative for me at a very young age.”
“To get a company off the ground, you have to go all in for it to even have a chance.”
“Entrepreneurship is a huge investment of time and energy.”
“I was just removed from all the cultural prescriptions, and it empowered me to think differently about how I was going to pursue life when I came home.”
“I started looking at my mug as maybe I can make something that is more than just a vessel for caffeine.”
“It was interesting because I thought this was my problem that I couldn't handle caffeine. So I solved this problem for myself and I felt great. And the real aha moment didn't come until other people started to ask me what I was drinking.”
“Our company is built on the hypothesis that for a lot of people too much caffeine, just like too much of any drug can make something that is potentially helpful, all of a sudden harmful.”
“When I started MUD\WTR I started to notice that people were very interested in evolving the relationship to how they found energy.”
“I'm not mad at coffee. I'm just disappointed. So I made something better.”
“I do a lot of work to provide our investors a lot of information. I've been sending out monthly updates since I've been putting them together before I even had investors. I don't view them as information for investors, I view them as a journal entry for our company.”
Description:
Shane Heath, the Co-Founder and CEO of MUD\WTR joins the show to chat about his journey to founding the coffee alternative company on a mission to heal the mind through their daytime and evening beverages. In this episode, Shane shares with us his journey from experiencing a psychedelic trip as a 14-year-old, to starting his first company ishBowl, to moving to Silicon Valley, to taking a leave of absence to Bombay, where he was able to reconnect with his creativity and began questioning his caffeine addiction to coffee. He talks about the difference between lantern versus spotlight consciousness, how the business grew in revenue since 2018, and why he allows microdosing at work.
Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:
- Get 30 days FREE with Okendo by clicking HERE!
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
- (1:07) More about MUD\WTR, a coffee alternative company on a mission to heal the mind through their daytime and evening beverages designed to provide natural energy and relaxation
- (2:30) The experience of his first founder conference, how it made a good example of how taking swings is sometimes a good learning experience
- (6:38) What it was like growing up in Santa Cruz, California, with an entrepreneurial spirit and eventually ending up at San Deigo State
- (12:30) His experience starting his first company right out of college and what it taught him about the startup world, and how the feelings of it all help him in his role today
- (22:52) His experience with a psychedelic trip as a 14-year-old and how the deep philosophical questions scared him
- (26:30) How listening to a Joe Rogan podcast in a time of a lot of stress made him realize he should take a leave of absence
- (30:00) How he came up with the idea for MUD\WTR because he was really interested in rituals, and how he begins and ends the day
- (45:00) How the idea for MUD\WTR came to be, from making his own drinks to fall asleep and having the idea for others to experience the same thing
- (49:00) How he brought on his Co-Founder, and how they continued to grow from 2018 to now
- (54:00) His experience in fundraising and the advice he has for others looking to bring in more revenue
- (1:01) Why he allows microdosing at work, in a safe and effective way
- (1:04) What we can expect to see next from MUD\WTR including expansions to Amazon and a flagship store in Santa Monica, as well as new product launches
To Find Out More:
Quotes:
“Seeing drawings turn into physical environments that I was living in was very transformative for me at a very young age.”
“To get a company off the ground, you have to go all in for it to even have a chance.”
“Entrepreneurship is a huge investment of time and energy.”
“I was just removed from all the cultural prescriptions, and it empowered me to think differently about how I was going to pursue life when I came home.”
“I started looking at my mug as maybe I can make something that is more than just a vessel for caffeine.”
“It was interesting because I thought this was my problem that I couldn't handle caffeine. So I solved this problem for myself and I felt great. And the real aha moment didn't come until other people started to ask me what I was drinking.”
“Our company is built on the hypothesis that for a lot of people too much caffeine, just like too much of any drug can make something that is potentially helpful, all of a sudden harmful.”
“When I started MUD\WTR I started to notice that people were very interested in evolving the relationship to how they found energy.”
“I'm not mad at coffee. I'm just disappointed. So I made something better.”
“I do a lot of work to provide our investors a lot of information. I've been sending out monthly updates since I've been putting them together before I even had investors. I don't view them as information for investors, I view them as a journal entry for our company.”
Previous Episode
Redefining Fine Jewelry with Sophe Kahn, Co-Founder and CEO of Aurate
Description:
In this episode, Sophie Kahn shares her journey to becoming the Co-Founder and CEO of Aurate, a premier direct-to-consumer jewelry brand. Sophie shares with us her journey from growing up in Amsterdam, to working at Boston Consulting, to Marc Jacobs, and how having lunch with a friend led to the idea for Aurate. We talk about why she believes you can learn anything with the right framework, the differences between lab-grown and natural jewelry, and how she validated the concept for Aurate with a pop-up store.
Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:
- Get 30 days FREE with Okendo by clicking HERE!
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
- (1:03) More about Aurate, founded in 2015 the company seeks to democratize the fine jewelry industry through its online-driven model, accessible price points, and social impact strategy.
- (2:25) What it was like growing up in Amsterdam but always dreaming of moving to New York City
- (14:04) Her experience working at Boston Consulting, to working at the luxury fashion house, Marc Jacobs
- (20:19) How having brunch with a friend led to the idea for Aurate, based on a ring she had been wearing turning her finger green
- (23:00) The metrics of success that let Sophie and her partner know it was time to take things to the next level with Aurate, and how she validated the concept for Aurate with a pop-up store
- (26:40) What makes Aurate unique, is being very customer driven and focusing on what the women want from jewelry
- (33:00) The challenges in the beginning phase struggling to fundraise for a women's jewelry brand to male investors and convincing them that an online platform is beneficial
- (37:50) What she’s learned from hiring a team and how to keep them motivated
- (41:00) How to deal with conflict with employees and how to handle situations
- (48:00) Final advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs and what shocked her the most about becoming an entrepreneur
To Find Out More:
Quotes:
“I had to build confidence by proving myself in a way and getting some external validation that I could do it.”
“I really liked the creative part, but I also liked the analytical part.”
“At the end of the day it was still corporate and it was going too slow for my liking.”
“There were all these different types of women that for different reasons gravitated towards Aurate.”
“Get your team excited to fight with you because it's not easy to be a startup.”
“Adapt your management style to your employees, not everyone is the same.”
“Feedback has to go both ways.”
“You can't just go off on a whim, you have to be more strategic when you’re a leader.”
“Make sure that you're ready to essentially give up everything else for a while because once you're in it, it just is all-consuming.”
“Build some type of team or network that you can rely on that can help you because it is intense. You need to have people to talk to who can't necessarily be your team. Have your kind of group of people that you can bounce ideas off, talk about the bad things, the good things, the secret things, whatever. You need somebody because otherwise, it's really lonely.”
Next Episode
Testing Over Failure with Erin Moennich, CEO of Draper James
Description:
Today, Lee sat down with Erin Moennich, CEO of Draper James, a classic American lifestyle brand founded by Reese Witherspoon inspired by her roots in the south. Erin shares about her journey to becoming CEO, what it was like growing up in the midwest, the different jobs she held before landing at Draper James, and why they believe failure should be named something else!
Exclusive Deals from Our Sponsors:
- Get 30 days FREE with Okendo by clicking HERE!
In This Episode You’ll Hear About:
- (2:05) Draper James, a women's lifestyle brand founded by Reese Witherspoon, named after her grandparents. Founded on the idea of making women feel great
- (4:50) What it was like growing up in the midwest with her family, and her passion for being in business when she was older
- (7:09) What it was like attending Michigan State and moving to NYC after college, and working at Peter Solomon company to product development at Target, and how she ended up landing a job at Sachs, and then Bloomingdales, learning that working your way up is key
- (15:20) How she got connected to LMVH, and why she took the role to experience a different way of selling and doing business
- (20:00) What she learned from working at Giggle, in her first CEO role
- (24:05) What she believes are the key things that have helped her in her journey to CEO
- (29:27) The difference between a failure and something that didn’t meet expectations, and why she chooses not to look at things as failures but as learning experiences
- (31:48) How she was given the opportunity to be the CEO of Draper James and how one of her overall goals was to drive growth and diversify sales
- (39:00) What she thinks makes a great CEO, being a team player and being willing to get your hands dirty
- (40:00) How she’s grown personally as a leader and has learned to be calm and a person of reason for the team
- (42:15) The advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs and what’s next for Draper James
To Find Out More:
Quotes:
“You often pursue the things you're good at and can be successful at”
“The interesting thing about retail is that you really do have to start at the bottom”
“I don't wanna be afraid and I don't want my team to be afraid to try different things.”
“Each experience has prepared me in a different way. At various times in my career, I decided to try something totally different.”
“I'm always selling Draper James, whether it be to the end consumer, or my ideas to th by e investors, I'm always selling.”
“Being in retail there are always these huge ups and downs and you try a lot of different things.”
“Don’t be afraid to try different things in a measured way.”
“In a measured way, I wanna keep trying new things because I think that's the only way you get to the next step and the next stage.”
“It's important to maintain your network. Retail is a really small world and you run into a lot of people that you may have worked with at some stage. So you have to be kind to everyone.”
“I would never want to ask people on my team to do something that I wouldn't do. So you absolutely have to be willing to get your hands dirty.”
“Take each role a little slower, and that's something I say to the young people on my team is, enjoy it. I was always wanting to get to the next step, the next buying role at Bloomingdale's the next step at LVMH. And knowing that we all get where we're supposed to be in the end and we can all find these really exciting roles that make us wanna get outta bed every day. We all get there, and so, take it slow.”
“Don't be afraid to try different things. As a CEO you do have to look after so many different aspects of the business. Getting those varied experiences earlier in your career is only gonna serve you very well if this is where you wanna end up. And so seeking out those opportunities and those experiences is super important.”
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