Amp Human human performance products to inspire and equip athletes to optimize their physical and inner potential
Please introduce yourself and the Startup Amp Human to our readers!
Amp Human is a human performance company based in Park City, Utah. Our mission is to inspire and equip athletes to optimize their physical and inner potential. Our unique access in elite sport and the military put us at the forefront of what’s possible in human performance. The first two products are: PR Lotion which is the first and only product to unlock bicarb, a natural electrolyte that helps combat muscular fatigue and D+ Lotion which is a revolutionary way to raise vitamin D levels without the need to take pills.
Why did you decide to start a business?
It was all about opportunity. We (Erica Good and Jeff Byers) were early employees at a biotech company six years ago that created a way to absorb substances through the skin. We were ideating on how to bring the tech to the masses directly. And we landed on creating a product for athletes to replace a practice called ‘bicarb loading’ which is essentially drinking baking soda in water to give the body more sodium bicarbonate to neutralize acid in the muscles. Bicarb loading is really rough on the stomach and we used our technology to make it a pre-workout lotion.
Jeff is a former NFL football player which made our focus on athletes a natural fit. We launched an early version straight out of R&D to see if it would gain traction. Pro sports teams began buying on our website and we found it had legs! However, a consumer athlete product didn’t belong inside a biotech company because the business model, team required and funding sources differ. Jeff and I raised our hands to spin it out and we created Amp Human as an independent human performance company in 2018.
What is the vision behind Amp Human and who is the target group?
Our vision is for every human to be limitless. We work to redefine the limits of the human body. We primarily serve athletes who intentionally seek to level up and we enable everyone in our community to ascend and progress in sport. And we focus on innovative solutions for athletes to get more from their bodies and we also inform athletes and cultivate community.
What have been the biggest challenges so far and how did you finance yourself?
Our biggest challenge was creating a new product category. PR Lotion is the only product that enables bicarb loading through the skin which means no competitors but also comes with its own challenges. Starting the category meant facing a lot of skepticism on whether the product worked. In contrast to a known product category, we had a much higher need to educate on what PR Lotion does, how it works and how to use it. It was also challenging to get PR Lotion adopted into athletes’ routines because it didn’t naturally substitute in for one of their other tools.
We are very fortunate to be a venture-backed company. We had to run lean early on and demonstrate real traction to attract investors. Knowing what the milestones of success are for investors and being laser focused on reaching them is critical to attracting venture money.
How does Amp Human (D+ Lotion) work? What are the advantages? What makes you different from other providers?
D+ Lotion is the first and only lotion proven to triple vitamin D levels within 3-4 months in those who are deficient. Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin from the sun and supplements are widely available, yet more than 70% of adults have low vitamin D levels due to changing diets, indoor lifestyles and sunscreen. People are hungry for new solutions that avoid pills which are inconvenient and annoying to swallow. D+ Lotion is the easiest way to do vitamin D with a daily pea-sized dose of lotion.
Where does the road go? Where do you see yourself in five years?
We’re building out a systematic approach to human performance that we call Perform, Adapt, Evolve. To achieve peak athletic performance, many solutions come together like a puzzle from fueling to hydration to recovery to immune health. We’re looking to meet most of the needs of most athletes in a system that’s tailored to their needs and takes the guesswork out.
At the end: Which 3 tips would you give to future founders?
- Road test. Get your product or prototype in your potential customer’s hands quickly. It’s a fast way to figure out whether your concept has legs.
- Choose your team wisely. The startup ride is much easier with a co-founder. Find someone with whom you have a shared vision and values but diverse skill sets to share the load.
- Be ready for the ride. Startups are often positioned in the media as overnight successes which leaves seasoned entrepreneurs rolling their eyes knowing that there’s likely much untold story. It takes an extraordinary amount of hard work over years to build a company and hard times that require resilience are many. The greatest unifying attribute between the two of us as founders is we’re very gritty in hard situations. A startup ride is intense by nature so it’s important to consider ahead how well you thrive in that environment.
Thank you Erica Good and Jeff Byers for the Interview
Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.
