"You get out what you put in" is something we all need to remind ourselves of more often. Nishal Kumar, founder of the wellness supplements brand, No Days Wasted, that helps anyone maximize life's moments after a night out, has made a living off of this mantra and his story is an incredible example to emulate. From becoming the sponsor for some of the biggest podcasts in North America, to locking in over 1200 retailer partners, Nish knows a thing or two about making your own opportunities and we got to speak to him to gain some fresh insights that are very applicable for any new founder. Check out the conversation below!
Hey Nish! Thanks for taking the time to chat. One of the first things we want to know is how the partnership with Barstool, which was huge for the brand in the early days, got off the ground.
Oh ya, that was great! Over 5 years ago, we connected with Paul Bissonnette 'Biz Nasty' who was spending a summer in Vancouver after he retired from the NHL and was working with a couple buddies of mine. There was one night, we're all out, and my buddies told me Biz was going to be there and to come out. I went and I had a couple packets on me and I gave them to him, and that was my first touch point.
A couple days later, I saw him at the gym and I gave him a full box of product. He ended up going to an event the next day and calls me, and he tells me he tried the product, had about ten beers and woke up the next day like nothing happened. He mentioned he was joining this podcast called Spittin’ Chiclets and introduced me to Barstool Sports. We started working with them and Spittin’ Chiclets was a home run out of the gate. I asked Barstool if they had any female demo shows and they mentioned Call Her Daddy which was just launching at that time. They were like "it's pretty crazy. It's pretty out there, but it might just work." so we tested with them and saw instant return, like 7-10x right out of the gate. We were the first brand to sponsor Call Her Daddy, which ended up blowing up and becoming the biggest female podcast in North America. The big learning was really, you need to make that investment and take a chance on things early on when and if something works, double down on it.
It seems like now there are so many brands doing this? What do you think of the competition?
Yes the space got very crowded but in general but between those days and now, my view on competition is very different. Early on, I was actually very averse to competition and I was concerned about what all of our competitors were doing. I would be offended if they did anything too close to us. These days, things have shifted. I really welcome the competition from players that have staying power and are creating a meaningful product and brand. The reason being is because ultimately, this competition drives awareness to a category that's emerging. If we're the only player on shelf, who's going to know about the category? Only the people that know about us. But, if you think about the value that competition provides, it's that they're providing extra eyeballs onto us for free and we are validating a new category together by creating great products with high efficacy, safety and value for consumers.
That's a very good attitude to have and regardless of the competition now, it's incredible to hear about how you created that opportunity for yourself.
If you're proactive, you're assertive, you are charismatic and personable, good things will happen. That's why I spent quite a bit of time in New York, and continue to do so. It's the epicenter of chaos, and there are a lot of people doing great things out there.
My focus is always to meet cool people doing great things. At the very least, I could just make a friend, or on the other end, we could do something meaningful together from a business point of view. If you're not there, if you don't show up, if you're not putting yourself out there, it won't happen.
As an emerging brand, use what you have. You may not have tons of capital behind you, but you have your energy that you put out to the world, and the best way to showcase that is by actually going out there and doing it.
Would you say that's your big tip for brands, especially ones in the early stage of their business?
I have a few tips but the biggest thing is to remember that how you do anything is how you do everything. For me, whether that's going to the gym every day and staying focused or playing ball and putting my best foot forward, I just want to be consistent, I want to care about what I do, and I want to solve problems. That's the same way I treat my business and that's not just work, that's life.
Your success and your achievements are going to come from your efforts. So top three things; give a damn about what you do, be consistent and just do it well.
We couldn't agree more. Before we finish off, any other advice for new founders?
You need to go where you're wanted. For example, maybe you have a dream retailer or dream partner that you want to work with but at the end of the day, make sure it's not a delusion. It's like when you're growing up and there's that girl you see that you're into but turns out they're the most toxic person in the world. You don't want that. You want to go where you're wanted. That's been a big part of our retail strategy. We always want to hear a no from a retailer rather than a maybe, because that will allow us to move on to the yeses and find the places where we're wanted.
Make sure to check out No Days Wasted and keep it locked to Pier Five for more founder conversations just like this!