Paul Janowitz and Jared Padalecki co-founded MANTRA Labs in 2020. While living busy family lives in Austin, Texas, both men realized that they needed “better hydration, clean energy and natural sleep supplements” in order to keep up with their work and family schedules. Having tried everything, the two could not find any solution that worked for them, and met their standards. They wanted a solution that was “backed by science, tasted great, and really worked.” This plan eventually resulted in MANTRA Labs.
Both Padalecki and Paul Janowitz know that most people want the same things they do. They want “to run faster, lift stronger, chase the kids, crank out the report, sleep well, wake rested and do good for [yourself] and those around [you].” Most people also just “want to feel better and live [your] best life every day.”
At MANTRA Labs, Paul Janowitz makes sure to release products that are supported by the science. They “crammed more science-driven, super-ingredients” into their products, and “matched it all to [your] chrono-nutrition needs so [you] get more out of [your] days and nights.” MANTRA Labs offers a “comprehensive suite of clean, great-tasting and biorhythm-matched products in a simple on-the-go system to fuel and optimize [your] body + mind all day, every day.”
To arrive at these products, Padalecki and Paul Janowitz embarked on intensive research and testing just to find the right ingredients and create the best nutrition product for people living busy lives.
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Jerome Knyszewski: What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Paul Janowitz: I may have covered this before, but I think we have three things that make us stand out. First — and this has to be first — our products work and produce meaningful health results for our customers. I just believe in (and it’s one of our mantras) “truth in nutrition”. You have to make stuff that works. Secondly, is our story. We were looking for clean sugar-free hydration, a better pre-workout for our high school son and something to help my wife with her insomnia. We found nothing and knew we could do better. We scoured the world, went deep in the research and spared no expense. We simply built a better system by not taking shortcuts, letting science vs. profits drive the ingredient decision and being fanatical about being natural and good for your body AND mind.
Last — and I would have said this should be first a year ago — is our social mission. We donate to mental health causes, partner with mental health organizations, and promote mental health in our marketing. That means so much to us as discussed before. But, why did this go from first to last? I heard an interview with one of the founders of Warby Parker. He was super clear that it was product — service — mission and in that order. Without an amazing product you don’t have a long-term business, without incredible customer service you won’t grow and without those two your mission does not matter because you won’t be big enough to have an impact. Product and service are your cost of entry to do good. You need all 3 like the 3 legs of a stool.
Jerome Knyszewski: Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Paul Janowitz: Dude, it will be there tomorrow and probably nothing is an emergency. I tell myself that every night — typically too late at night when I start creating more mistakes than I am “fixing”.
Jerome Knyszewski: None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
Paul Janowitz: I could do an entire interview on this! As you can probably tell my wife is an integral part of this start-up and in supporting my previous ones. I feel a huge loyalty and debt of gratitude to anyone that works with me. I have some weird insecurity around it — why the heck would someone work for me when there are all these other amazing companies they can go to? I know I treat people as partners and always have folks put their families first, but still I am just really humbled when someone shares such a significant portion of their life with me (and not in a humble brag sort of way, more like wow, thanks!). Many of my previous employees have become dear friends, fellow investors, and worked with me on multiple start-ups. These folks are clutch and I will always be indebted to them.
Jerome Knyszewski: OK, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. The title of this series is “How to take your company from good to great”. Let’s start with defining our terms. How would you define a “good” company, what does that look like? How would you define a “great” company, what does that look like?
Paul Janowitz: Great question. A “good” company to me is one that has its operations down, everything from cash flow to scaling processes. A “great” company is one that feels like a movement that people want to be a part of. Something that signifies what you stand for. The easy example there is Patagonia.
Jerome Knyszewski: What would you advise to a business leader who initially went through years of successive growth, but has now reached a standstill. From your experience do you have any general advice about how to boost growth and “restart their engines”?
Paul Janowitz: Take a break. Really, just step away — and if you can’t do that you now know why your business is at a stand-still — you are the blockage. So, for a few weeks step away — cut your pay, hire others with that money, Also, ask yourself why you are in business. Maybe the reason has changed. You can always step away and quit. If you don’t, it is a choice (I struggle believing this daily!). But understanding your life and how your choices empower you and having that power lets you see things differently and you might just get unstuck if you take that time off!
Jerome Knyszewski: Generating new business, increasing your profits, or at least maintaining your financial stability can be challenging during good times, even more so during turbulent times. Can you share some of the strategies you use to keep forging ahead and not lose growth traction during a difficult economy?
Paul Janowitz: I will go back to eating an elephant — one bite at a time (I am a vegetarian, so this example is sort of a poor one, but I will go with it). Just take it one step at a time. And, as a small(er) business you can do things the big ones can’t. See where you can zig where the rest zag. You might even be able to go big and take that risk now while others are being more cautious. Always protect your downside (you can’t win if you are not in the game), but look for new opportunities for asymmetrical returns or countercyclical parts of your business.
Jerome Knyszewski: In your experience, which aspect of running a company tends to be most underestimated? Can you explain or give an example?
Paul Janowitz: Two things. Hiring and firing. They are both equally critical and hard, and they are skill sets you have to develop.
Jerome Knyszewski: Great customer service and great customer experience are essential to build a beloved brand and essential to be successful in general. In your experience what are a few of the most important things a business leader should know in order to create a Wow! Customer Experience?
Paul Janowitz: I will reiterate, do the right thing and don’t be cheap. You have to start with that as your base. Then think about what actions you can take that would get someone to tell others — what would make you tell others? Have fun with it — see how whacky or off the wall you can go for your customers. Spark some joy in their day and yours. That will vary by industry and brand, but there is always opportunity to make a human connection that can be meaningful for your customer and company.
Jerome Knyszewski: What are your thoughts about how a company should be engaged on Social Media? For example, the advisory firm EisnerAmper conducted 6 yearly surveys of United States corporate boards, and directors reported that one of their most pressing concerns was reputational risk as a result of social media. Do you share this concern? We’d love to hear your thoughts about this.
Paul Janowitz: Yes, definitely a concern in these polarized times and the prevailing cancel culture. I think if you were to look at social media across the board, it has done more harm than good. Yes, Twitter has helped spread dissident news from oppressive regimes, families have connected on Facebook and Instagram can be fun. However, we are seeing the flipside of those platforms with many of their creators expressing alarm at the underlying business model — that clicks and attention and behavior change are the revenue stream open to the highest bidder. This has created isolation, depression, body dysmorphia, influencer culture and other unintended consequences. We need more people and brands on social media putting good into the stream with positive messages and positive body images. Knowing we would have to engage in social media was actually one of the things I had to overcome — I did not want to be on a social media platform — in order to launch this business. So, we decided — yes, we needed to be where the people were, but that we would try to be a force for good in those channels and spread positive messages wherever and however we could. We also have to stay fairly narrow and in our lane as we won’t engage with trolls or any negative banter online. So far, so good! We also launched during COVID, so we kind of had no choice as many retailers were putting the brakes on accepting new products into the store, leaving online social as a key channel.
Jerome Knyszewski: What are the most common mistakes you have seen CEOs & founders make when they start a business? What can be done to avoid those errors?
Paul Janowitz: That is a tough one. We all make our own unique mistakes, but not understanding cash flow seems to be what kills a business. You can’t win if you are not in the game. Know your cash flow, protect your downside and then take iterative, calculated risks. One step at a time.
Jerome Knyszewski: Thank you for all of that. We are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Paul Janowitz: Talking saves lives. This is super important when it comes to mental health and suicide. But it also saves lives in general. The biggest “mistakes” and regrets I have all come from not having the difficult conversations that needed to happen. So, reach out and talk.
Jerome Knyszewski: How can our readers further follow you online?
Paul Janowitz: You can find me on LinkedIn and other social media @paul_janowitz and @gomantralabs.
Jerome Knyszewski: This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this!