Co-founded from a blank pageVuka.

2008. The bottom of the worst recession in a generation, and 250 energy drinks a year were failing. On paper it was the worst possible moment to launch a beverage. But every energy drink on the shelf was talking to the same 19-year-old: neon cans, extreme sports, sugar and chemicals.

Six months of consumer research, focus groups and concept testing kept pointing at the same gap. Grown-ups, the 25+ crowd, needed energy too, and nobody was making it for them. They wanted something natural they wouldn't be embarrassed to drink in a meeting or at the gym.

Don't fight the giants for the same customer. Go natural, go grown-up, and start where those people already were. So we skipped the big launch budget and opened at the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market in August 2009, then used that proof to walk into Whole Foods. Two weeks later we were on their shelves.

For 14 years we ran the whole commercial engine: brand, demand generation, retail partnerships, marketing budget and P&L. We built the V-Team, our field marketing force, turned events into sampling machines and landed an exclusive deal with the City of Denver.

One of the first natural energy drinks to go mainstream. 17 states. The official energy drink of Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the Denver Convention Center, the Denver Coliseum, the Denver Performing Arts Complex and Denver Pride. Over $1M in Whole Foods sales. Moving the online store to Shopify increased online sales by 400%. And a community that still clears out every DTC batch in under 14 hours.

A crowded category isn't a closed one. Find the customer everyone else is ignoring and build the whole brand for them.