Caught in an unfulfilling job on Wall Avenue, Ashley Thompson was on the lookout for one thing extra. She discovered that inspiration in probably the most unlikely of locations with able to eat oats. Beginning in farmer’s markets, Thompson began MUSH to make it simpler for folks to eat wholesome – beginning with breakfast. I sat down with Thompson to study extra in regards to the early days of the model, how they ended up showing on Shark Tank, and the recommendation she provides to fellow entrepreneurs.
Dave Knox: What’s the founding story of MUSH?
Ashley Thompson: For many who haven’t heard of MUSH, we make plant primarily based able to eat oats with quite simple complete meals elements that offer you clear and pure vitality; like oatmeal however cooler that’s excessive in good fiber, protein, and is gluten-free. We don’t use any added sugar, synthetic flavors or colours or preservatives to make the product. They usually are available a wide range of scrumptious flavors for all totally different events, notably for breakfast, however you may also use it as a pre or post-workout refuel , and even as a snack or dessert at night time. And MUSH was actually born out of the assumption that higher outcomes in life start with higher meals – beginning at breakfast. There’s an plain scientific connection between what you eat and the way you expertise life, notably how you are feeling, the way you suppose and what you do. And so actually we simply attempt to get rid of the friction between folks and wholesome meals selections by making meals that’s nutrient dense, like oats, accessible from a worth and distribution perspective and completely scrumptious. And that is actually necessary to me as a result of it’s a big a part of an answer to what has now turn out to be a human well being disaster, notably in America. 32% of People are chubby and 38% are overweight, which makes a collective 70% of us too heavy, and coronary heart illness kills 1 / 4 of us. And all of those points had been primarily non-existent till the twentieth century, and so we’re right here simply making an attempt to assist folks enhance their general wellbeing, particularly firstly of the day with an ideal breakfast choice. I’m a giant believer in beginning off on the fitting foot and the more healthy we eat, the extra we thrive. So it’s an ideal alternative to assist make the world slightly bit higher.
Knox: What was the non-public inspiration behind you tackling this mission?
Thompson: Most decision-making processes are preceded by a number of catalysts, and my sister’s prognosis with sort one diabetes was considered one of many, nevertheless it was a powerful one as a result of I noticed her endure so drastically from one thing associated to her physique and diet and her physique’s lack of ability to course of sure issues like sugar. I additionally noticed my household’s struggles with bodily and psychological well being and the destructive results of poor eating regimen and habits. After which I used to be working in an unfulfilling job popping out of faculty. Lastly, simply observing the weight problems epidemic in America was one other catalyst. Mixed, these had been all factors which led me to beginning MUSH. My strongest one was simply my innate curiosity in well being and wellness. I’m a agency believer that to be able to achieve success in life and the period of time and vitality and creativeness you might want to put into one thing to achieve success, it needs to be one thing of nice curiosity to you. And so all of these issues led me to begin the enterprise.
Knox: What led you to leap from Wall Avenue to the world of Client-Packaged Items?
Thompson: After faculty I went into buying and selling on Wall Avenue as a result of I simply didn’t even know the place to begin my profession, however I did know that I might be capable of make sufficient cash in finance to hopefully begin one thing of my very own sometime. Subconsciously that was all the time at the back of my thoughts, and once I received to Wall Avenue I shortly realized that it wasn’t going to be for me in the long term. Once more, again to that concept of getting a powerful curiosity in what you do, I had little or no curiosity within the markets and I particularly didn’t like the sensation of taking part in a zero sum sport each single day. In finance, most of the time, another person’s features could be another person’s losses. In the course of the early days of my profession, I used to be struck by the stark actuality that even on Wall Avenue, it was actually arduous to entry nutritious meals. In an try and reconcile my sturdy beliefs with what I discovered to be unacceptable, I found a white house and stop my job to create a wholesome, scrumptious and handy meals product impressed by my favourite hack as a child: cereal and oatmeal soaked in milk. I simply mustered up sufficient braveness to take that first step and took a leap of religion and received began.
Knox: Whenever you took that leap of religion, how did you resolve the class that was most fascinating to you?
Thompson: Nicely, in a single day oats and cereal on the whole has performed a extremely large function in my life. I ate a ton of cereal rising up. My household, we didn’t have actually nice means as a child, and so cereal was fairly low-cost, accessible, and tremendous satiating. And so I ate numerous cereal and oatmeal rising up. Once I was working in finance, I used to be working lots on the time and wanted numerous carbs to gasoline my runs, so I turned to oats. And what I actually favored about it was that oats are such an unsexy commodity, however they’re so low-cost and so satiating. And so I believed, you understand, these little mighty grains that may be actually highly effective, I feel they might help remodel what we eat within the morning, and I simply form of received hung up on it and type of began obsessing over it and took it fairly far. I stop and I didn’t know the place to begin in any respect, so I simply began making in a single day oats in my kitchen. I moved to Southern California the place there are numerous farmer’s markets, and that was type of the sport plan at first. I didn’t have a five- yr marketing strategy, it was a six-month marketing strategy the place I began making and promoting in a single day oats out of my kitchen after which at native farmers markets. And it was one of the best ways to begin, we received a lot client suggestions. The suggestions loop was instant and it actually helped us develop a beautiful product in the long term.
Knox: When did Shark Tank are available your journey?
Thompson: Shark Tank got here in a few yr and a half into the journey. We lastly reached retail cabinets by then, and one of many producers discovered our product in LA and reached out and requested us to return on the present. We had been actually excited in regards to the alternative as a result of one of many largest boundaries that we’ve wanted to beat in constructing this enterprise is simply consciousness across the class. MUSH is absolutely modern as a result of chilly oats which might be refrigerated and able to eat had by no means existed, at the very least in a commercialized approach. And so we wished to coach the American inhabitants at giant about this new class and this new product. And we thought Shark Tank is the right approach to try this. We’re so grateful for that chance, it was pivotal and only a fantastic expertise. That’s when Mark Cuban invested, he actually believed within the model and that helped us construct just a bit extra confidence and slightly extra conviction within the journey that we had been on.
Knox: The model began as “direct to client” the old school approach with farmer’s markets and you then expanded to retail. As a rising model, how have you considered your retail technique?
Thompson: Direct to client for refrigerated merchandise, that infrastructure in America, nonetheless isn’t fairly there. And also you see that type of percolating, you understand, FedEx and UPS don’t even have the infrastructure to ship the entire dry items essentially and refrigeration is absolutely powerful to beat. In order we’ve grown, we’ve leaned extra so into our retail technique as a result of structurally it’s so sound and arrange, and there’s a way more frictionless path to progress in retail. And I feel folks are likely to neglect that we’re transferring to a digital world, nevertheless it’s not digital but. And so you possibly can’t neglect in regards to the bodily world. The bodily world of retail is much more economical and environmentally pleasant to be delivering merchandise to shops in numerous methods. We’ve leaned closely into retail and that’s actually paid off, particularly as numerous people proceed to expertise logistic challenges and unit financial challenges with DTC.
I’ve been lucky as nicely as a result of all my traders have been earlier operators and a few of my bigger traders have been operators throughout the meals and beverage house. They’ve intimate information with the difficulties of delivery direct to client versus the retail play. They usually had been so supportive of the strategic imaginative and prescient that we’ve had for the corporate over the previous few years, which has actually made all of the distinction. Quite a lot of success in constructing a model comes right down to execution, and if you happen to’re not aligned on the imaginative and prescient, particularly with traders, it may be tough. There’s numerous wasted time and vitality. I’ve the fitting folks across the desk and the assist I’ve obtained has been superior.
Knox: How have you considered the constructing the mission of psychological well being and weight problems into the essence of what MUSH is?
Thompson: I feel we construct that in day-after-day by simply focusing maniacally on making this product as scrumptious as doable, as nutrient dense as doable and as accessible as doable from a worth and distribution perspective. As a result of we all know that essentially we can fight the weight problems epidemic with this wonderful choice. That’s actually been the main target within the early days. Over the long run, as we proceed to construct the model, which is a by-product of doing arduous issues nicely, we can use the social fairness that we construct up via the belief and loyalty and credibility with shoppers. And we are able to use that in methods like educating extra shoppers round what’s happening in America, because it pertains to well being and wellness, perhaps even spearheading initiatives with different like-minded firms who’re additionally serving to to fight these points, as a result of there may be such nice power in numbers. So proper now it truly is in regards to the product and getting it on the market. I’m a giant believer that the extra we develop with the product, the higher off society shall be because it pertains to the weight problems epidemic. After which long run, we might like to do increasingly because it pertains to issues outdoors of client packaged items.
Knox: How have you considered persevering with to innovate and convey newness to the class that you simply helped create?
Thompson: I have a tendency not to consider rivals an excessive amount of as a result of enterprise actually isn’t a zero sum sport. I feel “higher for you” is barely persevering with to develop. So even when market share declined, we might nonetheless be in progress mode, and that’s actually thrilling. So I have a tendency to not deal with rivals an excessive amount of. After which when it comes to innovation, MUSH is the very definition of innovation. Refrigerated, ready-to-eat oats have by no means been commercialized earlier than. It’s one of many solely spoonable breakfasts in the marketplace made with easy elements, no added sugar, no dairy, and no components.Fairly frankly, we haven’t innovated lots for the reason that inception of MUSH. We innovated in a good way with the primary product line, however since then, we’ve simply had a maniacal deal with getting it off the bottom. It’s taken numerous time and vitality to construct a brand new class, however we proceed to return out with new flavors which might be nice. Like we’ve got Snickerdoodle, Pumpkin Pie, and Blended Berry out there and shortly coming down the pipeline however, on the whole, we’ve simply actually centered on what we’re doing now. You need to deal with issues for an uncommonly lengthy time period to be able to make them succeed. And that’s precisely what we’re doing.
Knox: In your early days of launching MUSH, you didn’t come from the meals and beverage trade. What benefits do you suppose that gave you to take a look at this house in another way?
Thompson: It was one of the best benefit. I like to speak a few newbie’s mindset versus an skilled’s mindset. A newbie’s mindset thinks there’s countless prospects to resolve issues, whereas an skilled’s mindset normally seems to be at issues and sees it a technique due to how deep they’ve gone. And so I feel it made a world of a distinction. To start with of our journey we went to the specialists and wished to collaborate with them on how one can make this product, they usually principally mentioned we couldn’t do it the best way that we wished to. And I simply didn’t consider them in any respect and saved looking out and looking out, and ultimately landed on an answer that works. We now have a extremely cool manufacturing course of the place we don’t use warmth, we truly use strain to pasteurize the product and lengthen its shelf life. And it’s by no means been completed earlier than, and I feel the one approach we received to that resolution is as a result of we had no expertise within the trade and simply didn’t take into consideration all of the methods through which it wouldn’t work, we simply thought of the entire methods through which it will.
Knox: You talked about that skilled mindset versus the newbie mindset, as you discuss to different entrepreneurs that see the success that you simply constructed and wish to comply with your path, what recommendation do you give to them in these early days?
Thompson: You understand, as entrepreneurs, our job is to construct one thing helpful and we construct helpful issues by pursuing worthy alternatives and making nice selections over an extended time period. And good decision-making requires good considering and nice perspective. And good considering simply requires time. I feel folks don’t understand that you simply even have to sit down down and suppose via issues and it takes much more time, particularly as issues turn out to be extra complicated and greater. So my recommendation is to essentially refine your perspective to be extra in step with actuality and depart time for good considering so to make actually good selections.
And the opposite piece of recommendation that I like to present, and it’s most likely, I feel, an important factor. It’s additionally actually cliche, which is to comply with your intestine. And it’s very easy to say and arduous to do as a result of intestine is such a humorous factor. In society there are actually widespread misconceptions in regards to the intestine. Individuals suppose that intestine and knowledge don’t go hand in hand, and we’re in an information obsessed world so we’re typically type of shunning folks for listening to their intestine, however intestine is definitely a compilation of hundreds of knowledge factors collected via statement and expertise. So from my standpoint it’s a extremely highly effective instrument and entrepreneurs ought to use it increasingly. They actually do know what’s greatest, they know why they began their enterprise. They know the way it works, the way it operates, the place the chance is, and they need to lean into to what they know versus rummaging via knowledge units on a regular basis.
