Launching a New CPG Category: Gary Kleinman of Electrolyte Boost

<p>Gary founded Yardstick Marketing Partners an industry leading experiential marketing agency creating engagement and driving audience for Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros, Fox, Major League Baseball, Namco/Bandai, New Era Cap Company and Microsoft.</p><p>Known for extensive and exciting mobile tours, Gary created and executed tours for Seinfeld, Snoop Dog, and more.</p><p>After working on a mobile gaming tour, Mr Kleinman saw that over 3 billion people were active gamers. This led to the creation of The WHAM Network, a digital network about the lifestyle and culture of gaming. </p><p>Seeing that gamers were experiencing cramping, fatigue and loss of attention due to long gaming sessions, Kleinman noticed that all existing supplements that could prove beneficial to gamers were all dependent on water or fluids. It was this problem that led to the creation of waterless nutrition.</p><p><b><strong>In This Conversation We Discuss:</strong></b></p><ul><li>[00:00] Intro</li><li>[01:24] What is Electrolyte Boost?</li><li>[02:04] Energy, focus, and upcoming functional products</li><li>[03:22] Spotting a gap in the esports world</li><li>[04:25] From gamers to surgeons and truck drivers</li><li>[05:18] A year and a half to perfect the formula</li><li>[06:40] Dosing and bioavailability challenges</li><li>[07:40] Navigating sugar substitutes</li><li>[08:31] Klaviyo</li><li>[10:38] Would you take the leap again?</li><li>[11:50] Testing sweeteners and sweet proteins</li><li>[12:20] Dropping sucralose to win shelf space</li><li>[12:55] Why every entrepreneur asks "why am I doing this?"</li><li>[14:22] Intelligems</li><li>[15:35] Finding your first customers</li><li>[16:01] Why Amazon comes first</li><li>[16:55] Discovering unexpected customer use cases</li><li>[17:50] The hidden risks of retail placement</li><li>[18:55] Shifting from influencers to creators</li><li>[19:50] Two years in beta and three package changes</li><li>[20:24] Is Amazon a good place to beta test?</li><li>[21:02] Amazon discoverability and keywords</li><li>[22:40] Building a category that doesn't exist</li><li>[23:24] Why Amazon reviews matter</li><li>[24:45] Social proof from early adopters</li><li>[25:30] eFulfillment Service</li><li>[26:40] Whatever you think it costs, quadruple it</li><li>[27:50] Projecting inventory and lead times</li><li>[30:05] When passion turns into a financing game</li><li>[31:10] You don't have to do it alone</li><li>[32:00] No ego, a lot of pride</li><li>[32:56] Get