Why Personalization Matters
Eric Wu is the co-founder and COO of Gainful. He started the company as an undergrad at Georgetown University, partnering with long-time friend Jahaan Ansari who studied at Berkeley. They participated in Y Combinator and have seen the company grow to an 8-figure annual revenue.
The son of immigrant parents who worked in the healthcare industry, Eric was born in Toronto, Ontario but raised in Southern California and grew up always outdoors and very interested in soccer. It’s that passion for soccer that led him to friendship with Jahaan and ultimately drove the need in his own life for the personalized sports nutrition that would lead to Gainful.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
3 main reasons why personalization matters
Personalization in sports nutrition is not just the realm of the world’s best athletes
How Eric started making what would become Gainful for himself in his university apartment
Why Eric is continually inspired and motivated by his parents
How Gainful is filling a gap in the personalization industry
The importance of not just asking how someone is but listening to the answer
How every CEO, including Eric, struggles with imposter syndrome and what to do about it
The most touching customer feedback Eric has received
How timing in entrepreneurship is vital to success
Why rejection in funding isn’t a personal failure on the entrepreneurial road
In this episode….
As a child, Eric’s passion for soccer led him both into the world of sports nutrition and to his lifelong friend and the future co-founder of Gainful, Jahaan Ansari. Eric and Jahaan were co-captains of their high school soccer team.
With Gainful, Eric aims to make sports nutrition accessible to everyone, not just elite athletes. His goal is getting people to care more about what they’re putting in their bodies: thinking about where the product comes from, the environmental impact, and being critical in terms of their own health and wellness. Gainful’s personalization and customization are key components of making it fit everyone’s lifestyle.
In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter discusses the genesis of Gainful with Eric Wu, from the start where Eric was simply mixing the raw ingredients of protein powder for his own nutritional needs while in Georgetown, through the Y Combinator program, and into the realization of the current successful business model. Martin and Eric explore key components of being a successful start up, where inspiration comes from, and lessons learned along the way.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
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