5 Classes on Vitality, Suggestions & Hustle From the Founders of HappyPop

When Maya French and Dustin Baker grew to become neighbors again in 2013, that they had no concept they’d someday be co-founders, not to mention construct two beverage manufacturers collectively.

However a shared curiosity in well being, entrepreneurship, and the meals house rapidly sparked one thing greater. After tossing round concepts—like juice bars and pure drinks—they ultimately landed on Koia, one of many first plant-based protein drinks you would really discover in shops. That success would result in their latest enterprise: HappyPop, a fizzy, mood-boosting power drink made with elements designed to assist folks really feel good with out the crash.

They’ve been named to Forbes 30 Below 30, earned cabinets in retailers like Entire Meals and Walmart, and launched HappyPop at Expo West final yr—the place it received Finest New Product. Secure to say, they’ve discovered a factor or two alongside the best way.

We had been fortunate sufficient to host Maya and Dustin as our visitor audio system for April’s No person Cares occasion—our month-to-month speaker collection that includes unfiltered conversations about work, life, and what success actually appears to be like like. This time, we took issues off-site to The Put up clubhouse (brown leather-based couches included) and dove into all the pieces from giving suggestions to trusting your intestine.
Right here’s what caught with us.

1. “It wasn’t a superb cultural match” = “My boss didn’t like me”

Let’s be actual: loads of office language could be imprecise, coded, or simply plain unhelpful. Maya and Dustin spoke actually about how phrases like “not a tradition match” are sometimes used to masks an absence of directness.
The takeaway? Honesty issues, particularly in a startup or small workforce. If one thing isn’t working, be clear. Sugarcoating suggestions—or worse, avoiding it altogether—solely results in confusion. Making a tradition of transparency units the tone for all the pieces else (which leads us to our subsequent takeaway).

2. Be particular with suggestions—it helps folks develop

Whether or not you’re managing a workforce or collaborating with a accomplice, suggestions isn’t about pointing fingers. It’s about constructing higher outcomes collectively.
Maya and Dustin emphasised that one of the best suggestions is particular and actionable. As a substitute of imprecise feedback like “this wants work,” level out precisely what might be improved and the way. This not solely provides somebody one thing to work with, it additionally reveals that you just’re invested of their progress—not simply stating flaws.

3. Good power is magnetic

This one’s easy, however highly effective: folks need to work with good power.
If you present up with authenticity, ardour, and confidence in what you do, folks discover. Maya and Dustin talked concerning the significance of placing out the power you need to get again—as a result of whether or not it’s traders, teammates, or clients, individuals are drawn to positivity and drive.
Of their phrases: When somebody sees one thing they admire in you, it sticks. And it typically results in alternatives you by no means deliberate for.

4. Keep open to likelihood encounters

The HappyPop story is an ideal instance of this. Maya and Dustin met by likelihood as neighbors—nevertheless it was their openness to connecting, dreaming huge, and saying sure to concepts that led to all the pieces that adopted.
From potential collaborators to once-in-a-lifetime alternatives, their recommendation is obvious: keep open to the surprising. You by no means know when an informal dialog might flip into your subsequent huge concept—or your subsequent enterprise accomplice.
It’s additionally a reminder to remain adaptable. Not each concept works the primary time, and that’s okay. Koia didn’t occur in a single day—it took a willingness to evolve, pivot, and maintain constructing.

5. Imagine in what you’re promoting

This brings us to our closing takeaway: You possibly can’t pretend conviction. The duo harassed how necessary it’s to stand behind your product, not simply with advertising or branding, however in the way you speak about it, pitch it, and maintain exhibiting up for it—even when issues get robust (adaptability is all the pieces on this business).
Their philosophy with each Koia and HappyPop has all the time been rooted in fixing actual issues and providing actual worth. From ingredient sourcing to shelf placement, they’re concerned in each a part of the method—and that perception in what they’re constructing comes by way of loud and clear.

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