Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Phil Harding. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Phil thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

As a young entrepreneur, I didn’t know how to pace myself. I was all in, all day long, every day (I’m still a little like that now). The first year after I bought NiTOR, I had to have both hips replaced. I was in recovery after my first surgery, still groggy from the drugs, fading in and out of consciousness, when I received an email inquiry from a potential customer asking about the benefits of our product. I remember thinking that just because I had just had surgery wasn’t an excuse for not replying immediately to a customer. I felt like every customer was worth making happy. So I laid there, trying to force my mind to focus on scientific and nutritional facts, trying with difficulty to coherently type them out in an email. I would type a line or two, pass out for several minutes, wake up with my phone on my chest, type another couple of lines, pass out, and so on. In this manner, I eventually got the email typed, proofread, corrected, and sent out. Each individual customer mattered that much to me, and that hasn’t changed.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m a disabled veteran, a father, a terminal cancer survivor, and a supplement skeptic. I’ve tried so many supplements that over-promise and under-deliver. For a decade or more I had sworn off all supplements, believing that whole food was the only way to get the nutrition and health results I wanted.

While completing my Master’s degree in business, I ran into two gentlemen, Dr. David Sherwood, PhD Molecular Biology, and Phillip Chipping, founder of Zagg screen protectors. Together, they had created a protein supplement unlike anything I had ever heard of. Initially, I disregarded their claims; I’d heard it all before. But the more I discussed the actual science and nutrition with them, the more I was convinced. It wasn’t some fermented magic mushroom that you’re supposed to snort and all your dreams would come true. It was basic nutrition, basic metabolic science, and a product that fixed all the problems that protein has had in the past. It was like a light flipped on in my mind. These guys had actually created a supplement that did exactly what it was supposed to do. After working with this small startup for 7 months, I took the opportunity to buy the company and set off on our journey of delivering actual results to athletes across the nation.

Currently, NiTOR has the best protein supplement on the market. It is 3x more efficient than any other protein source in helping athletes recover and build strong, lean muscle. It mixes in 4oz of water, doesn’t cause gas or bloating, is not chalky and clumpy, and comes with all the micro-nutrients and amino-acids you need to activate muscle protein synthesis to its highest potential and keep it there 2-3x longer. With Dr. Sherwood’s excellent guidance, we turned our recovery protein into a heat-stable protein coffee creamer that is a huge hit with coffee shops and health enthusiasts. We also have developed several versions of a high-protein cookie that actually tastes like Grandma’s homemade cookies.

Our main focus is to help athletes reach their ultimate fitness goals. As such, we provide expert education, advice, and direction to our customers for free. NiTOR is dedicated to making the best and most effective protein on the market because everyone who has ever tried to get in shape has been burned by bad supplements. Athletes don’t have to settle for less than a full return on their best efforts.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

As a small, bootstrapped business, we’ve had several close calls that have sent my blood pressure sky high and almost sunk our company. These usually come in the form of paying suppliers while collecting revenue (cash flow). Our biggest to date was in the beginning of COVID. We lost all of our wholesale gyms and coffee shops due to sudden shutdowns. Within the space of a month, we lost 1/3 of our total revenue from the loss of our entire wholesale arm, and another 20% on our retail end. Suppliers typically aren’t very understanding when it comes to settling your accounts payable. I borrowed from our family budget, against every credit card and line of credit I had, shifted bills around like a Tetris master, but we were still under water by tens of thousands.

I try really hard to keep my work stress at work and not inflict it upon my family, but this was something that I couldn’t just leave at the door. My wife, noticing that I was a major stress case, made me disclose to her just how close we were to losing the business. We loved what we’re doing so much and believed in the potential of the company enough to take out a home equity line of credit. Putting my family that far into debt was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. But with that extra money, we were able to weather the COVID storm and make it out on the other side a lot more lean and streamlined.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I have always had a drive to go out of my way to take care of each individual customer. Early on, this was manifested in the unscalable form of me and my business partners driving hours to deliver samples and orders. One such was when we had a delay in manufacturing for orders awaiting fulfillment. When we were able to get the product made, it was a Saturday afternoon and the following Monday was a holiday. Not wanting our customer to wait that long to get an order that was already late, one of my business partners and I drove an hour-and-a-half to make the delivery. We had a pleasant chat with the customer who thanked us for the special delivery, and we went on our way.

Five years later at a convention, this customer approached our booth and recalled to us the experience. He stated that he was so impressed by our dedication, hard work, expertise, and drive. He then told us that he was part of a large, well-known investment group and wanted to invest in our company to help us move to the next stage and reach international markets. We are currently in our due-diligence phase looking forward to the additional resources, talent, and distribution channels from this new partnership.

I feel it was worth the drive.

Contact Info:

• Website: nitorperformance.com
• Instagram: @NiTORperformance
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/phil-harding-30474231