Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to John Pinelli. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, John thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.
The origin story of Punch’d Energy’s all natural green Caffeine Gummies was a wonderful accident that seemed too simple to be true. With a background in engineering and consumer electronics at scale, I’ve always looked at user experience as a key metric. The project we were working on at the time involved interactive video games. It was a big project with lots of travel, lots of late nights, and unfortunately a pantry full of bad dietary choices. This is the typical modus operandi of most startups in the Silicon Valley.
About half way through the project we started to realize we needed a better way to boost personal energy in the building. There was a connection in the project to the gummy nutraceutical world, specifically involving gummy vitamins in various character forms that sent us down this path, it’s a longer story. The main take away is that with one question, and from a different angle – one coming from a personal need, this Caffeine Gummy product was created. It was the first of it’s kind, IP was created, and we love patents and protection.
The origin story of anything great is something we all like to study & revere from time to time. Luckily this particular study can be accompanied with the actual product to help with retention, and with staying awake during it’s presentation!
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.
We started this business with a personal need, a way to boost our energy in an easier and more convenient way without crushing our dietary needs. Knocking out energy drinks, shots and sodas was easy. What we weren’t prepared for was a rush of people looking for a product that could also make their coffee days easier too. These stackable little powerhouses are the answer for anyone looking to dial in a perfect amount of steady state energy over an extended period of time. Whether it’s for a regular day, a few hours in the gym, a long meeting at work or late nights at school, personalizing your power has never been so easy or so reliable.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Any business in any industry has a base of legacy knowledge tied to it. For better, or for worse, there is always a certain way things get done in that particular industry. Because this was the first food product in the Health & Beauty industry that we had ever worked on, we did not get caught up in the group think mentality of the incumbents. This is a whole new way to think about personal energy, and we had to learn how to unlearn what had come before us.
Have you ever had to pivot?
We’ve had to pivot this current business 3 times! We’ve also had to create and iterate the products many times. Every year that goes by sees new changes and challenges, you have to consider the past 3-4 years that we’ve been in business – it’s pure madness out in the streets. We’ve navigated each year, and each offering accordingly and as we work into our 3rd pivot we are gaining customers and experience that continues to prove we are making all the right moves.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://punchdenergy.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/punchdenergy/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PunchdEnergy1
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/punchdenergy
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PunchdEnergy
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQXXmZRy7XIr008aXCxaelQ
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@punchdenergy