The Irresistible Factor – Details, episodes & analysis

You’ve built something truly transformative. It delivers real results. Customers love it. But the market doesn’t get it... That’s the story behind Own It, the high-performance health platform founded by Justin Roethlingshoefer. Designed for executives and entrepreneurs, it’s part functional medicine, part performance coaching, part custom-formulated supplementation—all unified through one integrated team and system.

It’s powerful. It works. Retention is 94%. But early on, scaling was a struggle.

“We had the antidote to what people were suffering from,” Justin says. “But I didn’t know how to package it. Nobody knew what box to put us in.”

That’s the challenge with category-defying innovation: if your audience can’t instantly understand what problem you solve and why you're different, they move on. And no amount of clinical results or founder passion can fix that without a clear story.

Here’s what Own It had—but struggled to articulate:

    •    A solution built for high-performing founders and execs who’ve deprioritized their health

    •    A fully virtual coaching team: functional medicine, nutrition, fitness, therapy—all integrated

    •    Daily communication and real-time adaptation to lifestyle, travel, stress, and goals

    •    Deep testing at the cellular level—plus custom supplements, not stock vitamins

    •    An experience designed to feel like a board of directors for your health

    •    Quarterly in-person labs and community events that build accountability and connection

“People asked, ‘Are you fitness? Biohacking? Concierge care?’ We were none of them—and all of them.” Once Justin clarified the story, Own It began to scale. With his wife (former EVP at Christian Louboutin) as CEO, the company now serves over 1,500 clients with a team of 50+.

The takeaway for founders and investors:

The more innovative your offering, the harder you must work to simplify the story. It’s not about dumbing it down. It’s about meeting your audience where they are—so they can run toward what you’ve built. 

Listen in as Justin unpacks the story behind scaling something the world didn’t know it needed.

Nick Ovenden is proving that fitness can be a powerful vehicle for family connection and community change. By creating spaces where families grow stronger—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

As the president of GreatLIFE Golf & Fitness, Nick Ovenden is on a mission to help people live healthier, more purposeful lives—starting with his team. In this conversation, Nick shares how a conversation about how to make better use of conference room space at a golf club sparked the development of a vision to get families involved in fitness.  

Some Key Takeaways from Our Conversation:

• Kids Aren’t Sidelined- They’re Included
  Rather than keeping children in a childcare room, GreatLIFE encourages active family zones where kids participate and learn in a dynamic environment.
• Fitness As A Family Value
  GreatLIFE's mission goes beyond memberships and workouts; it's about helping families stay healthy together. From youth sports to multi-generational fitness programs, their goal is to make wellness a family affair.
• Creating Space for Connection
  Whether it's playing a round of golf together or taking a group fitness class, Nick believes shared experiences build stronger bonds. GreatLIFE is intentionally designed to encourage families to unplug, show up, and spend meaningful time together. 
• Wellness that Lasts a Lifetime
  Nick’s leadership training emphasizes tools like DISC assessments, calendar management, and communication techniques to help individuals grow in every aspect of life. 
• Business with Purpose
  Even in tough seasons financially, Nick stands by the belief that investing in his team, not just profit, creates the only kind of success that matters. 

In this episode of The Irresistible Factor, Kristi talks with Josh Rogers, Founder and CEO of Ancient Drinks, to explore how he turned frustration with sugary sports drinks into a groundbreaking beverage brand inspired by history’s first hydration formulas. Drawing on his background in branding and product development, Josh reveals the challenges of launching a health-focused brand in the crowded beverage market and the unwavering tenacity it takes to stay true to a mission of integrity and innovation. 

Josh shares his journey of creating Ancient Drinks, from brewing recipes in his kitchen that are rooted in real ancient health practices. With a clear focus on values and strategy, Josh dives into why starting with a strong brand foundation (a sometimes tough investment for a start-up) is absolutely critical. They also dig into how being a “polarizing” brand can help a brand stand out in a crowded category.

Tune in for a conversation packed with inspiration, expert advice, and actionable insights for aspiring CPG entrepreneurs.

Here’s what you won’t want to miss:

• The importance of starting with a solid brand foundation to guide every decision 
• Just how important having a mission and staying true to it is, even when cost-cutting is tempting. 
• Josh’s insights on navigating the competitive beverage market and why not being a brand for everyone is key to success.
• Ancient Drinks’ innovative plans for product expansion, including new SKUs, “Power Dust” powders, and customizable flavor boosters.
• Josh’s advice for founders: Believe deeply in your vision, filter advice carefully, and focus on learning and scaling with purpose.

“There’s just so many ways for you to sink the ship in those early stages,” said Robert Petrarca, Co-Founder and CEO of Maxine’s Heavenly, a brand that makes delicious, homemade-style cookies that are sweetened by nature. “It’s also running out of money and overspending and the retail industry with the nuances of distribution and all the challenges that go into that… I think there was a culmination of luck, grit and tenacity that got us through those stages.”On The Irresistible Factor, Robert shares how he got into the foodie world and managed to grow his business, even through those rocky early stages.Robert gives listeners advice on how to approach investors, how to create a funnel for capital and how to ensure holistic health within your business. He also helps us understand his own personal recipe for creating the perfect mix of characteristics that helped fulfill his vision of building a successful business. (It helps that he has a performing arts background!)Plus, we learn about how to stand out in your brand market, the power of adaptability, and how Robert was able to blend his passions for food and health with healthy cookies.To other founders, Robert has clear advice on branding: “An attribute is not a brand: it is simply a quality. It’s a descriptive.”

Today, it seems like sugar is added to almost every food product. That’s why the brand High Key’s mission is to remove 10 million pounds of sugar from the American diet, one sugar-free cookie at a time.On this episode of The Irresistible Factor, Joe Ens, CEO of HighKey, joins host Kristi Bridges to talk all things small business. He shares how he transitioned his career from the corporate world to something smaller — something he really believes in.In this episode, you’ll hear about High Key’s distribution, challenges, investment, marketing and innovation. Joe also discusses the importance of having a growth mindset and a strong sense of values to incorporate company culture.Together, they explore how the hybrid workforce of today has affected the workplace, as well as the difficulties small companies experience. Kristi and Joe also discuss how Joe’s disciplined routine helps him get through difficulties and where he hopes to see HighKey in the next five years.To founders and CEOs, Joe’s advice is, “You have to have something that has a value proposition — and in food, it better taste good!”

What’s a critical component to consider in the early stages of venture capital investing? People. And people are particularly important when a business is new — when it feels like just a few founders with a big, bold idea.That’s why serial investor, Joe Tonnos, says that 75 percent of early-stage investment is the founders an investor is backing. The remaining 25 percent is the product, market, and everything else. Joe is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Ketch Ventures, an investment firm that partners with disruptive, early-stage entrepreneurs and management teams to add value and grow consumer-facing businesses to the next level.On this episode of The Irresistible Factor, Joe shares his more-than-a-decade’s worth of experience investing in and advising companies across a number of different sectors. (In addition to his role at Ketch Ventures, he also serves as Principal and Associate Portfolio Manager at Meteora Capital and Venture Partner at Natureza Growth Partners.)Joe outlines what early-stage investors like Ketch are looking for, highlights some of the defining characteristics of great founders. He also shares his advice for entrepreneurs: “It’s having the vision, it’s being prepared to explain it, and making an investor understand what makes [your business] compelling and how it’s going to benefit them.”

How do you bring plant-based, nutrient-dense snacks to America, and make them irresistibly good?That’s what Scott Jensen, Co-Founder and CEO of Rhythm Superfoods, set to find out, creating the most delicious, nutrient-packed snacks. On Kristi Bridges’ podcast, The Irresistible Factor, she and Scott discuss how he built this innovative company, along with what it was like transitioning into the health food industry after decades of working with barbeque sauce at Stubb’s. They also explore how Rhythm Superfoods has, impressively, been able to scale over the past decade.Scott shares his advice for young entrepreneurs and breaks down the importance of being able to move fast: “Sometimes, what you think you have control of, life will give you something that you never could have ever thought of.”Tune in for a behind-the-scenes look at one of America’s most exciting health snack companies, learn how they secure funding, navigate the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and more!

Manny Lubin, Co-Founder of Slate Milk, strongly believes in following your gut. That’s what he did by launching a product during the pandemic, and it paid off for him.Slate Milk is a better-for-you line of lactose-free chocolate milk, packaged in 100% recyclable cans. On this episode of The Irresistible Factor, Manny shares the need he and his business partner identified for a product like this, how they started Slate Milk and how they came up with the name.Together, host Kristi Bridges and Manny dive into why Slate Milk has focused its marketing efforts on social media and the benefits of influencer marketing. They also discuss why Manny values employee satisfaction so highly. “We want 100% of our employees to be happy,” he said, “to just love what they’re doing.”Manny delves into why the Slate Milk team doesn’t want to grow too quickly, along with how their somewhat negative Shark Tank experience impacted them positively.To other founders, Manny’s advice is: “It’s okay to have opinions. Be stubborn and go against people who have longer resumes and have way more money and have done it.”

You might be surprised to know how a journalism background fueled the popular gluten-free pasta brand Chickapea’s success.“My real skill was research,” Shelby Taylor, Chickapea Founder and CEO, told host Kristi Briges, “and that came from my curiosity and my journalism background. I have no fear of asking all the questions to every person that will listen, and that’s a lot of why it succeeded.”Together, Kristi and Shelby dive into Shelby’s story, uncovering what motivated her to launch her product range, and how she became a CEO. Chickpea uses clean ingredients with no additives, and Shelby attributes much of the brand’s success to its unique formula. She tells the story of how Chickapea unexpectedly thrived during the pandemic, and reveals how they continue to differentiate themselves from competitors in the market.Shelby also shares powerful advice for women entrepreneurs, along with some of the challenges that the company is facing today.“I think that being naive absolutely worked in my favor,” Shelby said. “I believed everything could be done, and in my timeline. I’ve learned so much. If I ever started something new it would have to be in a completely different industry.”

Geoff Alexander, President and CEO of Wow Bao, has a unique business concept that pushes boundaries.In 2017, Wow Bao’s parent company, Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants, had an idea: They wanted to create a product that could help restaurants and catering businesses that were really struggling. Geoff shared that the company considered catering companies that do one big order a week, then sit dormant; the ice cream shop that isn’t working over the summer; and the hotel that has a whole room service staff, but isn’t producing to its full capacity. Host Kristi Bridges and Geoff talk about how all of these businesses could benefit by selling Wow Bao — fast Asian-inspired street food. (The company sells bao, pan-seared potstickers, steamed dumplings, rice & noodle bowls and more.)In the pandemic, this idea exploded, with ghost kitchens operating all over the country. Wow Bao had always been on the cutting edge — opening on college campuses and at stadiums, using technology in the early 2010s. Wow Bao was able to adapt quickly, especially with Geoff at the helm.On this episode, Geoff shares how the company expanded, advice for entrepreneurs, the challenges and growth they’ve navigated and so much more!