Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in health supplements but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Lance Capel, co-founder of Let's Go Chia, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

You have probably heard of chia seeds, but we want to encourage you to try powdered chia seeds. Powdered chia seeds are the best superfood in the world. There are three reasons why:

• Healthiest form. Powdered chia seeds are more bioavailable and easier to digest — it is easier to absorb all of the nutrients from them because the fibrous outer shell of the whole chia seed is already broken down.

• Quickest way to consume chia. Powdered chia seeds are easier to incorporate into beverages and recipes. Whole chia seeds need to soak for at least 10 minutes to become as bioavailable — when you're busy with kids or work or life, this can add up.

• Easy to use. Powdered chia seeds can be mixed easier with other superfood ingredients. We pair our powdered chia seeds with other superfood ingredients to improve flavor and functionality (but we never have more than five ingredients in each blend).

Tell us about yourself

For the last 10+ years, we have made it a priority to eat healthily. It started from our days as high school cross country and track runners when we discovered the difference in performance when consuming a healthy, nutrient-dense diet versus eating whatever we wanted. In the running world, 2009 was a formative year for the rise of chia seeds, largely due to the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. This book was released in our first year of high school and explains how the Tarahumara Indian Tribe used chia seeds to fuel their unbelievably long-distance runs (sometimes a few hours long and sometimes a few days long).

After reading the book, as any good distance runner did, we tried to incorporate chia seeds into our diets more consistently. We both consumed chia seeds on and off throughout our high school and our NCAA Division 1 collegiate running careers, but neither of us would say they were a true staple in our diet. There were two primary reasons for our lack of consistency. First was not having a clear use case for taking chia seeds, and secondly, not having a go-to chia seed brand aligned with our lifestyle.

At the start of 2020, we began to dive more into the benefits of chia seeds because we knew they were an incredible superfood ingredient, but we wanted to know more. We learned that chia seeds are a plant-based protein that contains all nine essential amino acids, loaded with omega 3's, full of fiber for gut health, consist of more antioxidants per serving than blueberries, and are embedded with minerals for bone health. We quickly realized that the key with chia seeds is consuming them in the most bioavailable way, meaning the way that allows your body to receive all/most of the benefits.

The two best ways to increase bioavailability for chia seeds are: to let the whole seeds soak in water/liquid for 15+ minutes and to ground/powder them to break down the fibrous outer shell.

Allowing the seeds to soak in water/liquid was not revolutionary to us, but the ground/powdered form was new. We began to explore the ground/powdered form more. We began experimenting with the powder on our own. We were amazed at how convenient it was to mix with other powders and incorporate them into any beverage or recipe we desired. The powdered format also offered a unique, nutty taste profile that the whole chia seeds do not contain. Once we learned that powdered chia seeds were more bioavailable and easily incorporated into any beverage or recipe, we began to look for brands focused on delivering powdered chia seeds with other functional, superfood ingredients.

We figured since Four Sigmatic had done it with mushrooms, Vital Proteins had done it with collagen, surely someone had to have done it with the best superfood on the planet (chia seeds) — but we found nothing. There was no single brand focused on delivering powdered chia seeds paired with other functional ingredients, so WE BUILT IT!

We created Let's Go Chia because we wanted to create a brand focused solely on delivering the best-powdered chia seed products paired with other functional ingredients. We hope that our chia seed-based blends can offer a better way for people to consume chia seeds more consistently and in their most bioavailable form. As you can see in our name, we want to give you a reason to say, "Let's Go!". There are so many beautiful places you can explore, and we hope that our blends inspire you to get outside and move.

Let's Go,
Lance & Kelli Capel — Husband & Wife, Founders of Let's Go Chia.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Exposing people to a new, healthy product and hearing hundreds of stories about the product has enhanced their daily lives.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Stress and things not going as planned — each day, there is some sort of challenge that you may not expect, but you have to choose to accept these setbacks and put one foot in front of the other.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Have a strong conviction.
  2. Find a support person/network.
  3. Be in it for the long run.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Let's Go Chia is easy to purchase on Amazon — try it here!

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://letsgochia.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsgochia/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lance-capel-6ab14494/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.