Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Phil Southerland, CEO of Supersapiens, located in Atlanta, GA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Supersapiens allows users to discover stable and sustainable fuel sources, effectively glucose loading leading up to an event (training or racing), validate their fueling, and dial in their fueling strategy. The Supersapiens training ecosystem, powered by Abbott's Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor and the Supersapiens app, empowers athletes to optimize fueling, maximize training, and increase performance gains.
Tell us about yourself
I was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes at seven months old, and the doctors told my mother I would either be blind or dead by age 25. Luckily, I had stubborn parents who valued exercise, technology, and medication access. I didn't just overcome those odds, but I went on to become a professional cyclist. I used a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for the first time in 2006 through a research trial with Abbott at the Race Across America (RAAM). While using this new technology, my seven-person all-type 1 Diabetic team finished on the podium in second place at RAAM. The following year, armed with an increased understanding of glucose management, my team went on to take first place at the event and set a new world record.
I transformed that idea into a global endurance sports powerhouse. It began as Team Type 1 (2008), which raced as a mixed squad (both athletes with and without diabetes) and was ranked in the top 25 in the world by 2012. In December 2012, and in partnership with Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, the project rebranded itself to Team Novo Nordisk, and we began racing with an all type 1 roster. Team Novo Nordisk is the world's first all-diabetes professional sports team and the athlete's race to inspire, educate, and empower everyone affected by diabetes.
In 2009, I knew having constant visibility around blood glucose was the missing piece for sustaining peak performance in endurance sports while competing with diabetes. I applied for a conceptual patent to bring CGM data to a bicycle head unit (computer) at that time. I had approached company after company hoping to make this advancement possible, and it was Chip Hawkins, Founder of Wahoo Fitness, who made the impossible a reality when he connected CGM data via Bluetooth to the Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT in late 2018.
By overlaying exercise data consistently and accurately with blood glucose data, I experienced the a-ha moment, connecting the dots with blood glucose levels, fuel management, and exercise performance. I learned more in 15 days with CGM data on the head unit than in the previous 15 years. I also realized that the true value of this supercharged data was not just for athletes with diabetes but for every athlete across the globe. Supersapiens was born.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
We were intentional about going big out of the gates, but I never dreamed that we would already be a globally recognized brand in the sports market in the first year of commerce. I am grateful to those who have trusted us to play a role in chasing their goals and dreams. We don't take the faith athletes place lightly in Supersapiens--that belief is highly motivating, and we only want to do more for the community.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
I would say launching a business during the middle of a global pandemic came with some extreme challenges. While we are an American company, we launched in Europe initially. This meant we were building out a team and going to market without being able to visit our distribution facility, meet our new sales team, or truly interact with our customers. So we shifted our mentality to embrace the challenges and see them as opportunities to get better. There is no shortage of challenges in the startup world, and adjusting how we approach them into something more empowering excites me from a leadership standpoint.
Everyone faces the symbolic headwind at some point in the day, week, month, and year - so learning how to navigate that headwind and use it to your advantage is a key discipline that we are working to impart within our entire organization.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Aim to make the impossible a reality, always be a challenger, and be stubbornly ambitious.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
If we don't effectively share our knowledge, we lose an opportunity to help people. Supersapiens is very mission-focused. We know we have a tremendous opportunity to change the health and performance of the world, but it is more than that—we feel we have a great responsibility to do so. And the only way to do that is to help one consumer at a time and empower them to achieve their goals.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.supersapiens.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/supersapiensinc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supersapiensinc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilSoutherland
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/psoutherland/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Turn your craft into recurring revenue with Subkit. Start your subscription offering in minutes and supercharge it with growth levers. Get early access here.