Jaden Brodeur | Luma

March 2, 2023 What I Found

What Is Luma? Tell Us About Your Product, Brand, And Overall Mission.

Luma is a hydration company that’s reinventing the outdated reusable water bottle industry.

Luma 1.0, our first product, is a reusable water bottle that integrates UV-C technology to eradicate 99.99% of bacteria from your drinking water. We’re currently developing a carbon filtration component to additionally treat water for non-bacterial contaminants left unaffected by UV-C alone.

Our long-term mission is to replace single-use plastic’s role in our hydration infrastructure, for the betterment of our bodies and planet.

What Is Your Background? What Led You To Starting Your Own Company, And How Did You End Up In This Space.

Business ideas were my nerdy interest growing up. Startup stories inspired me and adding new ideas to my notes was an everyday thing. My biggest inspirations came from big brands I thought were cool and wanted to be seen using, like Apple and Nike. So I inherently took an especially strong interest in consumer, brand, and design. I also liked to think big. Big problems, big markets, big opportunities.

I got hung up on reusable water bottles when I got to high school. It felt like out of nowhere, everyone had one. At first, they were compelling to me because they’re a product at the intersection of my interests in consumer, brand, and design. The market was massive and growing, and there was no undisputed leader. Then I really went down the habit hole. Why was the market growing so quickly? Sustainability? Were people trying to drink less bottled water? But why was bottled water consumption still rising exponentially? Why was that so bad? Why was there no innovation in the product category?

This went on in bits and pieces for years. The more I learned about sustainability and the water bottle space, the more I thought something was there…that one day, we’ll see a company built on innovation, premium quality, and impeccable design, and they’ll do to water bottles what the iPhone did to cell phones.

Years later, I met my co-founder, Willy, while he was working on the original product concept for Luma. His idea was for a water bottle that used UV-C light to self clean, inspired by his OCD and germaphobia. He was a student at BYU in the same year of undergrad as me, and he launched a Kickstarter project to fund the development of an MVP, when I came across the project while startup scouting for an internship.

We got to know each other well over the span of nearly 2 years while Willy worked through the development process and finally completed production of MVP units. After that, the project had fallen by the wayside. Willy was finishing up undergrad while working full time at a consumer company in Utah, and I was working full time for the same company I’d interned for, but I was ready to build something.

We had a series of long conversations in early 2021 about the project’s biggest obstacles, what was needed to move it forward, how it could happen, and our vision for the future. We decided to team up and give it a full-go, and formed Luma Hydration Inc. a few months later.

What Have Been Both Your Favorite And Least-liked Parts Of Your Entrepreneurial Journey? What Have Been Your Most Challenging And Most Exciting Moments For You And The Company?

My favorite part of being an entrepreneur is being in a position of autonomy. For someone who’s overflowing with passion, creativity, and has high conviction in themselves, there’s no better feeling than being able to work with total freedom. Being an entrepreneur provides me with that.

The most challenging part for me is needing to spread my time across many things at once, which comes from being a small team. Learning to juggle multiple projects simultaneously continues to be a big learning curve for me.

The most exciting moment? Seeing a picture of Tiger Woods using our product was probably the most surreal moment. I’m a golf nut and grew up watching him, so seeing that happen was a dream come true.

What Was The Fundraising Process Like For You? Tell Us About Your Investors And How You Use The Funds You’ve Raised.

Raising our pre-seed was a wild ride. We started raising in summer of 2021 when we were ready to move forward with our new manufacturer on Luma 1.0 development. All we needed was capital. I remember being so naïve going into that first round. I’d never raised capital before, but I had a background in startup financing and I figured it’d be something I’d excel in, or at least get the hang of quickly.

It was a stressful time. We were young, first time founders starting a consumer goods company in an extremely saturated market, and we didn’t have a launch-ready product yet. Heck, we didn’t even have a finished website up at the time. Needless to say, it didn’t go as easy as planned. We were just too early for most investors to give us the time of day, and we didn’t have extensive friends & family networks to lean on.

In August, we closed our first investment from a solo angel. Over the course of the next 8 or 9 months, we pieced together a pre-seed of roughly $250k from angels and one small fund, all of whom were investing in the passion, scrappiness, and resilience we had as entrepreneurs.

Looking back, I’m really grateful for what we went through. Raising that first round was one of most important stages of my growth as an entrepreneur, and we’re a much better company today because of it.

Who Are Your Co-Founders Or People Who You Work Very Closely With? How Do Their Skills Supplement Yours?

My co-founder, Willy, is one awesome dude. I think we have a really unique relationship because we’re so much alike in some ways and opposites in others, on both a personal and professional level. The thing I appreciate most about Willy is his commitment. It takes a very resilient, determined person to persevere through all the ups and downs of building a company, and for me to have that in Willy is something I’m extra grateful for.

What Is One Thing About Building A Business You Did Not Know That You’ve Learned So Far Since Launching Luma?

That things never go exactly as planned, and because that’s the case, there’s a fine line between adequate planning and over-planning. This has been a big learning curve for me. The more experience I’ve gained as an entrepreneur, the more I’ve learned that it’s nearly impossible to predict exactly how or when certain things will go. Embracing this more and more over time has had a huge impact on how we go about company planning.

Our roadmap, strategy, and us as entrepreneurs need to be flexible. Fortunately, this is something my co-founder and I are both inherently good at it.

Have Recent Supply Chain Issues Impacted Your Launch And Overall Product Development? Can You Share A Bit About Your Manufacturing Process?

We definitely had our fair share of stress from supply chain issues this past year, although mainly just on the importing side. Our first production run was complete in early June, and we were anticipating a roughly 30-day import timeline. That turned out to be far from accurate. We hit delays at pretty much every point possible. First it was a shortage of cargo ships, then it was a congested docking port so the ship stayed at sea, then it was a shortage of labor to remove our container from the ship, then it was a shortage of rail equipment. It was especially stressful since we’d launched our private beta in anticipation of our inventory arriving shortly, so this was just a nightmare and forced us to pivot our rollout plans.

Fortunately, we don’t rely on frequent production runs or imports, so it’s been smooth sailing since our inventory arrived and we can plan well in advance for future production.

Tell Us About Your Typical Workday Schedule. What Are Your Morning And Evening Routines? What Are Some Tips You Have For Staying Productive?

My workday schedule is a bit all over the place and a big goal of mine this year is to develop a more consistent routine. The struggle for me is all rooted in my sleep schedule. I have a habit of working late into the night which I’m trying hard to break.

I just recently started getting into meditation which I try to do every morning before starting the day. In the early evening I like to take a couple of hours around 5ish to separate myself from work and do something active with friends, although sometimes it’s tricky depending on what we have going on at the moment.

To stay productive, I’m a religious user of Google Calendar, iOS Reminders, and Apple Notes. I use Google Calendar to time block projects I’m working on, Reminders to keep a running list of small things I need to handle both for the company and my personal life, and Notes to document thoughts popping into my head throughout the day.

What Are The Top Qualities or Skills You Believe Entrepreneurs Need In Order To Be Successful? Also, What Advice Do You Have For Entrepreneurs Who Are Just Starting Out?

Passion: The best entrepreneurs have an immensely strong and genuine passion for what they’re working on. Love it. All of it. Be obsessed.

Humility: Every founder makes mistakes. Good founders have the humility to accept when they’ve made a mistake or a poor decision, and then correct it.

Unwavering Resilience: Entrepreneurship is full of ups and downs. The ups can feel euphoric, and the downs can feel dreadful. Founders need resilience to push through the lows. When all is said and done, the day a startup fails is just the day the founders give up.

My biggest piece of advice: fall in love with the process, not the destination. Appreciate the challenges and embrace the failures along the way.

Tell Us A Story Of Something That Happened To You That Taught You An Important Lesson.

I remember when I was 5 years old, in preschool, there was a table full of jigsaw puzzles. Any time you finished a puzzle, you’d get a sticker next to your name on the puzzle chart. It essentially resembled a leaderboard, with the amount of stickers next to your name as the score. I obsessed over it. I’d spend hours every day doing puzzles, committed to having the most stickers next to my name, and running up the score so no one could catch me.

Looking back, this was the first display of my competitive nature that I can remember. As a 5 year old, I obviously had no understanding of any deeper meaning to that. As I’ve gotten older, I find it interesting to look back at my childhood where I innately displayed characteristics that are still so present in my behavior today as an adult.

If You Can Have A One-hour Meeting With Someone Famous Who Is Alive, Who Would It Be And Why?

Probably Will Ahmed, founder & CEO of Whoop.

I think Will is an incredible founder and I think Whoop is an incredible company. Everything they’ve had to go through to build an exceptional product while competing with some of the biggest companies in the world, like Nike, Apple, and Microsoft as they entered the space of wearable technology, it’s so inspiring.

What Do You Do In Your Free Time?

I like to spend time with friends. My closest friends are all pretty competitive, so that usually means we’re playing something. Golf, pickleball, pool, darts…if there’s a winner and a loser, we’ll play it.

What Are Some Things You Incorporate Into Your Schedule To Maintain Health And Wellness?

I try to stay active and spend time outdoors.

Playing golf helps me cover that from spring through fall. Winters can be brutal here in Connecticut. I picked up pickleball this year with friends and I’ve been loving it.

What Is Your Favorite Quote And Why Does It Resonate With You?

“Control what you can control, embrace what you can’t.”

I’ve always loved this quote, and I try to remember it whenever I’m facing a challenge or feel stressed. It helps me remember how to direct my energy, and makes everything seem so much simpler.

What Does Success Mean To You?

Ah, this is the toughest question in the game.

Success at the most basic level is just the accomplishment of a goal. I’m an ambitious person, as most entrepreneurs are, and my goals are constantly evolving and growing as more progress is made. So on a personal level, I don’t think I’ll ever reach a point where I’m satisfied and not pushing further, and I think that’s the beauty in it. Success for me is the constant effort in growing as a person, with pride in the person I’ve become, and excitement for the progress I’m striving for.