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As a former NFL player and lifelong high performer, Todd Anderson was obsessed with optimization. He’d tried every hack, supplement, and tool he could find. But when he began taking a closer look at sleep, he noticed a glaring gap in the wellness conversation.
That shift started when he began working with Dr. Jennifer Martin, a leading sleep researcher at UCLA. After learning he had mild sleep apnea, he began taping his mouth shut at night to encourage nasal breathing. The results, he said, “were life-changing.”
What began as a personal breakthrough soon turned into a mission. After experiencing the effects of nasal breathing firsthand, Anderson launched Dream Performance & Recovery, which enhances sleep through products such as mouth tape and nasal strips. He joined me on the One Day with Jon Bier podcast to talk about how he built the brand from scratch.
Learn on the fly
Anderson had no background in business, just a personal breakthrough and a drive to build. But that was just fine.
“I think if I had all the funding in the world, I probably would’ve done it the wrong way. Instead, we had to figure it out, build slowly, and then scale once we knew it worked,” he said.
With no outside funding, Anderson bootstrapped every step of the way. “We were writing checks every month, paying for all this stuff,” he said. “Because of that, I think it allowed us to learn at a really rapid pace.”
He points to a quote from Spanx founder Sara Blakely as his guiding principle: “Start small, dream big, and scale fast.”
The result was Dream Mouth Tape, then Second Wind Nasal Strips. One product keeps your mouth closed for improved oxygen uptake, and the second maximizes airflow into your nose.
Related: 5 Lessons I Wish I Didn’t Learn the Hard Way During My 20 Years in Business
Let the product speak for itself
In the early days, the team leaned heavily on Anderson’s own social following and podcast appearances. He accepted every opportunity he could: “I said yes to every event, every speaking thing, every podcast, and it ended up paying off.”
Awareness happened organically. On a 46-mile run through the Grand Canyon, Anderson brought the first prototypes of his nasal strips to the event. “Everyone tried them and they were blown away.”
That approach helped build a customer base that spread the word on its own. “When people do buy into it and they start sleeping better, and it does change their life… they tell everybody,” Anderson said.
Focus on retention
A major turning point came when Anderson moved manufacturing from overseas to the U.S. The goal wasn’t just faster shipping—it was better quality. “Our product got exponentially better,” he said.
In a low-trust category like wellness, consistency matters more than hype. “We had no choice but to get it right,” Anderson said. “If people didn’t come back, the business wouldn’t work.”
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Find the right partners
Eventually, Anderson found some heavy-hitting investors who believed in the product and could offer valuable branding expertise. “We brought on Sara Blakely and Jesse Itzler as pretty substantial partners,” he said. “They own a good chunk of the business.”
Blakely is the founder of Spanx and one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in history. Her husband, Jesse Itzler, is a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, and part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks.
“Their values are lined up exactly how I would want to have my values lined up. And so knowing that’s how they operate, and then getting advice through that lens, I don’t think we could ask for anything better.”
Anderson is starting to see the cultural shift he hoped for. What once felt like a niche message is now gaining traction. “I think people realize it’s not about having the most hours in the day,” he said. “It’s about having the best hours in the day.”
Related: A Bad Business Partner Could Cost You Millions — Here’s How to Avoid a Toxic Partnership
As a former NFL player and lifelong high performer, Todd Anderson was obsessed with optimization. He’d tried every hack, supplement, and tool he could find. But when he began taking a closer look at sleep, he noticed a glaring gap in the wellness conversation.
That shift started when he began working with Dr. Jennifer Martin, a leading sleep researcher at UCLA. After learning he had mild sleep apnea, he began taping his mouth shut at night to encourage nasal breathing. The results, he said, “were life-changing.”
What began as a personal breakthrough soon turned into a mission. After experiencing the effects of nasal breathing firsthand, Anderson launched Dream Performance & Recovery, which enhances sleep through products such as mouth tape and nasal strips. He joined me on the One Day with Jon Bier podcast to talk about how he built the brand from scratch.
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