Beyond the Fear: Embracing Change and Perseverance with Mitch Jacobsen, P.Eng., CEO of Rviita Energy Tea | FoodGrads Podcast Ep 79
Last Updated on November 18, 2023
On today’s FoodGrads podcast we are talking about entrepreneurship, sharing your story in social media and perseverance.
Our guest today is Mitch Jacobson, Mitch Jacobsen, CEO of Rviita Energy Tea. Rviita Energy Tea is a clean pick-me-up drink made with caffeine from tea, organic honey, and vitamins, packed in a low carbon footprint, recyclable beverage pouches. Rviita is now a company centered around inspiring others and helping people become healthier and more productive. Rviita is a Calgary-based company that distributes energy teas in over 1000 stores all across Canada, and is rapidly expanding in both Canada and the USA.
Mitch graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. He got a job right out of school as a Water Strategist and Water Sustainability Engineer for an oil and gas company but during that time he witnessed a close friend have a heart attack which was attributed to unhealthy energy drinks – Mitch believed there had to be a better product which supplied energy and was also made of healthy ingredients.
Mitch used his experience in sports combined with a lot of trial and error in the lab to create a low sugar energy tea made to give you a little energy when you need it most, without the crash and unhealthy ingredients.
Show Notes
Timestamps
[0:00] Introduction
[2:36] Mitch introduces Rviita tea and himself
[5:59] Why Mitch and team decided release a mango flavour
[6:44] Mitch sharing his career story
[10:58] Caffeine and the CFIA drink recalls
[13:11] Things entrepreneurs should focus on
[15:43] How do you get your product on supermarket shelves
[17:38] Building up your sales skills
[21:34] How small interactions make a big difference in someones day
[22:50] Why Mitch has been so open with his journey on LinkedIn
[29:33] Mitch’s opinion on hiring individuals with a social media presence
[32:30] How has the transition been employing individuals
[35:19] What does career growth look like at Reviita
[39:56] Books and movies Veronica and Mitch have enjoyed
[45:57] Mitch’s definition of success
[50:33] Mitch’s advice for students listening
[51:44] Where you can find Mitch
Links
Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy
Mitch Jacobson Quotes
It’s hard to walk into a cold approach, a store or cold approach, a buyer and go and sell your product, but that is the most important thing you should be doing in the early years.
– Mitch Jacobson
You wouldn’t believe some of my most genuine, uplifting, empowering interactions have been with someone that works at a grocery store, right? The person’s talking the shelves, you walk up to them and you say, “Hey, how’s your day going?” Right? And mean that genuinely, that’s so, it’s very rare for a lot of people to have an interaction like that. So you can not only make somebody’s day, but you can learn how to better connect with people, which is going to help your business. It’s going to help your happiness. It’s all connected.
– Mitch Jacobson
It has pushed me to the limits of what I thought I could persevere through many times. It’s been very difficult. It has not been an easy journey and we’re heading in the right direction. I thin we’re going to get there, we’re going to be a big successful company one day, but we’re going to be a big successful company because we persevered through these hard things.
– Mitch Jacobson
If I bring someone to pack boxes in the back, I don’t just want the packing boxes. 3 years from now I want them to maybe be managing our warehouse or managing something on the production line. How are we going to grow them into that role? Or how are we going to develop them so that they can have a great career somewhere else?
– Mitch Jacobson
I would say your definition of success will change, likely change a lot throughout your entrepreneurial journey.
– Mitch Jacobson
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