We sat down with CogniTea founder Alex Kravets for this edition of Do What You Love – a series that showcases the entrepreneurs behind startups and small businesses.
Seven months ago, the 25-year-old Boston native and co-founder of I Am Hungry and Zaang decided to create an all-natural alternative to coffee and energy drinks. He recently ran a successful crowdfunding campaign for CogniTea that surpassed its fundraising goal in roughly nine hours and is still going strong.
Here’s what Kravets shared with us:
CogniTea is a company that supports people to achieve their goals. We make a tea that helps you have mental clarity, focus and energy without the jitters and side effects of coffee and energy drinks. Everyone has things they need to get done or achieve, and we just help you achieve your daily pursuits a little bit better.
I did a lot of research, but the formula came together in the first couple of months. It’s made with a blend of teas, herbs and L-Theanine, an amino acid that’s found in green tea, to help promote Alpha brain waves. It’ll help you get to that state of feeling centered and focused.
I’m passionate about building companies. I created something that would be a healthier and better alternative to coffee and energy drinks. Then, others started to tell me that it was a great idea, so I realized there was an opportunity. It wasn’t a choice to start a tea company. I don’t even think of it as that. I say we’re an aspirational lifestyle brand that will sell a lot of other products.
If you want something, go get it. But you also have to be prepared to work for it. You have to work your ass off and eventually something good will happen. It’s hard to work when you don’t necessarily see a clear end goal or see things working for you. I don’t know if CogniTea will work for me obviously, but the more you work and the more you put yourself out there, good things will happen.
It’s a complete roller coaster ride every day. It’s also the most manic-depressive life you could ever choose to live. Sometimes you have real highs and sometimes you have real lows. Find a support system of family and friends and just find a way to deal with it. You’ll be okay because all entrepreneurs face it.
My first startup idea came to me when I was in college. I wanted to create a wireless communication system on cruise ships where people can use their smart phones. This was back in 2007 when everything was starting to emerge with voice-over IP calling and we wanted to find an alternative to walkie-talkies that people used to bring on to communicate with their families. Cell phones on sea don’t work all the time and it can get really expensive. It didn’t end up working out, but this was the first one that I got behind.
I wouldn’t be happy doing anything else. My whole family is entrepreneurial so it has always been in my blood. I’m clearly passionate about it, so if we can spread that message to other people and motivate others to go after what they want, then that’s a win-win for me.
