From Sleepless Nights to a Wellness Start-Up How Dan Murray-Serter and Joel Freeman turned their personal health battles into a brain nutrition brand aiming to change how we think about supplements.

Dan Murray-Serter couldn't sleep. Joel Freeman battled constant gut issues. Their struggles weren't just fleeting problems but wake-up calls that pointed them toward a surprising answer: brain nutrition. With the help of medical experts and hundreds of research papers, the friends embarked on a journey that would become Heights—a London based business born from the belief that caring for the brain is essential for holistic health.

What inspired you to start your business?
Joel and I are best friends, who created Heights after following very different personal paths. I struggled with insomnia and anxiety, while Joel suffered from stress-induced gastrointestinal issues. Whilst we experienced different issues, both of us came to realise, with the help of medical professionals, that paying better attention to our brain nutrition was the answer to our issues.

Experiencing first-hand the power that supplements had to transform our health, we began reading hundreds of scientific papers on nutrition and mental health. We wanted to share this knowledge with others, so we began a newsletter which translated the complex science into an easy 3 minute read in people's inbox to share how they can take care of their brains..

As our subscribers grew, we wanted to be able to provide supplement recommendations to our customers, but felt loath to suggest they too begin spending £100's of pounds a month on various capsules, as we were doing. We saw that people needed a better solution: simple, science-led supplements which could deliver the right doses without additives, and without a cupboard full of eight different products - and especially delivered in a way that can help them build a daily habit.

We had the vision, but if we were going to create the best possible care for your brain, we needed the experts. Our customer perspective was actually hugely beneficial because it meant that we were, and still are, adamant about doing everything by the book and according to the science. As such, we partnered with Dr Tara Swart, Oxford University trained medical doctor and Neuroscientist and Sophie Medlin, Consultant Dietitian and Chair of the British Dietetic Association of London.

What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it?
Making the best products in the world is a long and difficult process. Our unwavering stubbornness to uphold the highest scientific standards means that the product development process takes a long time. Vitals+ took 18 months to create, and Biotic+ took two and a half years before bringing to market. And that's before you consider that every single ingredient has had to be sourced from the best place around the world. Our blueberry extract comes from Italy and our algae oil from a farm in Nova Scotia.

Building trust also doesn't happen overnight, and communicating our research in simple and digestible ways has also been a challenge. Our customers are busy people, who don't have time to read extensive research papers. We needed to find a way to communicate our message succinctly and clearly, and in a way that was meaningful to them. That's been an ongoing process, especially as the results of our research at first seemed to be too good to be true!

Related: Rethinking Employee Wellness Initiatives

How did you secure your initial funding?
We did a 'convertible note' with some angel investors that helped us get off the ground to bring the product to market, and then raised some money in 2020 as part of a crowdfunding round on Seedrs.]

How do you handle failure or setbacks?
It's part of the game. Sometimes it's about pushing through, and other times it's about accepting and dealing with setbacks!

What advice would you give to someone starting their own business?
Don't do it! Just kidding. Work for someone else, ideally in another startup, before you start your own. It's the most obvious advice, but it's very true.

How do you stay motivated during tough times?
Motivation is fickle - it's better to have a good routine. No one stays motivated all the time. The best thing you can do is get good sleep, maintain a healthy routine, and, in an ideal world, love solving problems for your customers, as that can be addictive.

Share your tips for achieving success....
Put your health first, have a personal life, see friends, and don't just slave away nonstop at the office, or you'll burn out, become miserable, and make all the mistakes we've made. To be a great entrepreneur, you need to recharge your batteries, have energy, and be determined to win. The way to do that is by solving problems you're deeply interested in and designing your life so you can do it for the long haul.