Ryan Chen and his over-30 cofounder (Kent Yoshimura) started their entrepreneurial journey as elite athletes - Chen was training with the U.S. Paraolympic team, while Yoshimura was a member of Japan's Olympic Judo team - who were simply in search of a good way to keep their energy up. Drinks and supplements didn't feel healthy, and so the two conjured up NeuroGum, a gum laced with the caffeine also found in green tea. The pair launched the brand via an October 2015 Indiegogo campaign (it raised $15,000 in just three days), and have since attracted a cadre of better-funded investors, including the Nordstrom family and Gemini Pharmaceuticals.

Entrepreneurship, Food & Beverage, Food industry, Food, Lifestyle