Have you heard of the gut microbiome? There’s been a lot of buzz about scientific research about how the bacteria in our gut influences our overall health. And in this episode of Lead With We, I talk with first-time entrepreneur Marc Washington about how he launched a consumer nutrition brand called Muniq that uses gut health science to help people who struggle with health issues to take back control. We discuss the personal tragedy that led Marc down this path, his ambitious decision to launch the brand during a pandemic, and whether business is truly meeting the call to be more inclusive.
Marc Washington
Marc Washington is a seasoned executive & entrepreneur with deep experience in consumer businesses, with emphasis on health, wellness, nutrition, and fitness. He has extensive experience successfully scaling entrepreneurial businesses and advising startups and VC/PE firms.
Mr. Washington is Founder & CEO of Uplifting Results Labs (UR Labs), a consumer health and food tech company transforming human health with accessible products that work through the gut microbiome. The first product line for the company’s consumer brand, Muniq, is a nutritional shake with a proprietary prebiotic blend that strengthens gut health and naturally improves blood sugar levels. Muniq empowers those looking to regain control of their health and lives from underlying health conditions, through accessible products that people love.
Mr. Washington previously served as CEO of Irwin Naturals, a privately held $100 million nutrition & supplement company with products sold in over 90,000 retail locations. At Irwin, he developed & led a strategy to launch an extensive portfolio of CBD-based health products across categories including supplements, food & beverage, skincare, and pet nutrition.
Previously Mr. Washington served as President/COO of Beachbody, a $1B nutrition & fitness company with products including Shakeology, P90X and Beachbody-on-Demand digital fitness platform. He led Beachbody through explosive growth doubling overall company revenue during his tenure.
Prior to Beachbody, Mr. Washington worked for 9 years at The Wonderful Co., a privately held $4B healthy food & beverage business whose portfolio includes FIJI Water, POM Wonderful, Teleflora, and Wonderful Almonds & Pistachios. He served in a variety of roles at The Wonderful Co. including corporate CFO, divisional Head of Sales and CFO for Teleflora, VP Corporate Partnerships, and Director of Strategy & Operations for FIJI Water. Previously, Mr. Washington worked at McKinsey & Co. where he led strategic & operational consulting projects across industries in the U.S. & abroad.
Mr. Washington holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and is a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University. He played varsity football at Princeton, where he was the school’s 1st four-year letter winner, served as Co-Captain during his senior year, and was an Academic All-America honoree. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife & 3 children.
Simon Mainwaring
Simon Mainwaring is a brand futurist, global keynote speaker, and bestselling author. He is best known as the author of We First: How Brands and Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World and the Founder and CEO of We First, a strategic consultancy that works with brands to define their business strategy, company culture, and brand communications.
This episode of Lead With We was produced and edited by Goal17Media.com and is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify.
Resources
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