Heroes in Business - Dr. Amy Czyz, Ophthalmologist, Co-founder CEO Intent brand adaptogenic beverages

Episode Date: July 8, 2021

What is your Intent. Dr. Amy Czyz, Ophthalmologist, Co-founder CEO Intent brand adaptogenic beverages is interviewed by David Cogan founder of Eliances and host of the Eliances Heroes show broadcast on am and fm network channels, internet radio, and online syndication.  

Up in the sky, look, it's captivating, it's energizing, it's Eliance's Heroes. Eliance's is the destination for entrepreneurs, investors, CEOs, inventors, leaders, celebrities, and startups, where our heroes in business align. Now, here's your host flying in, David Kogan, founder of Eliance's. That's right, and I love flying in. Can you believe everything we've been doing and how long we've been doing this? Over 800 shows, and we're talking about launching ones that have launched new businesses, actors, celebrities, billionaires, gazillionaire, millionaires, ones that have taken their brands to a whole nother level. And what an honor it is that I get to be able to

share with all of you the secrets that we learned from them at all and many, many different levels. It's just truly, truly an honor. And with that, we're going to go ahead and we're going to start off too. And by the way, too, thank you. As a reminder, thank you too for the feedback we continue to have when I hit on the CEO of Pepsi. That's right, the Pepsi. So make sure that you go to alliances.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. Go ahead and click on the radio link and you will be able to see and hear that episode too. So make sure that you check it out because as you know at

Alliances, it is the only place where entrepreneurs align. All right. So what happens when you take a optometrist and you mix them with something that they're going to create that's going to really change the way in which you taste drinks and specifically her amazing drink. And with that, we're going to have her on Dr. Amy Chez. She's an optometrist and co-founder and CEO of Intent Brands. Now you can reach her directly by going to haveintent.com or of course at alliances.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S.com. All right.

So Dr. Amy, tell us the mix between becoming and being an optometrist, mixing it with now being the co-founder and CEO of Intent Brands. Well, David, you know all about the crazy that it is to be an entrepreneur, right? So there is some type of crazy blend between tenacity and grit and being an optometrist for the past 21 years now, I can't believe it, giving to others and taking care of patients is something that is just in my DNA. But that little fire in your belly that tells you that you can do more is what creates that opportunity to expand beyond the four walls. So whether you're in an exam room, whether you're in your garage, when you've got that entrepreneurial spirit, it's kind of baked in. And that's how I made that jump to go from taking care of patients to expanding what I can do for others. So I'll give you the little story of how that started. So when you walk into a five guys,

and they say, How are you doing? A1 sauce and mustard, you know you have a problem, right? So I was going and eating fast food every day, not taking good care of myself, just taking care of my patients. And I found that meal delivery was a great way for me to be healthy. The only thing I was missing was beverages. I won't drink water. I was getting dehydrated every day, headaches all the time. And I found that if I could have a routine and I could create healthy drinks that could help me morning, noon and night and have a point and have a purpose that would allow me to be a good girl. So I figured, geez,

if this is something I need, like so many entrepreneurs, I bet other people need this too. Whether you're travel professionals, moms, dads, everyone struggles with making sure that we hydrate properly and we take advantage of what science and nature can give. So I set out to create a trio of beverages that are designed to keep you in sync, morning, noon, and night, so that you can get back in sync with your body, back in sync with your circadian rhythm, and actually enjoy the experience with tasty beverages.

All right, tell us about the different beverages than that that you have. Absolutely. So they're called Intent, and they're a circadian beverage trio, which is something completely unique and different. So the morning one is called Get Up, Stand Up. It has just a touch of caffeine, kind of like a cup of green tea, just a little so that you can have some energy, a little tiny boost, mental clarity. And then the afternoon beverage is called Break Free, uses adaptogens so that you can kind of modulate stress a little bit better. You can handle what comes your way.

So that is a cucumber jasmine flavor. It is incredible. That is a cucumber jasmine flavor. It is incredible. And then our night shift product helps you rest, relax, and get better sleep at night. I have to tell you, that's the rock star. We have so many people telling us on their Apple Watch, they're noticing a big difference in relaxation. So you can take them whenever you want to throughout the day, but they're designed to

give you purpose and help optimize your health throughout the day in a different way. But Dr. Amy, how do you do it? How do you again, you spend so many years as an optometrist and continue to also be an optometrist. But how do you then go and just create something that's not been created before a whole new formula? Like, where do you even start? Well, a lot of podcasts. That's number one. When you open yourself up to know that you don't know everything as an entrepreneur and you need to build a team around you that knows

a lot more than you do about how to get what you're accomplishing actually accomplished. So what my husband and I set out to do, he said, hey, I think you have a great idea. You're onto something. This is something that's not happening in the marketplace. Let's do it. So I went out and started interviewing formulators. I started interviewing law firms, started interviewing trademark firms, people who could take this idea and concept that was on paper and actually create a prototype. And let me tell you, it took a year and a half to get that blend of ingredients to have the right aroma, the right flavor, the

right experience that I was going for, that actually feels and tastes good so that you want to do it, not because you have to, you actually want to. So you hire a team and it's not easy. I mean, I think all entrepreneurs, if you go into it with rose colored glasses, they come off pretty quick. It's not an easy task. So what I did was I went out and found the right type of people to have expertise in different areas with ingredients, the biochemists, the food scientists and said, this is what I want to do. This is how I want to do it. Help me go through this process together. And it's amazing when those intentions align, you start drawing people to your team that you actually enjoy and want to work with. And that has been the craziest experience over the past year and a half is you've got an intention and a purpose. And people start coming to the table and saying, I really want to be a part of this and help you. And that's what happened.

Absolutely. Well, you know what, Amy? We've got the right formula here because you're listening, watching me, David Kogan, host of the E-Liances Hero Show. Make sure you go to E-Liances.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-c-s.com because we have with us Dr. Amy Chez optometrist co-founder and CEO of intent brands that's haveintent.com and of course we'll have it on our website but you can go to haveintent.com all right so you you have the brand you you work with the the people that help you create

what your vision and everything of that. Now you've got it. Then what though? How do you let the world know? How do you get into places? How do you online? How do you just, I mean, then now take it right. That's, that's one part now to the next level. Exactly. You, you really nailed it there, David, because it's one thing to create a prototype, but it doesn't matter how awesome your product, your idea is if nobody knows about it. So what do you have to do? Well, it comes down to the core of why are you doing what you're doing? Really? What's the intention? What's the purpose of what you're trying to do? Is it just about creating an awesome product or is there more to the story?

And I think with most of us as entrepreneurs, there is a reason for why you do what you do. Right. When you can tap into that and you can be authentic with the reason for what you're doing, you go out there into the marketplace and you find and create your your your opportunity for your fans to sample your product. So when we had our first production run at the end of December, we're now in that sampling phase to find those fans. And lo and behold, they're starting to come to us saying, hey, I love your product. Now what? Coming out of COVID, it's a different time with beverages. It's a different time with beverages because so many of the big retailers and the traditional channels are assessing what consumers are going to do.

It's a lot riskier for them to bring on new brands right now. So as an upcoming startup, it is a challenge. And I think that with challenge comes opportunity to really get down into the fiber of why you're doing something and then start working in those communities. So what we did is we started, you know, asking different people to try our products and athletes started coming to us saying, man, I love how I feel when I drink your product. It doesn't amp me up, but man, I'm more on. I'm on on my game. I'm getting better sleep. It's really fine-tuning my body. I want to continue to take this product. So then what happens? A major, this athlete is world-class. She goes to her organization and says, I want this intent on our team. I want my fellow team players on Team USA to have this product. So that's something that we're now in

the works with an endorsement for a major team, all because we had someone try our product. So I think with these challenges coming out of COVID, it really allows you to focus on where you're going to be successful. You don't create your brand. It's the people who love your product that create your brand. You don't create your brand. It's the people who love your product that create your brand. That's right. And it's all about intent. In fact, too, is this, you may have the opportunity to see here Dr. Amy in person or at one of many online events at Alliances because Dr. Amy, you are part of the Alliances community.

In fact, share with us about what the experience has been like for you. It has been unbelievable because alignment is how things happen. For me, joining Eliance's was something that was very important to me to find like-minded entrepreneurs, people who have a vision, a purpose, they really want to execute it and need to learn from others. And as you learn skills, being able to contribute back to the community and say, hey, this is what worked. This is what didn't work. How can we come together with new ideas from all across different industries? It doesn't have to be that someone is in the same industry as you. You learn from each other. I had the opportunity to get more into my company and have what we call a little deep dive with a special trust of a group of

people that came together. And I learned so much from my fellow trust member about their experiences, the journey that started back in 2011 and now where they are today, their personal struggles, how they triumphed and came through those. And it relates to everything that we're experiencing now as a company. And at the end of that discussion that we recently had, there were tears. Not because of how many sales someone brought, but because you make a personal connection with someone else. And that is invaluable. You can't put a price tag on that. So when we talk about where entrepreneurs align, it's not just about business. It's about a community. It's so much more. Right. And you're referring to the Alliance's eBrain Trust,

certainly. Yes. Great. So then what's next for intent? What's next? So you're working with getting endorsements and that. Where do you see it evolving to? This has been quite an exciting week. What we can say, and some things I can announce and some things I have to keep a little bit secret now. But really what we see next is getting our product into hands. We just had a wonderful, again, alignment situation where we sat down with a fan of ours, a chef who loved our product. We sat down with him and he said, hey, I'm going to be on TV on Tuesday and I love your product so much I'd like to talk about it. Wonderful.

And so because of that opportunity, we've been waiting and waiting to get into a local Arizona specialty grocery chain. And we leveraged that opportunity and said, Hey, we're going to be on TV tomorrow. We can just as easily say we'll be on your shelf and people can find us there. And sure enough, that's how we ended up getting on shelf. So we'll be here locally on the shelf starting next week. And that's a huge jump up in opportunity because now that you're on shelf, you're more than online. And that has just been

announced. And we're going to be in AJ's Fine Foods and all 11 stores. Congratulations. Thank you very much. And it is an opportunity for us also, this being Pride Month for us, we're in a company that's really founded in inclusion. Our family, our friends, we're part of the LGBTQIA community. And we were recently approved to be able to be a vendor over at Pride Phoenix in November. And so it's a huge several months for us to give back to the community, to align with other companies who are allies, to give back to organizations here locally, and really stay true to who we are, what we believe in, that we all

follow the same sunrise and sunset, and we can benefit from helping each other. Excellent. Well, Dr. Amy, I got to tell you, you inspire people to achieve their intentions morning, noon, and night. That's a hero. Dr. Amy Chaz, co-founder and CEO of Intent Brands. You could reach her at haveintent.com. Once again, that's haveintent.com. And you've been listening, watching me, David Kogan, with the Alliance with Heroes show. Make sure you continue to keep tuned in when we have Ed Beakley Jr. on. Yes, the famous actor and activist

this has been david cogan with the alliance hero show