Alex Kravets would chug coffee or guzzle energy drinks only to feel jittery, anxious and irritated. But he needed the fuel to power through his hectic schedule, and his subsequently sporadic sleep cycle couldn't convince him otherwise.
Tossing and turning is only tolerable for so long, however. Eventually, Kravets's frustration caught up with him, motivating him to concoct a solution of his own: An all-natural beverage now known as CogniTea.
After pouring over reams of research, the Babson College alumnus stumbled upon L-Theanine, an amino acid commonly found in green tea. He discovered, when mixed with other herbal ingredients and extracts, the building block could help build the brain's mental clarity, focus, creative thinking and cognitive performance.
"I then called pretty much every tea production facility in North America and found a production partner who mills and blends teas for the largest tea companies in the world," Kravets told BostInno via email. "I worked with this partner to formulate what CogniTea is today."
Yet what it is today, is an overnight success.
A crowdfunding campaign for CogniTea went live on Wednesday. In roughly nine hours, the startup surpassed its $5,000 fundraising goal and is now nearing $6,000.
The early success is a testament to the team's overarching message. As Kravets claimed, the mission is to be much more than a tea company. "Our number one goal," he said, "is to create a brand that supports people achieving their dreams."
And the CogniTea brand is based on a motto that reflects that: "I Can. I Will."
"We believe in the ambitious, the resilient and the persistent; those of us living relentlessly," Kravets explained. "No matter what we face, we are determined to succeed."
In the eye's of the company, it's easier to succeed when you're slurping down a tea crafted to help you stay focused, perform better and hit your goals, whether that be starting a company of your own or making the buzzer-beater in an after-work basketball game.
With the money made, CogniTea will go through its first production run, which they will start completing come Monday out of the newly-opened WeWork coworking space in Boston's Innovation District. The team will also use the newfound financing to partner with entrepreneurial and athletic retailers, organizations and events to promote the brand, as well as build an infrastructure capable of supporting "cost effective retail and online distribution."
According to Kravets, new stretch goals will be rolled out in the next few days — ones he hopes will take CogniTea "to a whole new level."
The son of two-time world heavyweight champion George Foreman, founder of the newly-opened fitness facility The Club by George Foreman III, has given CogniTea his stamp of approval. Don't believe us? Just check out the team's Indiegogo video below.
