If embarking on a startup is considered to be an endurance sport in its own right, then consider Scott and Jessica Morgan as ideal race entrants.
Not only are the Morgans one of the newest members of the local entrepreneurial scene as the co-founders of a supplement company Derby Fit, but they also happen to be elite athletes who, in recent years, qualified for their first competition as members of the Team USA Triathlon team.
“It’s pretty rare. I can't think of any offhand actually — especially to qualify at the same time,” Scott told me of being on the team as a couple.
The Morgans earned the right to represent their country at an event in Milwaukee in 2021, but had to defer the chance to go to the world championships for various reasons. In September, they will have the opportunity to compete in the World Triathlon Age-Group Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.
Oh, and did I mention that Scott is actually Dr. Morgan, who has worked as an anesthesiology specialist for the last four years — after going to medical school after serving as a U.S. Army Ranger for four years, including tours in Iraq and and two in Afghanistan? And he’s a dad of an 8 year old and a 3 year old?
“He’s just a machine,” Jessica said of her husband. “He’s always been that way.”
For years, Scott had looked at starting a business as something of interest, but lacked a spark. In December 2021, the Morgans realized, after creating homemade blends of protein supplement powders, that the answer to opening a business was intertwined with their collective passions for physical fitness and nutrition.
“We felt like this fits who we are, and this is something that we feel passionate about,” said Scott, a Louisville native who has worked at Norton Audubon Hospital since 2018. “We knew what we wanted — and we knew that it wasn’t out there.”
Jessica Morgan was a pharmacist for many years before shifting to running Derby Fit full time. While working at a pharmacy, she began thinking about starting a supplement company due, in large part, to all of the customers “who seemed lost in the over-the-counter section.”
Adding to the confusion was the fact that supplements do not have to be regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, allowing companies to include fillers and additives into their products without any legal repercussions.
“We realized that there’s a lot of difference in quality and knowing what's in something,” said Scott, who ran in his first Iron Man in Louisville in 2016 after moving back to town from Savannah, Georgia, in 2014 to do his residency. “We didn't want to be just any person creating something. We wanted to actually have the knowledge to understand.”
“We said, ‘There's a need for this. We need to create a supplement that doesn’t have extra fillers, dyes, or artificial sweeteners because there are a lot of companies that add things to products that people don't understand,'" Jessica added.
Eventually, after looking over approximately 20 companies, the Morgans found the right fit with a manufacturer based out of Pennsylvania that sources and certifies and tests ingredients both from the U.S. and from international markets.
Expanding the brand
The Derby Fit website (derbyfit.com) launched on Black Friday 2022 with one product: a protein recovery custom powder in a pineapple flavor offering. The powder, Jessica said, is meant to either be mixed in with water, milk or almond milk, but it can also be put into a smoothie.
The powder is plant-based with a base of monk fruit and Stevia for sweetness and a variety of other ingredients — wheat grass, beetroot powder and lion’s mane, to name a few — to help the body replenish what it needs after a workout.
Currently, Derby Fit still has the one supplement product, but the Morgans hope to offer a vanilla flavor of the product down the road. There are also plans underway to one day offer a pre-workout energy supplement powder.
One 1.2-pound canister — containing 20 servings — sells for $59.99 online, plus $9.99 as flat-rate shipment in most states. A 28-ounce shaker bottle is also available for sale online. As of a recent date, the company had online customers from 10 states.
Those who wish to purchase the product in person can do so at Rainbow Blossom at its St. Matthews and Highland Markets locations, and at both Swag’s Sports Shoes locations, on Westport Road and 3rd Street Road. The Morgans said they also hope to enter the Amazon.com e-commerce scene in the upcoming months, as well as more in-store retailers.
Derby Fit launched two months ago, bringing in approximately $3,000 in revenue in the first month. The Morgans hope to reach $100,000 in revenue by the end of 2023 — and $5 million within five years. They currently do not have any investors in the company, but are open to the idea.
Until then, they’ll put one foot in front of the other (in rapid succession).
