Sebastian Wahl and Carl-Philipp von Polheim are the founders of mybacs.

Mybacs is a direct-to-consumer (D2C), research driven, biotechnology company for gut-health products based in Zug (Switzerland) and Munich (Germany). Their goal is to revolutionize the healthcare market around the human microbiome and thus make a decisive contribution to the health and daily well-being of everyday customers. Mybacs is specialized on the development of innovative and high-dose synbiotic dietary supplements

They have two types of products - a Travel and Daily well-being probiotic product.

Sebastian holds a Master's degree with distinction in Pharmacy from ETH Zurich. Carl-Philipp studied business administration and holds a Master of Science in Management from ESCP Europe.

In this episode we talk about the origin story of mybacs, how to start manufacturing a physical product, the emerging direct-to-consumer industry, tools and resources to start your own D2C company, VC fundraising tips, the benefits of probiotics, their key learnings for other aspiring founders, and more.

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Show notes:

02:54 -- Introduction of Sebastian, Carl-Philipp, and mybacs

04:02 -- Exploring the origin story of mybacs

06:12 -- Previous work experience before founding mybacs

07:23 -- Thoughts and considerations before taking the leap

08:53 -- Awareness of probiotics and the effect of the human microbiome on well-being in Europe vs. US

10:08 -- Geographies that mybacs operates in

10:22 -- How to manufacture a physical product as a startup

11:53 -- Tips for planning your supply chain

12:34 -- Timing from idea to shipping the first product

13:15 -- Thoughts about assembling the right team in the D2C space

14:40 -- How to incentivize experienced people & experts to join your startup?

15:17 -- Raising outside capital and thoughts about raising money from VCs

16:56 -- How to find a great Venture Capital investor

18:37 -- The advantages of the D2C market and business model

21:45 -- How to ship a product?

23:24 -- Helpful resources, tools, and books to start your own company

24:36 -- The future vision of mybacs

27:28 -- Understanding the mybacs travelers product

27:51 -- Favorite knowledge resources

29:32 -- Hobbies to take your mind off the startup life

30:12 -- Key learnings from starting a company. What would you do differently?

31:07 -- Career advice for ambitious future “leap takers”

32:16 -- What does courage mean to you?

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Special Guests: Carl-Philipp von Polheim and Sebastian Wahl.

Support Leap Takers

Links:

• mybacs
• Darm mit Charm
• The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses - Eric Ries
• The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future - Chris Guillebeau
• Real Engineering
• Wendover Productions
• NOAH Conference
• Slush Conference
• START Summit
• Global Founders Capital
• Rocket Internet
• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• Versandmanufaktur
• TechCrunch
• Gründerszene
• Probiotics
• Imodium
• CAGR