Nootrobox

Nootrobox
Private
Industry Nootropics, Supplements
Founders Geoffrey Woo, Michael Brandt
Headquarters San Francisco
Area served
 United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Mexico, Spain
Website nootrobox.com
The "RISE" daily nootropic from Nootrobox

Nootrobox is an American company that offers nootropics.[1] The company is headquartered in San Francisco and currently offers three nootropic stacks – RISE, SPRINT and YAWN, and a chewable coffee gummy called GO CUBES[2][3] via an online storefront and a subscription service.[4]

History

The company was first founded in 2014 by Stanford alumni Geoffrey Woo and Michael Brandt. While forming the company Woo was an Entrepreneur in residence in the Entrepreneur-in-Residence program of Foundation Capital,[4] while Brandt worked as a Google employee, a freelance photographer, and an adjunct professor at the Academy of Art University.[5][6] Nootrobox acquired a following in Silicon Valley and in February 2015, the company expanded its market to include Canada.[7][8]

Nootrobox was recognized as a "Top 15 Brand for 2015" by the UK design firm Identica.[9] Nootrobox is also known for advocating intelligent regulatory and safety reforms for the broader nootropics industry.[10] On October 13, 2015, the company announced that prominent Silicon Valley angel investors and executives including Marissa Mayer and Mark Pincus have invested in a $500,000 angel round for the company.[11]

In December 2015, Andreessen Horowitz led a $2 million venture capital round in the company. Chris Dixon, who has experience at biohacking companies like Soylent, led the investment for Andreessen Horowitz.[12] The new funds will be used to accelerate clinical research and product research & development.

In August 2016, Nootrobox rolled out its first major retail partnership for GO CUBES with 7-Eleven locations in San Francisco.[13] The GO CUBES are prominently featured at the counter at the point of purchase.

Culture

The company gained notoriety in Silicon Valley in 2016 for instituting a weekly staff intermittent fasting day. [14] Eschewing unlimited snacks often typical in a Silicon Valley startup office, the Nootrobox staff instead opts for 36 hour weekly fasts where they avoid all caloric intake. Other Silicon Valley tech workers are adopting this regimen to improve productivity.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Castro, Vicky. "The 'Brain-Enhancing' Drugs That Are Sweeping Silicon Valley". Inc.com. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. ↑ "About Nootrobox". Nootrobox. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Don't have time to drink your coffee? Chew it with Go Cubes". CNET. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 Perez, Sarah. "Nootrobox Launches Its "Smart Drugs" Subscription Service". TechCrunch. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  5. ↑ D'ONFRO, JILLIAN. "This Twenty-Something Ditched His Dream Job At Google And Now He Has A Startup That Sells Brain-Enhancing Pills". Business Insider. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "A Pair of Entrepreneurs Focuses on 'Nutrients for Your Brain'". WeWork. June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  7. ↑ Roose, Kevin. "I tried Silicon Valley's favorite 'brain-enhancing' drugs". Fusion. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Thomas, Knowlton. "Nootrobox Launches 'Smart Drugs' Subscription Service in Canada". TechVibes. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Identica - Fifteen Brands for Twenty-Fifteen", Identica, Feb 1, 2015
  10. ↑ "Nootropics: International Headlines Focus Attention on Silicon Valley Workers' Use of "Smart Drugs"", NBC, May 29, 2015
  11. ↑ "Marissa Mayer and Mark Pincus invested in a startup that makes 'brain drugs' and chewable coffee", Business Insider, October 13, 2015
  12. ↑ "Andreessen Horowitz to Invest in Nootropics Start-Up", New York Times, December 3, 2015
  13. ↑ "More money is being poured into start-ups that 'hack' the human brain", CNBC, August 4, 2016
  14. ↑ "'Hacking' the brain: Silicon Valley entrepreneurs turn to fasting and 'smart drugs'", Mercury News, July 9, 2016
  15. ↑ "SILICON VALLEY TECH WORKERS ARE TRADING UNLIMITED SNACKS FOR FASTS AND L.S.D.", Vanity Fair, July 14, 2016
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