{"id":16828,"date":"2025-07-11T09:41:30","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T09:41:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/?p=16828"},"modified":"2025-07-11T09:41:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T09:41:30","slug":"this-former-nfl-player-built-a-brand-around-nasal-breathing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/this-former-nfl-player-built-a-brand-around-nasal-breathing\/","title":{"rendered":"This Former NFL Player Built a Brand Around Nasal Breathing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p>\n    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.  <\/p>\n<div>\n<p>As a former NFL player and lifelong high performer, Todd Anderson was obsessed with optimization. He&#8217;d tried every hack, supplement, and tool he could find. But when he began taking a closer look at sleep, he noticed a glaring gap in the wellness conversation.<\/p>\n<p>That shift started when he began working with Dr. Jennifer Martin, a leading sleep researcher at UCLA. After learning he had mild sleep apnea, he began taping his mouth shut at night to encourage nasal breathing. The results, he said, &#8220;were life-changing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>What began as a personal breakthrough soon turned into a mission. After experiencing the effects of nasal breathing firsthand, Anderson launched <a href=\"https:\/\/dreamrecovery.io\/\">Dream Performance &amp; Recovery<\/a>, which enhances sleep through products such as mouth tape and nasal strips. He joined me on the <i>One Day with Jon Bier<\/i> podcast to talk about how he built the brand from scratch.<\/p>\n<p>  <iframe allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-testid=\"embed-iframe\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"352\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/4fiEYtznBfDz6yXDEBWQdB?utm_source=generator\" style=\"border-radius:12px\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><b>Learn on the fly<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Anderson had no background in business, just a personal breakthrough and a drive to build. But that was just fine.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think if I had all the funding in the world, I probably would&#8217;ve done it the wrong way. Instead, we had to figure it out, build slowly, and then scale once we knew it worked,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>With no outside funding, Anderson bootstrapped every step of the way. &#8220;We were writing checks every month, paying for all this stuff,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Because of that, I think it allowed us to learn at a really rapid pace.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He points to a quote from Spanx founder Sara Blakely as his guiding principle: <i>&#8220;Start small, dream big, and scale fast.&#8221;<\/i><\/p>\n<p>The result was Dream Mouth Tape, then Second Wind Nasal Strips. One product keeps your mouth closed for improved oxygen uptake, and the second maximizes airflow into your nose.<\/p>\n<p><b>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/leadership\/i-learned-these-5-lessons-the-hard-way-so-you-dont-have-to\/493448\" rel=\"\" target=\"_self\">5 Lessons I Wish I Didn&#8217;t Learn the Hard Way During My 20 Years in Business<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Let the product speak for itself<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>In the early days, the team leaned heavily on Anderson&#8217;s own social following and podcast appearances. He accepted every opportunity he could: &#8220;I said yes to every event, every speaking thing, every podcast, and it ended up paying off.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Awareness happened organically. On a 46-mile run through the Grand Canyon, Anderson brought the first prototypes of his nasal strips to the event. &#8220;Everyone tried them and they were blown away.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>That approach helped build a customer base that spread the word on its own. &#8220;When people do buy into it and they start sleeping better, and it does change their life\u2026 they tell everybody,&#8221; Anderson said.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Focus on retention<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>A major turning point came when Anderson moved manufacturing from overseas to the U.S. The goal wasn&#8217;t just faster shipping\u2014it was better quality. &#8220;Our product got exponentially better,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>In a low-trust category like wellness, consistency matters more than hype. &#8220;We had no choice but to get it right,&#8221; Anderson said. &#8220;If people didn&#8217;t come back, the business wouldn&#8217;t work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/science-technology\/5-new-tech-products-worth-showing-off-to-houseguests\/490259\" rel=\"\" target=\"_self\">5 New Tech Products Worth Showing Off to Houseguests<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Find the right partners<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Eventually, Anderson found some heavy-hitting investors who believed in the product and could offer valuable branding expertise. &#8220;We brought on Sara Blakely and Jesse Itzler as pretty substantial partners,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They own a good chunk of the business.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Blakely is the founder of Spanx and one of the most successful female entrepreneurs in history. Her husband, Jesse Itzler, is a serial entrepreneur, bestselling author, and part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Their values are lined up exactly how I would want to have my values lined up. And so knowing that&#8217;s how they operate, and then getting advice through that lens, I don&#8217;t think we could ask for anything better.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Anderson is starting to see the cultural shift he hoped for. What once felt like a niche message is now gaining traction. &#8220;I think people realize it&#8217;s not about having the most hours in the day,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s about having the best hours in the day.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><b>Related: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/growing-a-business\/3-tips-to-choose-a-trustworthy-business-partner-every-time\/487460\" rel=\"\" target=\"_self\">A Bad Business Partner Could Cost You Millions \u2014 Here&#8217;s How to Avoid a Toxic Partnership<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"first-letter:float-left first-letter:text-8xl first-letter:pr-1 first-letter:-mt-1 first-letter:font-black first-letter:text-gray-500 prose prose-blue max-w-3xl text-lg leading-relaxed mb-12\">\n<p>As a former NFL player and lifelong high performer, Todd Anderson was obsessed with optimization. He&#8217;d tried every hack, supplement, and tool he could find. But when he began taking a closer look at sleep, he noticed a glaring gap in the wellness conversation.<\/p>\n<p>That shift started when he began working with Dr. Jennifer Martin, a leading sleep researcher at UCLA. After learning he had mild sleep apnea, he began taping his mouth shut at night to encourage nasal breathing. The results, he said, &#8220;were life-changing.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>What began as a personal breakthrough soon turned into a mission. After experiencing the effects of nasal breathing firsthand, Anderson launched <a href=\"https:\/\/dreamrecovery.io\/\">Dream Performance &amp; Recovery<\/a>, which enhances sleep through products such as mouth tape and nasal strips. He joined me on the <i>One Day with Jon Bier<\/i> podcast to talk about how he built the brand from scratch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"justify-center bg-gray-100 flex flex-col sm:flex-row rounded-lg p-6 align-middle sm:text-left text-center\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col justify-center align-middle mr-0 sm:mr-16\">\n<p class=\"text-sm leading-5 my-0\">\n      The rest of this article is locked.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xl text-black font-bold leading-5 my-1\">\n      Join Entrepreneur<span class=\"text-yellow-500\">+<\/span> today for access.\n    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/living\/this-former-nfl-player-built-a-brand-around-nasal-breathing\/494507\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. As a former NFL player and lifelong high performer, Todd Anderson was obsessed with optimization. He&#8217;d tried every hack, supplement, and tool he could find. But when he began taking a closer look at sleep, he noticed a glaring gap in the wellness conversation. That shift started [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":16829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/assets.entrepreneur.com\/content\/3x2\/2000\/1752184486-Todd-Anderson-Dream-Performance---Recovery-Headshot--1--1600x1078copy.jpg?format=pjeg&auto=webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16830,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16828\/revisions\/16830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imsfund.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}