Launching Lyx: ‘Gatorade for Dogs’
In this week’s bonus episode, Dylan Jones shares his entrepreneurial journey, which includes serving in the Air Force, a Master’s degree in business analytics, a failed software business, and a brand new consumer packaged goods business that draws on his knowledge of military working dogs—most importantly that it can be a challenge to keep military dogs (and pets) hydrated. Jones came up with a solution and started selling it at farmers markets where he would simply announce, “Hey, I have Gatorade for dogs.” That drove interest and sales, but not enough to make money. And when his wife delivered their second child, Jones started thinking about maybe selling out his inventory and looking for a job. But then, at one of the last farmers markets he planned to attend, he ran into an investor. That led to a conversation, an investment, a reformulation, a rebrand as Lyx, and a product that is now rolling out with big aspirations, especially for a solopreneur. As Jones puts it, “We want to be the Kleenex or the Google or the Apple of dog hydration.”