721: The Power of Biohacking: How These Founders Changed My Life and Business

25:38Turn those dreams into and give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your$1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash gold digger. Go to shopify.com slash gold digger. Shopify.com slash gold digger. Katie, what kind of tips would you give to entrepreneurs? So most of our listeners are female entrepreneurs. We're wearing many hats. We're doing many different things. We're trying to grow things. We're taking care of humans. Like what are some of those wellness rituals that we could maybe add into our life that would help support that desire to continue to show up as high achievers?

26:21Yeah. I mean, it's, I think it sounds cliche, but self-care is so important. You know, you have to take care of yourself first before you can take care of your business or anything else. And, you know, after growing this business for nine years of trial and error, there have definitely been periods where I'm like, you know what, I'm just going to buckle down, focus on work. And I put self-care off to the side and it never pays off. So now, you know, I put self-care first. That's why my hair's wet. Cause I made sure I did a sauna and workout and red light before anything else. And sometimes your hair doesn't look great, But yeah, I mean, I think I'm at the point where, you know, I definitely focus on the basics like sleep, exercise, hydration.

27:03But also I think if you can get like a great functional medicine practitioner to do your blood work and to prescribe you like a custom protocol with peptides, even exosomes. I think there's a lot of like amazing stuff out there that you can use to boost your performance. And then on top of that, I just try and outsource everything I can, like any kind of deliveries. I just use Uber Eats, use TaskRabbit, like try not to do any of the stuff that's going to suck up your time. We recently got a personal assistant who's amazing and that's also helped. So just try and find shortcuts to make your life easier so that you have more time for self-care.

27:44Oh, I love that. You know, it's so funny because I'm the same way and my ritual these days, because I, for so long, I would watch these like Instagram reels of these women who would be like, here's my like hour long morning routine. It was like so peaceful, right? Like the journaling, the sun's coming out, they're sipping their coffee. It's still hot. And I'm like, I am a mom to two small children. My morning looks like chaos. And it's so funny now because the minute that my husband leaves to bring my daughter to school, he takes both kids with him. That is when I go downstairs and I lay on my mat and I do red light and I meditate.

28:17And I was just like you, Katie, where I used to like the second they were out the door, I'd crack open the laptop, get to work, like be productive. And I just found so much of not necessarily having this like perfect routine, but having these moments of like reset in the day where it's like the morning was chaos, but like, here's my reset, like come back home, calm it down. And the other thing I want to say that I loved what you talked about, Katie, is that so many entrepreneurs are walking around with so many numbers in their head of like, here's my lifetime value. Here's how many subscribers I have.

28:48Here's how many followers. We don't know our labs like that, like our blood work. And I think that so many entrepreneurs focus so much on like the business numbers that like, to me, lab work is like a game. Like when I have like a deficiency or something, I'm like the biggest reward is seeing my lab work updated in a couple months and, and looking at that. And I think that was a huge shift for me because for so long, I think there's a part of us maybe as women, or at least for myself, where I just believed like I'm just in my like hustle phase like I'm just gonna hustle it out and I didn't realize how much my health was not supporting the really bigger goal and now it's like with health and vitality first my business is so much easier like the energy flows so much better so can you guys explain Lauren this might be back to you again but what is a PMF Matt and And why does it work?

29:43So let me tell you one quick story. So I bought a PMF mat after listening to your podcast episode. I had actually been working with one of my friends who's a brilliant human biologist. He has one of the top podcasts and he was swearing by PMF. So I was looking and I was so obsessed with the fact that it was a woman founded company and just like the mission behind you guys. And so I ordered one and then I ended up ordering one for my mom because I fell in love with it. And my brother, who is a very logical engineer, was like, what is this stuff? And he came prepared to a family meeting about like, okay, you guys are going off the deep end.

30:15What is this? And he goes, I started researching it and it is fascinating. The science behind it is undeniable. And he had like come ready to be like, what are you guys doing? So what is a PEMF, Matt? Because people see me laying on mine all the time and ask me a million questions. And all I can say is that I feel amazing. My children love it. My dog loves it. Talk to me about it. Yeah. I think it's important to mention that we didn't invent any of these technologies too. You've been around for a very long time. Yeah. I just want to like note that, you know, they've been around forever. We really love the biohacking community because they talk about all of these things.

30:53And it's such a shame because the biohacking community is mainly male dominated and they have very different goals than us, which is like live forever, or be faster, stronger, smarter, which is just not the goals of women, which is unfortunate. But if you do tap into that community, you are going to be exposed to incredible technology and tools and ingredients. And like Katie mentioned, peptides and exosomes that can optimize. And I really love that because I've been in health and wellness forever. And even still to this day, I feel like health and wellness is so confusing because it's so bio-individual that you can't really say one diet for everybody, one way of working out.

31:30but with the biohacking world, it's really focuses on optimization. And I think that's really an amazing thing to be thinking about. And I think we, more of us should be thinking about ways to just optimize and feel better. And you will really discover, you know, all these technologies there and these three technologies that we, you know, stand behind do exactly that. They are going to optimize. They're going to help you feel better and really focus on this idea of longevity where you're going to feel better longer, which is super important to note. So that being said, I explained infrared. We have our infrared saunas.

32:05We have our infrared sauna blankets, which is virtually the sauna in a portable, easy to use. I have it. Clean. Yeah. More, yeah. More affordable version, but we wanted to take, you know, infrared and have all the benefits of recovery, but without the commitment of sweating, because the sonoblanket is quite intense with sweating. You know, some people use it every day, but you know, it's really hard to keep hydrated and whatnot. So we created our infrared PEMF mat and we wanted to layer in another technology that really complimented the infrared and really lended to this idea of recovery. And PEMF is exactly that.

32:41PEMF is pulse electromagnetic frequency. It's a frequency that's very similar to the earth's core frequency. So that idea of going outside and being barefoot and feeling that frequency through the body, which it's intuitive, it's innate, you know, your body picks it up and says, Oh, I can relax. I can, you know, put all my stress levels down and the inflammation just floods out of the body. And it's like that same idea of like, you know, bathing in nature or going in nature and that way that it makes the body feel. That's what the PMF is doing through this pulse electromagnetic frequency. And this is the confusing part for people because it is an EMF, but it's a healthy EMF.

33:22And we have all these blogs on our website if you want to like look into it more, but it's this, it's this frequency that's replicating nature versus this erratic wifi that is creating free radicals within the body. It actually does the opposite is it combats the free radicals and it actually charges your cells and puts your body into a state of relaxation and healing too. So again, you lay on the pimp mat. And if you really need to fall asleep, you'll probably fall asleep because it's going to give you exactly what you need. If you needed your cells to charge, you might feel more charged afterwards, but always you're going to feel more calm, more grounded, and just more like yourself, which is such an important tool to have with all the stress that we got going on.

34:09It's great for everyone, kids, dogs. If you have an animal, forget about it. You will not get this animal. office. So definitely buy our mat covers. And then I love mine. I sit with our go mat in the computer chair here. It just makes every single podcast that much easier. Cause I don't know about you guys, but when I speak on podcasts like this, I'm like all nervous. And soon as I get on the pimp mat, I like feel so calm and in my body and confident. It speaks for itself. All this technology speaks for itself, which I think is also something to note. Like I encourage everyone to read about it, educate.

34:42Like if you have an engineer as a brother, like pick his brain, but all of this technology, you feel a difference and your body never lies. Yeah. It's amazing. Cause when we bought our mat, we laid it on a bed in our house. It was like our spare bedroom and it became our biohacking room. And all of a sudden our dog was always laying on the mat. We'd have to like fight her to get onto it. And then our kid started laying on it a lot And she just like loved it and was so relaxed. And so it's just really beautiful. And people see me laying on all the time. They're like, what does it do? And I'm like, you're going to have to ask the science people this one.

35:18But it just it feels amazing. And I also love to because it does become kind of a ritual where it's like I don't use devices on it. So a lot of times I'll meditate or, you know, it kind of just is that calming, like centering of that reset instead of having that perfect routine, which I love. Exactly. Yep. You can use it in any sort of way. And it is really great for kids if they do have anxiety. And I have two little ones too. And when they're all crazy, you know, put them on the pimp mat and they are just so chill afterwards. It's so nice. Chill out. It's time for Cyber Monday, Dell Technologies' biggest sale of the year.

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36:51Can you believe that we're already wrapping up 2025? This year was packed with travel and so many new memories. One of my favorite moments was our team retreat in Arizona with the incredible women who helped me keep this business running. I also recently took the kids to Nashville during fall break, and somewhere in between, I squeezed in a trip to Puerto Rico with friends. We booked some of our most memorable stays this year on Airbnb. There's something special about finding a place that doesn't just look great in the photos, but actually feels welcoming the moment you walk in. That this feels right kind of feeling.

37:24If you've got trips coming up, whether it's a family vacation, a retreat, or a work trip, your house will probably be sitting empty while you're gone. Have you considered hosting your home on Airbnb and letting it work for you? It's a simple way to earn some extra income that can be put towards a future trip or home improvement projects. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com forward slash host. Katie, what has been the biggest shift? So we've kind of talked about the pivot from all of these external locations to being more, you know, to directly to consumers.

37:59What has been the biggest pivot business wise for you guys in the last couple of years? You were prepared for the sauna blanket, but now you've been expanding, adding products to your product line. What does that look like from that standpoint? Yeah, I think, you know, we've pivoted a lot in our history. We've gone from, you know, selling infrared heating systems to yoga studios. That was the first, first model to locations, to direct-to-consumer product. Now we're omni-channel. So we've started to expand into retail like Nordstrom, Sephora, Best Buy. And I think overall though, the biggest change has been shifting from locations to product because it has such a different financing profile.

38:42I think that was a big learning. All the inventory needs being a product company just kind of change how you have to think about your capital structure. So as we got into product, we started relying a lot more on working capital loans and became more aware of the cash conversion cycle. And now I feel like we've got a good handle on that. And we're just focusing more now on, you know, kind of our shift towards CPG products, which is a whole nother ballgame in terms of the marketing and focusing on repeat rate and stuff like that. So it's definitely always something. I'm sure. And, you know, 12 months we'll have pivoted to something else.

39:21Yeah. I mean, you're always learning. And I, I love that, you know, speaking of, I was at a spa recently and I got a facial and on the facial table, they had a red light mask, a higher dose red light mask. And they were like, here's, this is an add on. It's an extra$20 for your service. And I was like, I actually have one of those in my suitcase. I travel with it. I bring it like, thank you so much for the upgrade, but I'll be declining. Let's talk about that final piece, at least for my routine, which is red light. So red light therapy is something that has totally changed my life. It's something that's become a daily routine.

39:57And your mask is something that I literally wear every night. So every night I lay down for bed and I wear it and I have to turn my Kindle on super bright so I can keep reading while I'm wearing it. And my husband just laughs every night when he tries to kiss me. Good night. What is the science behind red light? And why have you created your mask? And now you also have your new product, which is like the chest expansion piece. So talk to me about those products. Yeah. So red light therapy is something that has also been around for a very long time. And I would say that the beauty industry has, you know, adopted it a lot sooner than even the biohacking world has mainly because it has such great skin enhancing benefits that you see immediately.

40:39You know, your skin is glowing after every single use and it's just cumulative, all the benefits. So it just gets more and more the more you use it. It feeds the mitochondria, which produce ATP, which means every cell is operating better. So it's like feeding your cells food. So that means that, you know, your skin is, that's why it's like glowing afterwards. It's just been like fed nutrients, you know, like it, like it just got fed sun and water. and then so what it does is it downs inflammation within the skin which i think is really big when it comes to skin health and and you know it increases blood flow and circulation as well when you're increasing that blow and blood flow and circulation again it's feeding the cells it's opposite of stagnation i think it's another reason why facial massage works really well and and gua sha you want to get the stagnation out and increase that blood flow and circulation and just make sure that all the cells are getting fed on top of it.

41:36But one of the cool things about red light therapy, which most people don't know, and I think it's why the biohacking world has adopted it more, is because red light actually combats the exposure of blue light. And it does that because it's much similar to the sun. Again, all of our technology just replicates nature. So when you think about the sun in the morning, when the sun first rises, it has this red and slight yellow and amber tones to it. And it's actually a calming, regenerative light. And as the sun gets higher and more intense, it becomes blue, which is actually cortisol releasing. It's when you should go, your day's happening.

42:13We're supposed to be energized by the sun. And then as the sun comes down, that red light and the infrared light starts to come back again. And it's telling your body, now it's time to relax, calm down, down cortisol levels, and start to release melatonin to go to sleep. Now, the issue is, is that we are exposed to so much blue light throughout the day, through our cell phones, through our computers and TVs. So we're actually telling the body something opposite around like six o 'clock, seven o 'clock when it actually should be calming down and relaxing because of all the blue light exposure. So you using the red light face mask with the Kindle is combating all that blue light and is going to help you sleep deeper at night.

42:57I don't know if you're using it at night because you notice that your sleep is better. I mean, it's the only time I squeeze it in. Okay. And sometimes it's the only time that you can squeeze it in, but you know, red light before bed is going to increase your sleep by so much because it's telling that body to relax, calm down, you know, release melatonin, which is one of your highest antioxidants. And we all know, and I think we can all agree that sleep is probably one of the most important biohacks and there needs to be more education around just sleep and your glymphatic system. And, you know, that's the time to detox and repair.

43:33I feel like any sort of tool that you can do to help have a deeper sleep is great. Infrared does exactly that. And red light does exactly that. And I think that's why the biohacking world loves it. Yeah. Because when you expose yourself to that, your circadian rhythm is going to be better. Your mood's going to be better. Your skin is better. Your hormones are better. Everything is better. And it's again, feeding that mitochondria, which is producing ATP, which is energy, which means every cell is functioning better. And then just to mention the neck enhancer, we really love this piece because we feel like, you know, women also age on their neck and decolletage.

44:10And there's not many things that we talk about around, you know, caring of that skin. So I think it's also important for that. But then also, you know, your thyroid is right here too, as well. And red light for your thyroid is probably one of the best things for your hormones as well. So it's really a great add on to your red light face mask. The more you can cover your body and red light, the better. So yeah, I encourage anyone that's never tried red light before. It's probably one of my favorite wellness, you know, hacks that I believe everyone should be doing. Okay. So here's a funny thing.

44:42So since you guys don't have a massive red light yet, I lay on my mat and then I have a juve light on its side and I'll do my red light on my mat so that I can do everything in 20 minutes, which I know it's, you know, efficient. That's a true biohacker when you're stacking technology, because you don't have time. That's what biohackers do. I know it's amazing. So for anyone listening, so my three favorite higher dose products are the sauna blanket, the red light mask, which I use every single day and the PMF mat, which I use every single day. I don't use my sauna blanket as much now that we have an actual sauna in our house, but I have it.

45:16And now I'm wanting to use it again more because we don't have an infrared sauna. So I'm like seeing the difference in technology in a new way. So what would you say though, if somebody is listening, because let's be honest, some women listening might need to start saving their pennies up to buy their products. What are some natural ways that we could get some of these benefits just in our everyday life of today? If somebody is listening today and they're like, okay, I'm on board with all this, but what do I do if I can't afford it or I'm not ready to purchase yet? Yeah. I mean, I think like Lauren touched on before, what we're doing with a lot of our technology is trying to replicate the healing power of nature.

45:53So if you're saving up for the higher dose at home wellness tech in the meantime, you can try and spend more time in nature and get the positive grounding benefits of going for a walk in the woods or a walk on the beach or just getting some morning sunshine. And another thing you could do if you're on the fence, like a lot of spas at this point have infrared saunas or red light that you can go and try and just make sure that you like it and that you feel a difference. And then if you think it is great, you can purchase it from us. We do have payment plans and it really ends up paying for itself because you know, a lot of spas and infrared sauna session might be like$70, whereas our blanket's$6.99.

46:37So it pays for itself in 10 uses. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. And just to add to that too, as well, we have this really cool show called Biohack Hers, which actually deep dives into all sorts of cool ways to biohack. And a lot of ancient wisdom is actually free biohack. So check out the show through our website if you want to pick up on some cool ways to biohack for free. Yes. Oh my gosh. So what is on the horizon? I feel like we've had a big year with higher dose. I feel like new products, new expansions, new stuff. What are you guys excited about for the new year? I don't know. Getting through.

47:17It's been a big year. It's crazy. We still have such a small, awesome team and Katie and I are very much involved in the day-to-day and we both love what we do which makes it so nice but yeah we're just trying to get through this year it's still a lot we've had so many great things that have happened with Sephora launch and hopefully getting in store in Sephora and Best Buy and launching some new products too as well but I think we're most excited for some of our new products that we're going to be launching again we are obsessed with the red light space we think everyone should be doing red light.

47:51So watch out for some of our new products, Jenna, I'm going to message you on the side and make sure you get some, some of the products before we launch them. Cause we'd love your opinion on them. I've been waiting. I'm here. Yeah. It's in your wheelhouse, but I would say, yeah, look out for some of our products that we're going to be launching. It's, it's really just a great addition to the family of this world of technology and tools that can really change your vitality from the inside out. And who doesn't want that? It's a great investment. We truly believe that the most important investment is the investment into yourself.

48:27And it really does speak for itself. And like Katie said, it pays for itself within a few sessions. And ultimately, this wellness tech lasts for a very long time. And you can share it and definitely gift it to people that maybe don't really think about ways to take care of themselves or they don't even nowhere to start. It's such a gift like you did with your mom, which I think is so special. So maybe I think there's no better gift for somebody. Yeah. I'm excited. Yeah. And just to add to that too, I feel like we have such an amazing community at this point of fans, people who love the product.

49:02And we're also thinking through new ways to engage our dose community. So look out for, you know, potentially retreats and also new kind of tech related products that help kind of connect higher dose people together. I just have to commend you both because I feel like my audience already knows what we're talking about, but now they're actually like understanding kind of the why behind it and also the women behind it, which I think is so powerful. And I have to say like your products have changed my life. Like it is literally a non-negotiable. There are very few non-negotiable pieces of my life and your products are like the root and the core of them.

49:44I was actually going through TSA the other day and they had to open up my bag because I did something wrong. And they saw the mask and someone goes, oh, Halloween costume. And I was like, no, this is how I look like this. And so it's been amazing and transformative, not just for me, but also like you said, for my mom. And she's on her own healing journey. And it's just so powerful. Every time I call her, she'll be like, I'm on my mat again, I'm on my mat again. And so I just think I want to commend you for digging into it and also just for representing women in this space. Like I said, there are so many biohacking resources and research studies done on men and women just operate so differently.

50:22And one thing that we touched on a little bit is just the impacts of cortisol for women, especially driven women. I'll never forget when I was going through my fertility stuff, my doctor, who was an amazing doctor and very natural, had ordered a lab for me to see what my cortisol was. And it was out of this world. And so I've been on this mission of really balancing my nervous system. And I think so much power comes from that. And yet we don't speak about it enough because it's not the quote gains that look impressive, but they feel impressive. And I think women are working more towards lives that don't just look good, but lives that feel good.

50:57And you guys totally help with that. Where can everybody find out more about both of you as founders, about the products? Give me all the places. So higher dose.com higher dose.com at higher dose on Instagram. And then my Instagram handle is at K letter T K a P S. And mine's at Lauren Berlin, Jerry Berlin, like the city in Germany and then G E R I. I love it. Thank you guys so much for what you do. I am a huge fan and I can't wait to see what's next. Uh, we're such a huge fan of yours too, and the community that you built as well. And we're just so happy that we could be on this podcast and speaking to you and, and that you use some of our wellness tech to do what you do in the world just means everything to us.

51:47There are very few brands, founders, products that I swear by. And I can honestly just say that the higher dose wellness tech has changed my life. I think it really helped me get started on this wellness journey that I've been on. And they've just been these supportive tools in my life that have become a part of my rituals, my routines and my resets every single day. Like I'm obsessed with them. I use them every single day. So if you want to check out higher dose, you can head to jennacutcher.com forward slash higher dose. It's jennacutcher.com forward slash higher dose. And if you want to save on your wellness tech, use the code gold digger.

52:24It's 15 % off site wide. There's a few exclusions included in that. But again, that is jennacutcher.com slash higher dose. And thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the podcast. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. And of course, until next time, keep on digging your biggest goals. I'm over here giving you a virtual high five because you just finished another episode of the Gold Digger podcast. Did that go by way too fast for anyone else? If you want more, head over to golddiggerpodcast.com for show notes and all the discount codes from today's sponsors. And if you're looking for a new crew of movers and shakers like you to bounce ideas and ask questions, be sure to join my exclusive community for Gold Diggers on Facebook.

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