Category: Breakout

Founding Member of Mayo Clinic’s Well Living Lab | Health and Wellness Enthusiast | Sustainability and Chemical Free Advocate | Entrepreneur of the Year | Eco Citizen Award Recipient

Founder and CEO of Essentia, Jack also leads the company in its material science developments for the healthiest sleep outcomes.

Through the years leading Essentia Jack has worked directly with health gurus, professional athletes, and teams in the NBA, NFL, MLS, and over 25% of the NHL players on creating healthy sleep performance. Some of the greatest athletes have relied on Essentia for best recovery outcomes, these include Kevin Love, Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Matt Duchene, and Haley Wickenheiser to name a few.

In keeping with his vision on keeping Essentia at the forefront of sleep wellness, Jack has closely worked with globally renowned health leaders/gurus and interpreted their teachings in human sustainability and how they can apply to better sleep. Through the years Jack has established Essentia as the leading sleep wellness product and has to lead the space in truly restorative sleep. Those health gurus today use, endorse and recognize Essentia as the leading wellness mattress. They include wellness leaders such as Dr. Mark Hyman, Dave Asprey, Deepak Chopra, Ben Greenfield, Brian Clement, Andy O’Brien, Dr. Frank Lipman, Delos (The founders of the Well Health Safety Rating & Stay Well Properties), Dr. Jace Provo, and many more.

Through Jack’s involvement with Mayo Clinic’s Well Living Lab, Essentia has also focused on healthy sleep during travel and is a key health feature in Stay Well rooms in hotels such as the Four Seasons, Marriott’s, MGM Resorts, and many more.

Recognized by several internationally renowned institutions for creating the healthiest sleep environment, Essentia has been rated #1 for 6 consecutive years on Consumer Reports including 2021. Essentia is also the only approved mattress by the Hippocrates Health Institute.

Jack strives for balance and his ambition for Essentia’s growth includes growth for the people at Essentia, thoughtfully designed products and processes, and the wellness of both Essentia clients and our communities.

In response to the impacts that Covid-19’s impact on our communities, Jack repositioned Essentia’s altruistic Betterhood Program which now focuses on donating mattresses, foundations, and pillows to local charities with a focus on charities that can help spread wellness through sleep with a donation goal of over $1.2 million worth of products throughout the year. This includes charities that help families impacted by natural disasters, job loss, and other issues highlighted by COVID-19 such as women and children in abusive environments and those suffering from depression.

 

Jim has served as a managing member of Advanced Biotechnologies, LLC since co-founding the firm in 2013. With a focus on strategy and business development, Jim’s entrepreneurial track record includes founding/co-founding two prior start-ups that implemented innovative and disruptive technology-based solutions that changed the way their respective industries did business.

Both firms were sold to public companies (Siemens and Comfort Systems USA) and were successfully integrated into these firms’ product and service offerings.

Prior to starting his own businesses, Jim held executive positions in the technology world at companies such as Apple Computer and NeXT. Jim is married with 4 children and living in Orleans, MA.

 

Rowena Gates is a principal at Eng3 Corporation. She helped launch Eng3’s NanoVi® technology and currently oversees business development for its use in health, wellness, and performance. Rowena has been a serial entrepreneur since 1995 when she co-founded one of the earliest companies to offer an Internet-based solution to the logistics industry. Rowena received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington for her work on international strategic alliances and regional economic development. While her collaborative approach remains, her focus has shifted from the economic wellbeing of regions to the health and wellness of individuals.

 

Brian Richards is a nationally known expert in sauna therapy, light therapy, and EMF science. In 2013, he founded SaunaSpace, a company that combines cutting-edge infrared technology with the age-old practice of sauna.

In 2008, Brian faced an important health decision: start taking pharmaceuticals for acne, insomnia, and adrenal fatigue OR try full-spectrum sauna therapy coupled with ancestral practices like clean diet, proper sleep, and yoga. By opting for the natural approach, Brian rapidly transformed his health. This life-changing experience inspired him to create SaunaSpace.

In his journey to develop the perfect product, Brian has immersed himself in the science and research behind light, heat, electromagnetism, and the human body. Thirteen years later, he brings a refreshing approach to natural living, biohacking, and natural health transformation.

Cameron is a researcher, writer, entrepreneur, and the founder of TRU KAVA, a company that is striving to set the industry standard for quality, safety, and education around kava within the mass market. TRU KAVA is focused on developing scalable user-friendly products that deliver the full therapeutic action of the traditional kava drink, which is the only form that has been highly prized in south pacific islands for over 3000 years.

Since Discovering the amazing effects of traditional Kava during his own chronic illness, Cameron spent many years investigating every aspect of Kava and has collaborated with many of the most prominent experts in the world within the fields of Kava research and historical Kava use. The goal of this project is to provide the safest and most effective Kava products on the market, as well as educate the public on the complex story surrounding Kava, explaining some of the myths, the massive variation of quality on the market, and the many amazing benefits that Kava can offer to the modern world when it’s used correctly in its traditional form. It is an initiative to educate on the clear distinction that the scientific literature and historical accounts have made between Safe and questionable Kava products, as well as to advocate for the use of only lab-tested safe Kava varieties.

Education     University of Arkansas, 2008-09, Business