Making Something From Nothing: JD Mitchell & Eric Wentworth of Modica On How To Go From Idea To Launch
An Interview With Doug Noll
Eric: I wish that I had known to invest more in my mental health from a younger age. It seems like almost every kid is in therapy now, which is fantastic, but that was not the case when I was growing up. I’ve struggled with self esteem for most of my life, and only got in therapy a few years ago, which has been a total game changer. If you are starting any kind of business, self confidence is one of the most important things to have. Especially if it’s a startup where you are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars or more from investors. If you don’t have an unwavering belief in yourself, then why would they trust you with their money?
As a part of our series called “Making Something From Nothing”, we had the pleasure of interviewing JD Mitchell and Eric Wentworth.
In 2016, Eric and JD met at the University of Louisville, where they were earning their MBAs in Entrepreneurship. At the time, they were both working full-time jobs and taking hours of night classes, and what they wanted most at the end of the day was a cocktail.
Eric has a decade of experience in mixology, plus he’s founded two bars and restaurants in Louisville, KY. But even with that experience, he didn’t want to muddle or infuse anything at the end of a long day.
And JD’s experience is in sales, marketing, and customer service. He can barely squeeze a lime on a good day.
After looking at mixers that were available at grocery stores, they realized everything was full of sugar, preservatives, and artificial ingredients. So they decided to develop their own better-for-you mixer!
Modica launched in 2020 (during the pandemic!) as the world’s first superfood cocktail + mocktail mixer. Each flavor is made with all-natural, superfood ingredients, 70–80% less sugar, and fortified with vitamins and electrolytes for an extra boost of well-being. Current flavors include a Cucumber Aloe Margarita, Turmeric Ginger Mule, and Tart Cherry Old Fashioned. Two more flavors are forthcoming in May.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your “childhood backstory”?
JD: I grew up in Southern Indiana, just across the Ohio River from Louisville, so despite living in a relatively small town, I had access to everything a bigger city offered, but especially the arts. I’ve always enjoyed seeing plays and musicals, and when I was younger, performing in them. Of everything I’ve done, I think participating in high school theatre has been the most impactful to me as an adult and entrepreneur. I’m an animated person and I’ve never been afraid of public speaking or presenting. Those skills have paid off tremendously in the sales positions I’ve held as an adult. But the first time I can remember selling anything was during a band fundraiser in 6th grade. Whoever sold the most cheese baskets won a portable CD player (this was 1999) and I remember hustling every weekend for two months. I still have that CD player in a box somewhere.
Eric: I was born in Louisville, but grew up in a small town in Kentucky. My parents were both extreme foodies before that was even a thing. They were (and are) both incredible cooks, making meals and desserts that are better than anything you can order at most fine dining restaurants. Living in this epicurean environment sparked my interest in food and beverage at a young age. I grew up watching the food network on repeat, and this passion led me to start working in the restaurant industry early on. I always felt the pull of entrepreneurship, though, and after years of gaining serving and bartending experience, I opened my own restaurant and nightclub at age 25, which was the start of my journey as an entrepreneur.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
JD and Eric: We’re both on the same page here, but this is less of a quote and more of an ethos: mindset is everything. It’s an idea we’ve heard echoed by actors and writers and drag queens and entrepreneurs of all kinds. If you believe something is possible, then you’re so much more likely to accomplish it. Life gets tough, and entrepreneurial life can be brutal, so being mindful and intentional with your thoughts and self-talk is essential to keep moving forward.
Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
JD: I’ve always been an avid reader, mostly of fiction and narrative nonfiction, but I’m starting to read a few more business books. I’m an empathetic person by nature, and I think reading has enhanced that. I think the abilities to understand someone and get inside someone’s head are important to life, not just business. But really I just love a good story.
Some favorite novels: Groundskeeping (Lee Cole), Sorrow and Bliss (Meg Mason), Detransition Baby (Torrey Peters), A Gentleman in Moscow (Amor Towles), All This Could Be Different (Sarah Thankam Mathews), Bel Canto (Ann Patchett), Exhalation (Ted Chiang), and Writers & Lovers (Lily King).
And a few nonfiction favorites: Gender Queer (Maia Kobabe), How the Word is Passed (Clint Smith), The Warmth of Other Suns (Isabel Wilkerson), Animal Vegetable Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver), and anything by David Sedaris.
Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. There is no shortage of good ideas out there. Many people have good ideas all the time. But people seem to struggle in taking a good idea and translating it into an actual business. Can you share a few ideas from your experience about how to overcome this challenge?
JD: Know your strengths, and complement them with someone else’s. Starting and growing a business takes a lot of work and a range of skills, and typically, more than a single person’s experience. Maybe that means you find a co-founder, but it could also mean hiring people who are experts in areas where you are not. Something we heard over and over is that investors look at the strength of your team more than they look at the product itself. Because you’re probably going to need to pivot at some point, or if nothing else, you’re going to come up against something really tough; investors want to know you have the skills and expertise on your team to solve problems as they come up.
Eric: I think it’s important to balance two things when deciding to pursue an idea — passion and demand. Your idea should light you up inside and excite the absolute crap out of you. Being an entrepreneur is already one of the hardest things you can do, so if you don’t love what you’re working on to the point where it makes you want to jump out of bed in the morning, save yourself the trouble and get a 9 to 5. You also have to balance that pie in the sky excitement with a heavy dose of reality. There needs to be a real demand for what you’re working on, or else what’s the point? If you’re the only person who loves your idea, then congratulations, you have a hobby, but not a business.
Often when people think of a new idea, they dismiss it saying someone else must have thought of it before. How would you recommend that someone go about researching whether or not their idea has already been created?
JD: This may seem antithetical to entrepreneurship, but innovation isn’t everything. In my experience, how someone executes their business is more indicative of success, especially in super competitive industries like Beverage, where we work. If you see someone solving the same problem you want to solve, you can look at what they’re doing and ask if there’s a better way to do it. Can you provide a better solution? Can you engage with your customers more authentically and deeply? Do you have a viral marketing idea?
Eric: Many of the most successful business ideas are ones that aren’t completely reinventing the wheel. They often take things that have been done many times, and put a new spin on them and make them their own. We did this with Modica. Cocktail mixers have been around forever, but they’ve always been terrible. We loved the idea of them, but there weren’t any that we actually wanted to drink. Even a slight twist or improvement can make for a successful company. Look for ways to improve things you use — even if it is as simple as doing it with prettier packaging or better branding!
For the benefit of our readers, can you outline the steps one has to go through, from when they think of the idea, until it finally lands in a customer’s hands? In particular, we’d love to hear about how to file a patent, how to source a good manufacturer, and how to find a retailer to distribute it.
JD: That’s a great question that could have a really long answer. In our case, we went through several steps: concept and brand development, product development, ingredient sourcing, finding a co-packer, calling retailers, onboarding a distributor. The list goes on and on. Here’s the thing: if I really knew ahead of time everything that was required to get Modica off the ground, then I don’t think I ever would’ve gotten started. It’s a lot of work. I think the best thing to do is talk to people who have already done what you’re trying to do, so you get a sense of what’s required, and then just start working on something. Resist the temptation to get overwhelmed or frustrated by the hundreds of things you know you’ll need to do in the future. Do one thing at a time, and do it as well as you can.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Leading My Company” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
JD: I’m halfway kidding, but naming something is hard. While we were working on the mixers themselves, we were trying to figure out what the brand would be called. We had lists of names in notebooks, on our phones, and (literally) on the backs of napkins. So many spreadsheets. I think it took a year before we settled on a name. That experience confirmed for me that I won’t have children; I can never name anything ever again.
Eric: I wish that I had known to invest more in my mental health from a younger age. It seems like almost every kid is in therapy now, which is fantastic, but that was not the case when I was growing up. I’ve struggled with self esteem for most of my life, and only got in therapy a few years ago, which has been a total game changer. If you are starting any kind of business, self confidence is one of the most important things to have. Especially if it’s a startup where you are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars or more from investors. If you don’t have an unwavering belief in yourself, then why would they trust you with their money?
JD: Modica is also entering a new phase. We’re introducing new flavors, expanding geographically, exploring partnerships, and while all of that’s exciting, it means there’s a lot more to do. And I don’t consider myself a workaholic, but I’ve developed this bad habit of feeling like everything needs to be finished before I can do anything relaxing. I feel compelled to check my email before I start reading a book, and it’s hard to take time off knowing what else needs to be done. But running a business is addressing a never-ending to-do list. And you’ll feel better and work better if you take time to enjoy everything else life has to offer.
Eric: I agree with 1000%. I DO consider myself a workaholic, and the farther I go in my career, the more I realize that it is so important to stop working and take time for self care. A lot of entrepreneurs think that because there is a never-ending to-do list and because the failure rate is so high, they have to always be working. But taking time to yourself actually makes you more productive in the long run. You’re not performing at your best when you’re overworked. It’s super important to focus on your physical and mental health in such a demanding field.
Let’s imagine that a reader reading this interview has an idea for a product that they would like to invent. What are the first few steps that you would recommend that they take?
JD: Talk to someone you don’t know (not your friends or family) who’s experiencing the problem you want to solve. Maybe you have the same problem and feel like you understand it thoroughly. Even if that’s true, the way someone else experiences the same problem may be different from you, and their input can transform what you’re trying to create. You can find those people at events, online, through friends; there’s no shortage of people who want to talk about what’s bothering them. After you’ve done that, build the minimum viable product (MVP) or first iteration of your product. I don’t remember where I heard this, but someone said your first MVP should be a little embarrassing; if you’re not a little embarrassed by it, then you spent too long working on the first version. I’ve never met an entrepreneur whose first version was the final version. The idea is to iterate quickly and often until you get to something people can’t see themselves living without.
There are many invention development consultants. Would you recommend that a person with a new idea hire such a consultant, or should they try to strike out on their own?
JD: It depends. Do you have industry expertise? What about technical expertise? Do you have the time to fully develop your product? We worked with several consultants and other businesses to get Modica off the ground, because we had skill gaps and it was a better use of time to pay someone than to develop those skills on our own. But if you’re in the early stages and just getting started, then I don’t think you need to hire a consultant. You’re still in the discovery phase, which is really about talking to as many people as you can who have the problem you’re trying to solve. If you talk to 50 people with that problem, you’re going to understand the most common pain points and start to understand how you can solve the problem. After that, you may have a clear idea of what to do next, but if you don’t, then it may make sense to work with someone who has the knowledge or experience to develop your MVP.
What are your thoughts about bootstrapping vs looking for venture capital? What is the best way to decide if you should do either one?
JD: We bootstrapped Modica for as long as we could for a couple of reasons. First, investors, whether they’re independent Angels or venture capital firms, will pay more attention when you have a product, even an MVP, than if you just have an idea. I’m sure there are exceptions to that, but if you can show someone what you’ve already developed, then you have more credibility than someone who just has a notebook of ideas. We had already launched our first three flavors, secured a distributor, and entered 50 stores before we spoke to our first investor. Second, and more practically, when you start working with investors, your valuation will be higher and you can preserve your equity if you’re already generating revenue, especially repeat revenue. You’ve reduced the risk for investors, so they don’t need quite as much equity for their investment.
Ok. We are nearly done. Here are our final questions. How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
JD: Eric and I started Modica because we wanted a better-for-you cocktail, that’s it. We were tired of all the sugar, all the preservatives, and all the hangovers. And we realized people were drinking 20–40 pounds of sugar every year just from cocktails. So we very intentionally made a low-sugar, all-natural option that’s fortified with vitamins and electrolytes, because we knew people cared about their wellbeing, even when they were drinking alcohol. I don’t know if Modica cocktails make the world a better place, but I know they make our customers feel good. And when you feel good, you do good work.
Eric: There’s also a huge cultural shift going on right now toward drinking alcohol not being the norm. People are becoming more health-conscious and waking up to alcohol’s negative effects, including an increased risk of cancer, liver disease, and mental health issues. Many people are opting for a sober lifestyle as a way to prioritize their mental and physical well-being. Others are moving towards mindful drinking, where people are choosing to drink less, but of higher quality, and are savoring the experience rather than consuming alcohol as a means to get drunk. We love helping people with this experience, whichever path they choose. Whether they want a mocktail so they have something nice to enjoy at an event where people are drinking, or they want a treat to help them in their journey to drink less, or not drink at all, Modica’s functional benefits gives them an option to do that in a way that they can feel good about.
You are an inspiration to a great many people. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
JD: This is really broad, but I’m trying to live more intentionally across all areas of my life. It’s so easy to get distracted, and it happens to me hundreds of times every day: email, social media, headlines, other people. And while I enjoy all of those things, I find myself losing focus too often. I think people who are intentional get the most satisfaction out of things. They’re not doing something because they can; they’re doing it because it’s what they really want to do in that moment. For me, it’s as simple as asking why I’m doing what I’m doing. It’s a work-in-progress.
Eric: One of my favorite parts about Modica is that we are very public about being a 100% LGBT-owned brand, and incorporate that into our messaging. You don’t see a lot of those, and I think it’s incredibly important for young LGBTQ entrepreneurs to see representation. The equality movement has come a long way, and looks way different than it did even 10 years ago, but we still have a long way to go. If I can play even the tiniest part in furthering everyone being treated equally and accepted, that would make me incredibly happy.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
JD and Eric: Again, we’re on the same page here. When we first started Modica, we were trying to develop the brand’s tone and we thought about the celebrities we’d want to endorse Modica. Immediately, we thought of Mindy Kaling. She’s funny, stylish, and genuine. She’s a working mom. She’s creative. We’d love to make her a cocktail and hear the stories she didn’t put in her books.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.
