Akamai Basics : Revolutionizing Personal Care Products & Routines

“Akamai has considered every component of an ideal toothpaste: the pH, abrasiveness, natural antimicrobials, and the ideal ratio of trace minerals and essential oils to maximize absorption and promote a healthy mouth. It is a fantastic product that I would recommend to any of my patients.”

Dr. Andrea Mustian

DMD Harvard School of Dental Medicine

I read your reviews and loved what I saw. I am sick of all the products filled with stuff I cannot even pronounce. I also love the simplicity of these products. I wish I could invest more but I am willing do what I can to help you. I am going order your package and try for myself. If I like it as much as I think I will I will put it all over my face book. Sincerely MaryLynn Dodd

Mary Lynn Dodd

Hi - Just an individual looking for good investments so I can get out of debt and have a nice retirement.

Believe in the mission, the founders' passion in their purpose, less IS more, their status a B Corp and 1% for the Planet is in alignment with their values, and It's time to shake up the industry. Go get 'em!

Lynn Carpenter

Co-founder of EPOCH Pi, a purpose-driven investment bank & Certified B Corp helping mission-driven companies find values-aligned investors.

Investor Q&A

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What does your company do?

The mainstream approach to personal care and grooming is out of control. We believe clean and healthy skin, hair & teeth can be achieved with far fewer products, complexity & suspect chemicals. We wake people up— empowering them with fresh thinking, smarter routines and better products. We painstakingly craft formulations that deliver powerful results, using only natural ingredients. We sell direct to consumers via the web leveraging our trusted brand to spawn customer evangelists.

Where will your company be in 5 years?

Our goal is to redefine what is important in personal care and establish our way as the new normal. Improved health, reduced waste & lowered costs will be the byproducts. With $200K - $700K in capital investment, we aim to grow yearly revenue to $10-20 MM. We have spawned an army of customer evangelists and offer complete family of wise personal care essentials.

What inspired you to start this company?

At its most basic form, we woke up to an important problem and felt compelled to help solve it — and believed we had the right tools to do it. Frankly, we got pissed and wanted to right a wrong. We're doing this for ourselves and our family, and sharing what we learn and develop with others. We also have a deep desire to help others and to serve society. Akamai Basics hits several cylinders we are very passionate about: cancer prevention (Vince's father died from cancer), being rational, logical and practical (nod to Stoicism), pursuing what is minimal and effective in all areas in life (nod to Tim Ferris), seeking out true, root causes of health and wellness (nod to Weston Price, Michael Pollan & many others). Rational thinking, rooted in sound logic and good science is a turn on for us. In many ways it feels like this mission picked us vs the other way around. Based on Vince's last company, we knew that we could leverage a website to educate and inform people while providing the right tools (both products & information) to empower change. A serial social entrepreneur, Vince is used to making a difference and changing the status quo. Ahead of the green wave, he started reusablebags.com in 2003 (later rebranded reuseit.com), and raised consumer awareness about the problems with use-and-toss items like plastic bags and bottles. His vision was to use simple lifestyle changes to help save the environment, save money and waste less. By 2013 when the company was sold, reuseit.com had grown to 300,000 customers, empowering them to eliminate an estimated 1.1 billion use-and-toss items. Reuseit.com donated $200,000 to non-profits via 1% for the planet and twice won Green America’s People’s Choice “Green Business of the Year.” In college Vince started in microbiology, then became a philosophy major. He’s a trail runner and an INTP. He’s ideally suited to be doing what he’s doing. For more see LinkedIn for Vince and for Marni

Why is this important?

Each year, Americans spend an astounding $134 billion on personal care. We believe the vast majority of products consumed are simply not needed. In addition to the wasted money, we are rolling the dice with many chemicals that may or may not be safe and there is mounting evidence of harm to us in this area. The environmental impact is huge as well. Also, there is a psychic weight of having all these products in our lives (or thinking we need to) which can weigh heavily on us as individuals. It’s a daily area that impacts all of us, so the net effect can be huge.

What makes your products and approach different?

1. We promote radically simple and wise routines that save money, time and health. For example: “rinse more -- soap less - just hit the stinky parts” (soaping the whole body is unnecessary); we show you how to extend the life of your razors by 5-7x or more; the PC Industry has convinced us to spend $2.5 billion annually on bad breath -- we offer an $8 solution. 2. We want to sell you less. Our products are great multitaskers eliminating the need for many other products. And, instead of selling products you don’t really need (like deodorant or toner), we offer “unproducts” and articles that educate consumers about the myths in the marketplace. This helps to reduce waste and the burden on our planet. 3. Our product formulations are focused on health and wellness and treating causes vs symptom management. For example, our toothpaste helps to cure sensitivity vs. coating the teeth to be less sensitive (and it is safe to swallow). We include fulvic minerals in many of our formulations to add important trace minerals, antioxidants and organic acids to boost overall health. 4. Our product formulations are so clean you can eat them. And they’re loaded with nutrients. We use only the highest quality, minimally processed natural ingredients (organic, unrefined, extra virgin cold pressed oils rich in naturally occurring nutrients your body needs) and nothing else. We don’t use fragrance to dull the natural scent of our food-quality ingredients. Our products are cruelty-free, sustainable, organic, with nothing synthetic or made in a lab. Please read our labels. 5. We are mission based - ultimately, we want to improve the lives of people and our planet. We donate 1% of sales, as 1% for the Planet Members and as a Certified B Corporation, to impactful, aligned non-profits that promote non-toxic products and practices that protect the environment (particularly our water). We feel we should a expect more from our products and brands (health, performance, integrity) and Use Less (save your biome, save the planet, save time and money).

Are you raising any funds in addition to this crowdfund?

Yes we are. In addition to this revenue share crowdfund we are selling $650,000 of equity and are offering an incentive for the first $250,000 invested in the form of warrants (as of 3.1.19 we have raised $166,000) If interested please contact us. Please note, due to SEC regulations in order to participate in this 506 (c) equity raise, you need to be an accredited investor.

How will you use funds from crowdfunding and equity raise? Explain your key initiatives over the next 12 months too.

We are raising funds to hire people to help drive sales and give us added bandwidth to bring several additional products in development to market. - About 50% will be used for Human Resources-- hiring people to help drive our Sales and Marketing efforts. - About 25% for Inventory & New Product Development - And 35% going towards things like: marketing initiatives, toothpaste patent, clinical studies to prove the effectiveness & website Improvements. Our key initiatives over the next 12 months include: GET FUNDING - Raise $200k of debt financing via crowdfund campaign. - Raise $480k to close out our equity round. GET STAFF - Hire the following: 1. Operations Mgr., 2. Customer Service / Inside Sales / Marketing Asst. 3. Media & Influencer Outreach (PT or outsource), 4. Writer (Freelance). NOTE: Part of our comp package includes profit interest units (like shares) as an incentive -- will use this to for key advisors and key influencers too. DRIVE ON SALES & MARKETING - Land media coverage & influencer endorsements with focused outreach campaign to 100+ like-minded, top-tier targets. - Fix revenue leaks such as improving Customer Subscription Management Web portal and enabling 1x purchases for subscribers. - Grow website content via thought leadership articles & viral “explainer” video. - Grow affinity & affiliate network via like-minded bloggers and non-profits. - Offer our products wholesale to with holistic healthcare practitioners & dentists. Get more endorsements. - Implement customer referral system - Enhanced “concierge level” customer service – up selling via education and reaching out. NEW PRODUCTS 6+ rolled out including a complete oral care solution.

How do you acquire customers and really take off?

We will deploy the same basic strategy used at our last enterprise reuseit.com where we grew primarily via word of mouth to 300,000 customers. Overtime it resulted in a CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) that hovered around $5. We anticipate a higher CAC in the beginning but still lower than other routes like advertising. This strategy fuels sustained, organic, word-of-mouth growth via our customer evangelists and media coverage. 1. Help wake people up to the important problems inherent in the modern personal care paradigm and offer them smart solutions with our outstanding products and thought leadership. Fill a true need and growing market demand. Position ourselves to ride the trends. Powerful web based content and news letters that raises awareness, nudges & empower 2 Wow customers with outstanding customer service. Treat them like you would a friend. A few tactics we will employ: 1. Targeted PR campaigns to like minded media outlets. We have a great database of 400+ outlets, the story angles and a ready to move in earnest with funding to hire a PR person. 2. Selling wholesales via holistic dentists, doctors, and naturopaths. This is marketing program where we make money, seed the market and get endorsements of more healthcare professionals. We get contacted weekly by people interested and plan to hire a person to focus on this market. 3. Partnerships with activist non-profits like Keep and Breast’s Non-Toxic Revolution. 4. Customer Referral program. 5. Affiliate program with like minded bloggers and influencers. 6. Search engine optimization via expanded relevant, interesting web content. 7. Amazon. The first 5 tactics are in their simplest form, working with like minded people and organizations that share our values and missions. We are helping them.

What’s the story with your name?

Akamai (pronounced “aka-mai” is a Hawaii word meaning intelligent or wise. AND Basics as Webster’s defines it “forming the base or essence: fundamental basic truths. b : concerned with fundamental scientific principles c. a starting point: basic set of tools. We feel Hawaiian culture reflects several of our values including seeing the power and wisdom of nature and a no BS ethos along with the importance placed on Ohana (family). The Big Island is like a home away from home for us. Vince's parents lived there and hist oldest sister was born there -- several close relatives currently call the Big Island of Hawaii, home.

What keeps you up at night?

The pains stemming from having a lack of adequate resources along with the time and energy it takes to raise capital. This takes us away from building the business and pursuing our mission. We are eager to get moving on hiring and product development and shifting energy to sales and marketing. Since we are shaking things up a bit, there is thought of those in power feeling threatened and then coming after us. E.g FDA, chemical industry, etc. How to simply explain all of the benefits of our products and brand.

What makes your model profitable?

To start, we have solid gross product margins with an overall goal of 80%. Plus, by selling direct we are cutting out the middleman and the chunks of profit they take. We invest heavily in developing outstanding products and our brand — this leverages into word of mouth growth, endorsement and media coverage and comes along with low customer acquisition costs. We are selling consumable products that people need. This along with subscription creates reoccurring revenue streams. And our Lifetime Value has the potential to get quite high. Since our products are compact and relatively lightweight, our shipping costs are reasonable. And as we add more products, our AOV grows and these cost of sales drop as a percentage (there is a base cost for shipping with small increments up for us). We run a lean operation and have outstanding partners that handle both production and fulfillment with the capacity and experience to scale up. We have crafted an efficient effective model similar to what we have done successfully in the past.

What can you tell us about your Key Performance Indicators?

Here are a few. (all numbers are as of 3.15.19) - Past 90 days sales were $36,017 - 3475 customers & 575 active subscribers - 621 customer reviews averaging 4.7 out of 5 - 62% of revenue comes from subscription orders - AOV of $31 (Up 46% from 3.15.19 average and expected this to double this via new products, and new minimum free shipping threshold of $30) - Churn rate: 11% - Estimated # of customer evangelists: 400 NOTE: Early on we ran a few test promotions with affiliates offering “free” and 50-25% off trials. 800+ people jumped on these deals, great right? Actually we quickly learned that most people were just trolling for deals. We have found a sweet spot of no more than 20% off moving forward. This test has skewed our base numbers.

What are you plans to increase AOV and retention?

To date have focused on on product development a key foundation for a strong AOV. We now have 10 products, introducing 5 of them in Q4 2018. Within 6-9 months we will introduce 6 more (4 are ready to go into production as of 3.24.19). In the last 12 months our AOV has increased 46% from $22 to $31. This is due to add new products. We expect AOV to hit $50+ within 9 mos based on additional products coming to market and planned marketing initiatives (increased education, incentive to try new items, min threshold for free shipping, etc.) As an example, implementing a $30 minimum for free shipping. Raised the AOV of new subscribers from $30 to $39 -- a 30% increase (with almost no reduction in the number of new subscribers). Use funds will allow us to hire a dedicated Customer Service person further helping us increase sales and retention. Automated onboarding educational series of emails in another way we will further these efforts. As we add introduce products our total potential order value person of consumables goes up: Eg. 12 mos ago it was $33. Now it is $132. It rises to $330 based on the products new product introductions over the next 12-24 months. We believe the net of these initiatives will enable us to hit a $55+ AOV by the end of 2019

What do you understand about your business that others don't get?

People are spending too much money and time on beauty care and grooming and not enough on oral care (self-care). A Survey from OnePoll for Groupon, The True Cost of Beauty, revealed that women spend about $313/month on their appearance, with the face alone representing over 25% - that’s over $75 a month for your face! In fact, the amount of money spent on appearance could pay for four years of college tuition. Compare that to what the average person spends on oral care products of roughly $10 -20 a month (toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, mouthwash) - and these products will last 2 to 3 months. Marketers are introducing more and more products to address specific issues (dry mouth, sensitivity, whitening, etc.) but these are all just more symptom management (and signs of real health issues). What’s more, many of the ingredients are actually harmful to oral health, creating the need for more products. Our oral health is the gateway to overall health. More and more studies and prominent doctors and leaders in health are realizing how important it is. For instance, the bacteria that causes gingivitis also causes cardiovascular disease and has recently been linked to Alzheimer's. Regular toothpaste, won’t control the disease-causing bacteria and provide the minerals needed to achieve optimal oral health. Our oral care solution (toothpaste, oil pulling, fulvic minerals, floss and toothbrush) will cost about $40 a month. It is totally natural, with the highest quality ingredients focused 100% on healthy, optimal oral health. The point is, spend money wisely, for the right ingredients that offer curative qualities. Occasionally we have customer's that won't purchase our toothpaste because they feel $12 is too expensive when it is quite likely they spend more on a facial mask (made out of very similar ingredients) or wrinkle cream, or serum, to create a short term improvement in their skin. So a lot of this has to do with education.

Why are your multipurpose products as good as products designed for a single purpose?

Our products are designed to achieve the main objectives of specialized products and the proof is in the fact they work for most people. If you look at the core of what many specialized products actually do, they are not that different. Take cleaning skin and hair as an example... For both of them, the main goal is to remove dirt and (perhaps excess oils). Once you get all the shampoo and conditioner residues out of your hair and switch to an optimized bar like ours, you have no need for specialized shampoos or conditioners (rather use our multipurpose Skin Fuel). And for shaving the main goal is for the slip which, if a bar is loaded with fats and naturally occurring glycerin, it will provide all the glide needed for a great shave. Our bar does that too. Shampoo: remove dirt and excess oils. Soap: same. Conditioner: add oils removed back in. The industry has conditioned us to believe we need an array of highly specialized products. We think their messaging is about making money vs what is actually true.

Why wouldn’t people buy your kind of products?

Good question! We’d say the top reasons would be: 1. Lack of awareness and education regarding the issues we address. 2. Lack of awareness that we exist. 3. They don’t care about these issues. 4. A resistance to change. 5. The surface-level impression that what we are doing is a bunch of "woo-woo, hippie stuff".

You mention big trends, do you have any numbers to support it?

We tap into several significant trends such as ecommerce/direct to consumer sales, minimalism, conscious capitalism, purchasing power of millennials, etc. Below are a few data points focusing on trends within personal care: 1. U.S. organic personal care market is poised to exceed USD 7.7 billion by 2025 growing at 8-10% CAGR (Compound Aggregate Growth Rate) (Research Markets and Data) and this "growth is directly related to an increase in the number of informed consumers...aware of the benefits of using a product and rational in their purchase decisions” (Research Markets and Data). 2. 66% of global respondents reported that they were willing to pay a premium for a sustainable product (Nielsen). 3. The Oral Care Market is Expected to Reach $40.92 Billion by 2025 Growth is attributed to rising awareness of oral hygiene among consumers, an increase in cavities & innovative dental care product development (Grand View Research). 4. “Purchasing natural and organic is important to the beauty routine of all consumers...68% purchase some natural and organic products. 73%: prefer “no testing on animals”” (gcimagazine.com). 5. “The demand for natural beauty products has never been stronger” Linkage Research key findings include: - 88% of skin care consumers agree that they can nourish their skin with the food they eat; - 72% of skin care consumers agree that their skin is just like any other organ; - 50% of skin care consumers report they are currently seeking skin care products that claim to be all-natural or free of synthetic chemicals; - 33% of skin care consumers indicate they would like to buy products with natural and chemical-free attributes; and - 30% of skin care consumers report increasing their natural purchases in the last year.

What is 1% For The Planet and Bcorp? Who do you donate 1% of sales to?

1% for the Planet As a member, we donate 1% of sales to like-minded nonprofits that share our mission and passion for the human health and the environment. It’s a global network of businesses, nonprofits and individuals working together for a healthy planet. More than $175 Million dollars has been given back to the environment so far. In the past we have donated to the Environmental Working Group because of their work to expose toxic chemicals in personal care (and the environment) and help consumers make better choices. While you may see some companies having fuzzy donation notions like donating "a portion of proceeds" or "profits" (a number that can be manipulated lower) 1% is both concrete and substantial. Certified B Corporations are a new kind of corporation that uses the power of business to improve environmental and social issues. To quote from the B Corp Declaration, these companies “...envision a new sector of the economy which harnesses the power of private enterprise to create public benefit. This sector is comprised of a new type of corporation – the B Corporation – which is purpose-driven, and creates benefit for all stakeholders, not just shareholders." Do you have a favorite action oriented, scrappy non profit making a difference that you think we should support? Please let us know! We are also members and supporters the IAOMT (The leading organization dedicated to science-based biological dentistry), and the American Sustainability Business Council.

1	WE’VE DONE THIS BEFORE: last company reuseit.com had 300,000 customers, $20M in sales, with $200k donated to non-profits.
2	CUSTOMERS & HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS LOVE OUR PRODUCTS: 600+ product reviews avg 4.7 out of 5.
3	CLINICAL STUDIES PLANNED: Clinical validation customer's feedback regarding oral health and skin problem improving (e.g. gingivitis, eczema).
4	STRONG PRODUCT PIPELINE: 10 innovative, proprietary essentials now available. Plans & specifications for 14 additional essentials (3 in production now).
5	SMART BIZ MODEL: We sell consumables everybody needs direct via the web. Customizable subscriptions create reoccurring revenue stream. 80% Gross margins.
6	MISSION DRIVEN & AUTHENTIC: Founder's passion to revolutionize personal care for the better. Fierce rationalists, thinkers & pragmatists walking the walk.
7	WE CAPITALIZE ON BIG TRENDS: From awareness regarding toxic chemicals and why microbiomes matter, to minimalism, the benefits of organic, sustainably sourced, unrefined plant-based ingredients, ecommerce, holistic medicine & others. We are in the right spot.
8	MEDIA ATTENTION: The media world is starting to take notice: Men's Journal, Outside Magazine, Guardian, etc.

1	Management and Staff: Our future success depends on the efforts of a small management team. The loss of services of the members of the management team may have an adverse effect on the company. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in attracting and retaining other personnel we require to successfully grow our business.
2	Competition: This industry is highly competitive and there are other natural brands that could potentially quickly pivot and reformulate and steal (or encroach on) some of our brand positioning. We may underestimate required resources needed to estalibsh our niche and weather the storm of changing environment and people’s preferences. Or have a harder time than expected acquiring those resources.
3	Required sales, acquiring new customers, subscribers, and increasing AOV: Our growth and success depends on our ability to attract and retain customers and subscribers. We also need to increase our Average Order Value. The funding from this crowdfunding raise and equity raise are providing the financial resources to give us a runway to hit critical mass. If we fall short (and we can not raise additional funds) this could cause a cash crunch and ultimately this could cause the business to fail. We are assuming that we can get our AOV to a minimum of $50 if we can not, this could make the business unsustainable.
4	Inventory and supply chain: We rely on manufacturers and third party suppliers to provide our products to our specifications. If any of these partnerships end or change dramatically in their ability to supply our products we would not be able to provide the products to sell to our customers in a timely manner. In addition based on cash flow, we may not be able to purchase inventory.
5	Management: Co founders are married and managing this relationship in the context of a startup environment challenges both personal and professional relationships. Co founders have planned since inception to hire an operations mgr. (operations integrator), customer service and webstore mgr. We are now transitioning Marni to reduce involvement staying on as advisor with a particular focus on formulations and thought leadership.
6	Business Assumptions: We've made assumptions about our go forward business model based on past performance and current goals that may take longer than expected to realize, such as: AOV of $50 (expected within 6 months - as of 4.2.19 it is currently $32), Churn Rate expected to be 11% or lower, Promotions Discounts to average 13%.
7	Investment Goals: We may not be able to raise an additional $480K via our Private Equity round. This could limit growth, cause the company to fail and/or push back breakeven.
8	Potential risks: litigation1. Since we are kicking the shins of big industry they could throw a lawsuit our way.2. Prop 65 troll lawyers. We use Bentonite Clay which (like many natural substances including vegetables like broccoli) is technically in violation of Prop 65. A shakedown lawsuit could result in settlement to avoid litigation.3. Could have a problem in manufacturing and cause a recall or potential suit.4. Always the possibility of having to defend against a frivolous lawsuit.

Director	Occupation	Joined
Marni Shymkus	Operations @ Tribal LLC	2015
Vincent Cobb	CEO, President, Manager @ Akamai	2015

Officer	Title	Joined
Marni Shymkus	Treasurer Vice President Secretary	2015
Vincent Cobb	President CEO	2015

Holder	Securities Held	Voting Power
Marni Shymkus	36,650 Class A Units	35.0%
Vincent Cobb	37,214 Class A Units	36.0%

Date	Amount	Security
12/2019	$116,630	Priced Round
10/2019	$92,195	Revenue Share
12/2018	$159,000	Priced Round
12/2016	$350,000	Priced Round
08/2017	$42,500	Loan

Name	Marni Shymkus and Vincent Cobb
Amount Invested	$1,552
Transaction type	Other
Issued	02/28/2019
Relationship	Owners
In 2018 and 2017 the business paid for health insurance benefits for Vince and Marni equal to $6939 and $5942 respectively. As of 2/28/19 an additional $1552 was paid towards benefits (health insurance).

Name	Marni Shymkus
Amount Invested	$480
Transaction type	Other
Issued	02/28/2019
Relationship	Owner
In 2018 Marni Shymkus was reimbursed $5379 for expenses related to home-office related expenses including rent, utilities and office supplies, in 2017 the expenses were $4250. As of 2/28/19 an additional $480 was billed for reimbursable expenses.

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