Will Nitze

Founder, IQBAR (iqbar.com) 🍫+💧+☕️

🍫 Founder/CEO, IQBAR (iqbar.com)
🎙️ Co-Host, "Eating Glass" Podcast
🎓 Harvard BA

Founder/CEO

We make superior brain + body fuel. IQBAR® plant protein bars, IQMIX® hydration sticks, and IQJOE® instant coffees are packed with the functional compounds you need to win your day.

🚨 New product line launch 🚨

IQBAR PB&J Protein Bites are live today, only at Sam's Club!

High-protein, high-fiber, low-sugar, "poppable," and nostalgic. Coming in hot at the absurdly good value of $9.98 / 15-pack.

It took a full year to figure out how to manufacture and perfect these (shoutout to Matt Stinson). They may just be the best things we've ever made.

Major thanks to Alek Guzman and the Sam's team for making this happen 🚀

On the Costco [dot] com homepage for the first time ever.

Pretty rad.

🚨 EXPO TAKE-AWAYS from airplane text exchange with Daniel Puckett:

→ Taste is still king
→ Good design / packaging is now a commodity
→ Not much true “innovation” - very few surprises
→ The breakfast category is under-served; big oppy
→ This industry has great humans; more collegial than others
→ Nutritional “no man’s land” is a death sentence; pick a lane
→ Most big booths have been in the game a while; build to last
→ Booths are only as valuable as how engaging folks at them are
→ Meat sticks are now ultra-competitive; chicken's having a moment
→ Protein everywhere; less fiber / creatine / GLP-1 stuff than expected
→ More loyalty erosion (bad for Big CPG; good for upstarts / private label)
→ A.I. wasn’t mentioned much, but when it was the tone was positive (CPGs will get more efficient / profitable; none of the "doomerism" you see elsewhere)

💭 Solid add-ons from the comments section:

→ A shocking number of honey companies (h/t Drew Mabry)
→ In chips, tallow continues to steadily grow (h/t Jeremy White)
→ International flavors - esp LatAm - was big (h/t Andres Siman)
→ This year was mostly "back to the basics" (h/t Eric M.)
→ Energy / attitude / quality was higher than past years (h/t Andy Godish)

- - -

CRITICAL CAVEAT: true insight into brands is *entirely invisible* at at Expo cuz it's under the hood. Supply chain creativity, manufacturing excellence, cash management, media buying efficiency, SG&A streamlining, negotiation prowess, contracting strategy, etc. etc. etc.

If the "engine" isn't assembled and maintained right, trends don't matter.

Today I witnessed a non-negligible cohort of folks walk out of Natural Products Expo West and immediately light up a cig.

Humans are an interesting bunch.

Extremely niche Expo observation…

Lithuania goes hard in the paint.

Must’ve dropped a milly on 100 feet of booth space plus an army of people.

Never forget - you aren’t just competing with rival cookie / chip / bar startups.

You’re competing with entire Baltic states.

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I've made the difficult decision to age in reverse.

Compete with me if you'd like. But I wouldn't recommend it.

You know the clunky aspects of CPG you hate?

They're protecting you against AI.

Which means clunk is now a feature, not a bug.

Embrace it.

"Mainstream weird" is the best brand positioning.

If you're too mainstream, you'll get knocked-off into oblivion.

If you're too weird, you'll never achieve major scale.

Mainstream weird is juuusssttt right.

Optionality is the desired end state.

But FLEXIBILITY is how you get there.

Create maximally flexible products. And positioning. And teams.

Heck, ensure your OWN BRAIN is maximally flexible. (Can you learn new stuff quickly? Can you change your mind quickly in light of new data?)

In today's environment where the chess board is violently shaken up on an annual basis, the most flexible player adapts best.

And...over time...wins.

Tulane University

The Green Wave Innovation Network (GWIN) stands at the core of the supportive ecosystem at the Tulane University Innovation Institute, offering mentorship and access to resources that form the foundation of an entrepreneur’s growth. GWIN is dedicated to bolstering entrepreneurial Tulane students, faculty, researchers, and community associates of Institute programs by sharing their insights, industry expertise, and connections, thereby transforming promising innovations into thriving business ventures.

Innovation Institute Green Wave Innovation Network Mentor

Erez Capital

Erez Capital is a Boston-based venture capital fund with a focus on identifying and scaling early-stage technology startups. Experts agree that most industry sectors will undergo some form of digitization over the next two decades. Erez Capital has identified early-stage startup companies who have significant growth potential and the opportunity to help society pivot to a digital and accessible economy for all.

Venture Partner

Friends of Parkinson's Inc.

A non profit focused on improving the quality of life for those affected by Parkinson’s through services, advocacy and education.

Advisory Board Member

Sophia Advisors

Sophia Advisors was formed to provide bespoke, curated consulting and advisory services to management teams, Boards and stakeholders of emerging growth companies seeking personalized solutions and keen insights to identify issues or challenges and work collaboratively to address them. Principals leverage 30 plus years of deep sell side, buy side, issuer and management engagement to assist stakeholders in ensuring optimal outcomes in regard to advisory and consulting services for financial, operational and governance considerations with the goal to move away from the trend of transactional relationships requiring immediate monetization and returning to a longer term, value added objective approach to best practices.

Founder and CEO

Pajama Program

Pajama Program is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that promotes and supports a comforting bedtime routine and healthy sleep for children to help them thrive. We provide new pajamas and storybooks, sleep health education, and caring connections to ensure that children facing adversity—including low family income, housing insecurity, and family instability—have the tools they need for better bedtimes. Since 2001, Pajama Program has delivered over 7.5 million Good Nights for Good Days. Pajama Program provides information, materials, and support to children and their caregivers through a national network of volunteers and partnerships with 4,000 community-based organizations across the United States, including Puerto Rico.

Board of Directors and Audit Committee

Fair Hill Therapeutic Riding Center

Fair Hill Therapeutic Riding Center is a non profit operating out of two locations in Pennsylvania focused on providing children and adults with physical, developmental and socio-economic challenges the benefits associated with therapeutic riding through a variety of programs expertly developed and administered by experienced instructors and administrators through individual, school, camp, rehabilitation and government sponsored or subsidized programs .

Board Member and Finance Committee

Eleventh Hour Rescue

Member of the Board and chair of the finance committee for this nonprofit animal rescue and advocacy organization, one of NJ's largest. Assisted the organization with identifying, negotiating and closing on its acquisition of a permanent facility, drove match based fundraising efforts and help to formalize and institutionalize the processes and policies of the group's operational, governance and financial systems.

Board Member and Head of Finance Committee

B. Riley Securities

Responsible for overseeing departmental personnel, from junior staff to senior directors, from mentoring to transactional interactions
Responsible for driving new business origination through direct long standing relationships, working collaboratively with professional service providers and engaging with financial sponsors
Built broad awareness of firm's brand and capabilities within various constituencies to drive customer engagement and retention
Successfully built issuer relationships through providing objective counsel and advice to form serial trusted transaction profiles

Senior Managing Director - Head of Investment Banking Solutions

National Holdings Corporation

Built a 15 person team focused on providing exceptional corporate finance and advisory services to corporate issuers within the healthcare, technology, industrials and non depository financials sectors 
Increased revenues associated with the department by 800% during tenure
Provided mentoring and transactional support interactions to junior, mid level and senior team members while building a collaborative equitable and inclusive culture 
Critical problem solver and strategic thinker engaged across departments to offer insights and opinions
Led over 400 plus transactions within various industry verticals raising in excess of $5Bin capital

EVP - Head of Investment Banking

vFinance Investments, Inc.

Director of Investment Banking for this middle market, emerging growth focused diversified financial services firm.

EVP - Director of Investment Banking

Exceptional technical and interpersonal skills used to build highly collaborative work environments stressing inclusion and equitable participation by all members. Keenly focused on customer service, receptivity and accountability while challenging ourselves to consistently deliver best results under challenging timelines and constructs. Consistently drove revenue growth, brand awareness and profitability while delivering highly customized and value add solutions to all internal and external stakeholders. Passion and engagement personally for causes around food insecurity, child and senior welfare, and animal advocacy.

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Will Nitze

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The Battle

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Jonathan Rich

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Will Nitze's LinkedIn Performance

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