The Underdog: From Life Changing Accident to $100M/Year
Starter Story
Feb 7, 2025
This is the true story of how Ryan Chen and Kent Yoshimura overcame the odds and built a $100M company called NeuroGum.
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I
mean
man
my
life
has
been
so
wild
When
I
was
19
years
old
I
was
going
up
a
big
jump
and
I
landed
on
my
back
shattered
my
spine
and
was
paralyzed
instantly
That
was
literally
rock
bottom
This
is
Ryan
Chen
a
guy
who
let
no
obstacles
stand
in
his
way
I'd
worked
in
the
organic
chemistry
lab
then
I
worked
at
Hulu
Hulu
and
then
I
think
I
found
my
true
calling
in
just
like
being
a
builder
being
an
entrepreneur
So
he
went
all
in
I
cashed
out
my
401k
to
get
like
the
first
R
D
samples
to
pay
for
legal
fees
to
form
the
company
We're
basically
just
living
off
of
like
credit
card
points
and
then
using
the
company
funds
for
just
meals
and
just
that
was
it
After
four
years
of
grit
the
business
finally
worked
We
were
sky
high
off
Shark
Tank
The
business
was
growing
and
I
was
like
somebody's
going
to
try
to
take
this
business
away
from
us
Some
lady
sued
us
We
would
have
won
if
we
got
to
court
but
getting
us
to
court
would
have
bankrupted
us
This
is
the
story
of
how
Ryan
Chen
and
his
best
friend
Kent
built
a
100
million
company
by
overcoming
the
odds
Welcome
to
Starter
Story
Ryan
grew
up
in
an
immigrant
family
of
entrepreneurs
With
a
natural
ambition
to
become
more
he
started
his
childhood
playing
sports
at
an
extremely
high
level
National
kendo
team
cross
country
state
champ
But
when
he
went
to
college
his
ambitions
to
become
an
athlete
took
a
turn
When
I
was
19
I
was
at
a
friend's
birthday
party
and
I
was
going
up
a
big
jump
out
in
Big
Bear
California
and
I
over
rotated
on
the
jump
and
I
landed
on
my
back
shattered
my
spine
and
was
paralyzed
instantly
And
literally
my
life
changed
in
a
split
second
and
I
basically
spent
six
months
in
the
hospital
going
through
surgeries
going
back
to
school
part
time
and
also
part
time
rehab
and
that
was
literally
rock
bottom
In
my
own
head
I
would
go
through
scenarios
where
I'm
going
to
be
a
burden
I'm
going
to
slow
people
down
Is
this
life
worth
living
I
was
kind
of
you
go
down
this
like
spiral
right
And
that
was
about
a
year
two
years
of
really
depression
and
figuring
out
what
can
I
make
of
this
situation
Ryan
was
really
struggling
to
accept
his
new
self
but
luckily
he
had
some
true
friends
by
his
side
It
took
one
of
my
best
friends
Marcus
to
convince
me
like
hey
come
on
this
trip
with
us
We're
road
tripping
from
LA
to
Austin
We're
filming
this
documentary
called
No
Cameras
Allowed
That
was
the
first
big
trip
I
did
with
a
group
of
friends
after
my
accident
I
think
I
was
like
one
yes
I
can
travel
Two
I
felt
like
I
was
closed
off
before
where
I
only
wanted
to
talk
to
people
who
knew
me
versus
like
now
I'm
like
this
is
who
I
am
This
is
like
what
I
represent
And
it
was
like
this
fundamental
like
mindset
shift
for
me
of
oh
I
can
do
this
The
reason
why
I'm
alive
and
I'm
well
is
because
of
the
support
system
I've
had
And
I'm
extremely
grateful
for
having
two
parents
that
supported
me
sister
all
my
friends
and
family
that
without
pushing
me
they
were
just
there
One
of
my
best
friends
said
that
hey
man
you're
still
the
same
guy
but
but
now
you're
just
in
a
chair
chilling
And
I
think
that
perspective
also
was
like
oh
I'm
still
the
same
person
I
just
get
from
point
A
to
point
B
in
a
wheelchair
And
sometimes
I'm
faster
because
wheels
are
pretty
fast
One
of
Ryan's
biggest
supporters
was
his
college
best
friend
and
eventual
business
partner
Kent
I
met
him
my
first
day
freshman
year
in
college
So
it
was
like
one
of
those
things
that
you
meet
somebody
and
you
click
We
bonded
over
video
games
Super
Smash
And
we
just
stayed
friends
We
would
go
out
to
eat
We'd
go
out
to
party
We'd
bond
over
fitness
He
was
training
like
I
think
six
hours
a
day
at
the
time
With
both
of
them
having
a
passion
for
fitness
the
boys
were
constantly
looking
for
ways
to
increase
their
performance
during
training
I
was
training
for
the
Paralympic
team
at
the
time
Kent
was
training
with
the
Olympic
Judo
team
out
in
Japan
And
we
were
both
very
focused
on
fitness
at
this
point
We
were
taking
pills
during
training
for
not
just
energy
but
for
focus
especially
And
the
pills
were
made
in
Kent's
dorm
room
mixing
powders
racetans
paracetam
for
things
like
lucid
dreaming
different
types
of
creatine
And
we've
changed
the
formula
so
many
times
right
Like
we
hope
that
could
be
like
the
recipe
that's
like
that
secret
formula
recipe
that
people
want
Not
thinking
much
about
it
Kent
and
Ryan
were
experimenting
with
different
pill
formulas
and
getting
different
results
Then
one
day
Ryan
got
an
email
that
would
end
up
sparking
an
idea
I
got
this
Groupon
email
for
you
know
50
off
on
scuba
diving
And
I
knew
that
Kent
would
be
down
And
we
were
both
in
between
graduation
and
starting
our
first
jobs
And
I
was
like
hey
do
you
want
to
get
scuba
certified
And
of
course
he
said
yes
And
so
we're
on
this
boat
We
meet
all
these
really
cool
people
getting
scuba
certified
with
us
We
didn't
have
these
energy
pills
but
even
if
we
did
I
think
sharing
it
with
people
you
had
just
met
would
be
like
oh
no
I'm
okay
That
was
the
aha
moment
of
like
what
if
we
can
make
supplementation
more
accessible
and
approachable
by
putting
these
great
ingredients
instead
of
pill
form
into
gum
and
mints
And
that
was
our
idea
The
seed
was
planted
but
Ryan
and
Kent
couldn't
risk
everything
to
follow
this
dream
So
they
had
to
go
get
real
jobs
So
I
started
off
as
a
financial
analyst
for
Hulu
Kent
worked
as
a
music
producer
for
Sony
Music
We
both
just
had
this
idea
in
the
back
of
our
heads
like
we
want
to
launch
NeuroGum
This
is
such
a
great
idea
But
one
we
didn't
have
the
funding
to
do
it
Two
no
one
taught
us
about
how
to
start
a
company
or
how
to
build
a
business
So
we
were
both
kind
of
just
saving
up
some
money
and
then
putting
that
into
the
business
of
like
starting
some
type
of
fund
And
I
cashed
out
my
401k
which
I
highly
don't
recommend
people
doing
but
that
was
the
risk
that
we
were
willing
to
take
It
was
just
like
a
year
of
like
R
D
trying
to
find
a
manufacturer
that
would
even
pick
up
our
calls
and
take
us
seriously
Ryan
and
Kent
knew
they
had
to
follow
their
dream
So
they
went
all
in
spending
all
their
savings
on
the
initial
research
and
development
development
and
a
couple
of
samples
And
finally
they
got
the
product
back
We
had
all
these
different
formulas
and
I
would
sample
them
around
to
like
all
of
my
co
workers
at
Hulu
So
like
my
managers
other
people
in
the
finance
team
My
manager
was
like
yo
mother
effer
He
was
like
I
was
up
till
3am
I
couldn't
sleep
And
I
was
like
that's
amazing
I
was
like
so
the
product
works
He
was
like
yeah
product
works
but
I
couldn't
sleep
Because
there's
like
you
know
he
was
just
like
so
wired
And
so
I
knew
that
we
had
something
Ryan
and
Kent
finally
had
something
great
but
literally
zero
dollars
to
make
another
batch
and
market
it
to
customers
With
their
backs
against
the
wall
the
boys
had
one
last
desperate
shot
to
make
their
dream
come
true
Crowdfunding
We
officially
launched
on
Indiegogo
Kent
luckily
was
a
big
Redditor
So
he
got
the
Reddit
Neutropics
group
to
support
And
I
think
we
hit
like
our
goal
like
of
30k
in
like
three
or
four
days
Time
Magazine
wrote
an
article
saying
like
caffeinated
gum
is
now
a
thing
And
then
we
got
invited
to
Dr
Oz
And
all
of
a
sudden
we
had
a
lot
of
people
moms
who
watched
Dr
Oz
buying
the
gum
and
it
worked
Ryan
is
proof
that
with
a
good
idea
and
some
attention
you
can
start
moving
products
and
make
money
But
that
can
only
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if
you
have
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Now
back
to
Ryan's
story
After
seeing
some
initial
success
and
raising
30
000
from
strangers
on
the
internet
Ryan
and
Kent
knew
it
was
time
to
truly
get
their
hands
dirty
When
we
first
launched
we
were
working
at
Hulu
and
Sony
Music
respectively
for
Kent
for
like
a
year
and
a
half
The
first
4
000
pounds
of
gum
was
sitting
in
Kent's
apartment
We
didn't
have
a
warehouse
Like
Kent's
apartment
in
downtown
LA
was
the
warehouse
And
we'd
ship
4
000
pounds
of
gum
going
to
USPS
every
day
And
those
moments
were
like
okay
things
are
working
It's
like
a
slow
grind
And
the
first
year
I
think
we
did
like
a
little
over
100k
And
then
year
two
it
was
like
750k
And
then
we're
like
oh
wait
this
is
like
this
can
be
a
real
thing
Two
years
into
the
business
the
boys
realized
that
Neuro
has
outgrown
Kent's
apartment
and
they
have
a
tough
choice
before
them
Keep
it
as
a
side
hustle
or
go
all
in
I
think
Kent
and
I
both
trusted
each
other
We
knew
that
this
product
helped
a
lot
of
people
And
we
had
so
much
user
feedback
and
we
would
see
the
number
of
repeat
buyers
and
the
percentage
of
repeat
buyers
as
a
percent
of
revenue
So
we
knew
that
we
had
some
type
of
base
and
some
type
of
adoption
rate
right
When
we
first
left
our
jobs
it
felt
very
real
when
we
no
longer
had
a
stable
paycheck
right
We
We
had
to
survive
off
of
what
we
were
making
and
eat
what
you
kill
kind
of
per
se
Year
three
year
four
I
don't
think
we
took
any
salary
I
think
we
were
basically
just
living
off
of
credit
card
points
and
then
using
the
company
funds
for
just
meals
And
just
that
was
it
I
was
playing
semi
professional
poker
to
kind
of
make
rent
We
had
so
many
inventory
challenges
Couldn't
get
the
products
in
time
We
were
sold
out
We
weren't
uncertain
about
freight
costs
raw
ingredients
We've
had
products
that
get
stuck
on
the
border
That's
like
three
four
five
six
weeks
at
a
border
and
then
you're
just
losing
money
There's
so
many
things
that
you
go
through
in
the
business
that
are
not
glitz
and
glamour
It's
like
a
grind
and
you're
kind
of
in
the
trenches
And
at
the
end
of
the
day
it's
like
who
do
you
want
to
go
into
battle
with
And
I'm
like
I
want
to
go
into
battle
with
my
best
friend
because
I
trust
him
Ryan
and
Kent
are
struggling
to
get
Neuro
to
the
point
of
a
stable
scalable
business
not
just
a
startup
They're
desperately
looking
for
a
way
to
crack
the
code
and
then
something
crazy
happens
2019
a
group
of
investors
were
just
like
hey
guys
you
guys
have
such
a
great
story
You
should
tell
the
story
I
think
Shark
Tank
would
be
a
great
way
for
you
guys
to
tell
the
story
They
convinced
us
I
didn't
want
to
do
it
to
be
completely
honest
Kent
was
like
we
should
do
it
They're
right
It's
great
for
marketing
but
it's
really
great
to
get
an
investment
investment
We
got
two
offers
that
were
like
below
what
we
were
asking
for
And
Kent
and
I
just
had
this
floor
We're
like
we're
just
not
going
to
go
below
this
And
we
stuck
to
our
guns
The
boys
walked
away
from
the
Sharks
with
no
money
in
their
pockets
but
little
did
they
know
the
exposure
and
connections
they
just
got
would
change
their
lives
forever
It's
been
like
a
step
change
right
It's
not
just
like
linear
or
just
hockey
stick
It's
like
you
grow
and
then
it's
the
best
And
then
there's
another
big
milestone
that
you
hit
I
think
we
had
a
big
step
change
with
Shark
Tank
The
business
was
growing
and
I
was
like
somebody's
going
to
try
to
take
this
business
away
from
Some
lady
sued
us
for
a
trademark
We
would
have
won
if
we
got
to
court
but
getting
us
to
court
would
have
bankrupted
us
And
I
reached
out
to
investors
friends
and
no
one
really
was
that
helpful
Four
years
and
thousands
of
hours
of
work
poured
into
this
business
It
was
on
the
verge
of
bankruptcy
But
then
Ryan
remembered
a
guy
named
Daniel
Lubezki
one
of
the
Sharks
from
Shark
Tank
Hail
Mary
I
DMed
Daniel
Lubezki
on
Instagram
and
I
said
hey
Daniel
I
don't
know
if
you
remember
me
but
me
and
Kent
were
on
Shark
Tank
You
were
our
guest
judge
We
loved
you
You
mentioned
that
if
I'd
ever
needed
some
advice
I
could
reach
out
to
you
I
really
need
your
help
on
something
And
he
messaged
me
back
And
I
told
him
about
this
trademark
lawsuit
about
this
lady
who's
suing
us
He
hopped
on
a
phone
call
with
us
right
away
for
18
months
consulted
us
defended
us
He
was
talking
to
his
lawyers
our
lawyers
their
lawyers
her
He
was
like
hey
listen
at
the
end
of
the
day
if
this
goes
to
court
you
know
Ryan
and
Kent
are
going
to
win
based
on
merit
And
it's
going
to
cost
you
a
lot
of
money
And
it's
going
to
cost
me
a
lot
of
money
because
I'm
going
to
back
all
their
legal
fees
And
Kent's
like
she's
worth
like
300
million
And
Daniel
Lubezki
is
like
I'm
worth
3
billion
Turns
out
not
making
a
deal
on
Shark
Tank
didn't
matter
They
made
a
friend
that
would
save
their
business
And
with
all
the
legal
stuff
cleared
Neuro
went
on
a
well
deserved
growth
hot
streak
You
know
we've
been
really
fortunate
with
organic
earned
media
So
like
I
said
Shark
Tank
was
huge
for
us
We've
had
a
lot
of
major
celebrities
kind
of
talk
about
our
product
organically
Ashley
Graham
a
lot
of
professional
baseball
players
Steve
Aoki
is
actually
a
huge
Neuro
user
Joe
Rogan
big
fan
of
Neuro
He
talks
about
it
organically
None
of
that's
paid
Andrew
Schultz
A
lot
of
people
just
have
been
picking
up
Neuro
and
just
kind
of
talking
about
it
So
I
think
we're
a
top
10
TikTok
shop
brand
We're
continuing
to
go
viral
on
different
videos
that
people
are
repurposing
from
Joe
Rogan
mentioning
us
or
Shark
Tank
or
different
videos
that
our
teams
are
doing
But
it's
just
all
kind
of
compounds
and
adds
I
think
like
I
said
it's
like
years
one
through
five
is
like
the
hardest
part
to
get
to
that
kind
of
inflection
point
It
was
until
like
year
seven
where
we're
really
taking
like
a
very
good
salary
and
things
started
to
click
We
are
now
doing
almost
10
million
a
month
One
of
the
things
that
we're
really
proud
of
is
like
we
had
employee
satisfaction
survey
and
I
think
we
had
like
96
satisfaction
rate
That's
like
my
most
proud
stat
this
year
Despite
the
revenue
like
has
been
amazing
It's
just
like
to
see
the
team
engaged
to
see
the
organizations
that
we
can
help
impact
and
donate
to
like
good
causes
Like
it's
been
awesome
I
mean
man
my
life
has
been
so
wild
You
know
it's
like
obviously
like
no
one
expects
to
go
through
an
accident
that
I've
gone
through
But
then
to
be
able
to
pick
yourself
up
from
rock
bottom
through
the
support
of
others
it's
surreal
You
know
it's
really
wild
And
I
asked
my
dad
one
time
I
was
like
hey
like
how
do
you
define
success
And
this
was
years
after
my
injury
My
dad
said
that
success
is
defined
by
how
high
you
bounce
back
from
rock
bottom
And
that
really
stuck
with
me
because
he
was
like
you
know
you
hit
rock
bottom
and
you
fucking
bounce
back
higher
than
anybody
could
have
imagined
And
so
yeah
I
feel
like
I'm
happier
now
than
I
was
as
an
angsty
teenager
when
I
was
like
18
19
And
I
think
there's
whenever
there's
like
a
door
that
closes
I
think
there's
like
two
more
that
open
And
I
think
it's
just
like
about
you
just
going
through
that
Ryan
is
proof
that
entrepreneurship
is
for
everyone
Doesn't
matter
your
current
situation
or
your
current
skills
or
your
current
income
The
truth
is
nothing
will
ever
be
perfect
So
you
just
have
to
start
If
you
don't
start
then
all
the
dreams
you
have
in
your
head
will
have
a
0
chance
of
coming
to
life
I
hope
you
guys
are
all
inspired
after
watching
Ryan's
story
And
I
hope
it's
enough
for
you
to
just
take
that
one
step
of
action
today
And
if
you're
ready
to
take
that
first
step
today
then
you
should
definitely
download
our
free
deep
dive
of
50
AI
business
ideas
that
you
can
start
right
now
I
put
a
link
at
the
bottom
of
the
description
So
just
head
over
there
if
you
want
me
to
send
those
over
to
you
All
right
I'll
see
you
in
the
next
one
Peace
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