Restless, OnSight: Jumpstart Team Introductions

An energy blend and sensors for gyms don’t seem to have much in common. But when talking about the idea behind these products, their founders kept on repeating one word.

Tired.

They were tired of constantly seeing friends and colleagues still dragging even after having energy drinks, and tired of being surprised by out-of-order signs on equipment at the gym.

And when they searched for a solution, there was nothing that solved this pain point. So they sought to fix it themselves.

Restless

“I was tired of seeing friends and family crashing at the end of the day with no better options,” Restless’s founder and CEO Daniel Medina said.

After seven years in the military, Medina saw firsthand the energy crashes experienced throughout the day. They would often rely on energy drinks for a short-term solution for their fatigue, only to feel even worse afterward.

“All we had were Pop-Tarts and Monster [drinks] to get through the day,” Medina said. “And obviously with no great solution for energy and nutrition, people crash, feel terrible, and over the course of their lifetime, as days and weeks go by, they experience some pretty bad health outcomes.”

His solution to the endless cycle of caffeine and crashes? A feel-good, all-in-one powder. With just water, a bottle, and a vigorous shake, a spoonful of Restless transforms into an energy drink packed with nutrition.

Medina spent months creating the formula, making sure the energy users feel after drinking is also crash-free. One serving contains 120 mg of natural caffeine, 1,000 mg of electrolytes, 3 g of beets, and 23 vitamins and minerals. He also ensured that the formula is third-party tested.

His hard work is paying off. Restless has served over 250 people, and their fans rave about how “the excellent study-based formulation” gives “no crash whatsoever.”  

Restless won the audience prize and third place at VentureCat and now, as part of the Jumpstart program at The Garage, they have additional funds to aid Restless’s growth. Marketing head Jack Easterby says the money will be spent towards increasing inventory and marketing, and is especially curious to see what happens as they supplement influencer-based marketing with paid advertising.

“We do mostly organic marketing, so you know, Instagram, free stuff,” Easterby said. “It'll be interesting to see how our testing in organic markets will work once we start putting money behind that to actually push out advertisements.”

The team hopes to continue growing, but more importantly, to continue helping those in the military and others who rely on caffeine to get through the day.

“It's great to work for a company that actually has a good mission and you care about the people you're working for,” Easterby said.

OnSight

“We got sick and tired of our favorite equipment constantly being broken and long wait lines for the equipment,” OnSight’s co-founder and COO Matthew Martinez said.

Martinez and co-founder and CEO Angel Mendoza found a rhythm in their gym schedule. However, when they arrived, they had no idea what to expect – long lines for the machines they needed or an out-of-order sign were sour notes that often broke up their workout. After interviewing multiple gym owners, the two found that floor managers often lacked data and relied on members to tell them of any problems.

Their solution is a sensor-analytics platform that helps gyms run better by using data from the floor. The  hardware tracks occupancy and usage on gym floors. 

With Jumpstart’s funds, Martinez and Mendoza are piloting OnSight by installing  sensors at local gyms, as well as increasing outreach.

Alongside being accepted into Jumpstart, OnSight won first place at Health & Fitness Association’s Innovation Alley Pitchfest, the largest national conference for the health and fitness industry. 

“That has really skyrocketed our progress,” Mendoza said. “[It] put us in contact with a lot of people that we didn't think we'd be in contact with at this early stage.”

Not only are the entrepreneurs investing money into OnSight, but their own time and commitment as well. Both co-founders turned down full-time jobs to work on their startup.

“It's my dream job working for myself, working with Matt, [and] seeing an idea go from a conversation to something that is actually a product that we can sell, something that's viable, something that people need, something that people want,” Mendoza said.

Although their products may be entirely different, the teams share an excitement for their upcoming Jumpstart journey as they spend the summer with other ambitious entrepreneurs and “bounce off ideas.” 

“What I'm really excited for is working alongside other founders,” Medina said. “There's definitely a very vibrant community that comes when you're around people who are working on a startup that's just a little different than you'll find elsewhere.”

Jumpstart is The Garage's summer pre-accelerator program for student teams to work full-time on their projects with hands-on mentorship and a stipend.