Patrick O'Driscoll from VZN Nutrition Shares Common Mistakes Founders Make

A funny thing happened on the way to the gym. Patrick O'Driscoll took a long look in the mirror...and decided he wanted more.

It's a path that took him from Boston to Dallas, from the doorstep of a life in investment banking to the frenetic treadmill of entrepreneurship.

It took building alliances, culminating with the creation of VZN Nutrition, a brand catering to his passion for health.

Along the way, he documented everything.

When we spoke, Patrick was in the crosshairs of Q4: he gets candid on the intersection of brand and agency concerns, on goal setting, on how much extra elbow grease one needs for big business lifts. He notes the lure of community. And covers fine-tuning offers and setting influencers up to thrive.

For O'Driscoll, the VZN's never been clearer.

1. What will be your primary focus in 2023 as a business owner?

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My primary focus across the board will be building an active audience across platforms for our businesses. Content is always at the forefront of our focus and we are making big plans to take things to a new level.

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2. What is the best-kept secret that more founders should know about?

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In-person events and facilitating in-person meetups. I would love to see more DTC brands host in-person events to engage with their community. Not only does this make your customers feel like family, it makes for awesome content!

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3. How are you managing your mental health as a founder?

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I actually experienced a bit of a mental health downward spiral for the first time in my life a few months ago and it was really a learning experience for me. In order to get back on track and stay focused I became more connected with my spirituality and faith. Second, I make more dedicated time for myself to unwind and spend with my loved ones. Lastly, the gym and physical activity never fails to help me let go of stress and stay on track!

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4. What is your dream VZN collaboration?

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Since we are big on influencer collaborations, I would love to see a collaboration with a hollywood star, athlete or celebrity. We have not really seen this in the supplements space, possibly an actor that gets jacked for roles like Chris Hemsworth.

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5. If you were starting from scratch as a DTC founder, where would you allocate 90% of your capital?

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Content. The content is the core of everything as a DTC brand. If the founder does not want to be on camera or film themself, having a team, working with creators and videographers would be my biggest focus.

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6. What do you think is the most common mistake founders make?

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I believe many founders jump around too much and do not see things through. This leads to inconsistency and lack of results because of too many pivots.

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7. What is your go-to marketing channel?

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Right now, it's honestly still Instagram but we want to get our TikTok on par if not exceeding it as we head into 2023.

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