Entrepreneurs on Fire Ketone-IQ: From DARPA Lab to a Gym or Cafe Near You. How to Build a Movement Around a New Technology with Michael Brandt: An EOFire Classic from 2022
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Mar 13, 2026 Michael Brandt, CEO and co-founder of HVMN and creator of Ketone-IQ, turned DARPA- and DoD-backed research into consumer metabolic products. He discusses building downtime to innovate. He explains testing ideas by building an audience and the power of starting in a narrow niche. He shares the journey from military contracts to retail and how to market a new technology to mainstream buyers.
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Be Unbusy To Produce Breakthrough Ideas
- Be unbusy and preserve large blocks of uninterrupted thinking time.
- Michael Brandt says top performers schedule days with zero meetings to dive deep and produce novel ideas.
Leave To Create Space For Entrepreneurship
- Leave a job that isn't right even if you don't yet know the next move to give yourself space to ideate.
- Michael Brandt left Google, saved money, and used the freedom to co-founder date and eventually start HVMN.
Validate Innovation By Building An Audience First
- Build an audience and float your idea publicly to test if you're the right amount ahead of culture.
- Michael Brandt recommends LinkedIn/Twitter content to see if people engage before heavy R&D or fundraising.