Family Tree S2: Bold Biologix
https://boldbx.com/
448 (B.J.): Good morning. Good morning. So everybody, this is Larry, Larry Mercado. The CEO of Bold Biologix. I got boy Raz here, as you all know. Um, Larry, just get into it and tell us:
Q: How’d you start Bold Biologix and how did everything come about?
Larry: Well, after I sold my I.T. company about six years ago. It took a few years to figure out what I was gonna do. But when I had my previous company I was in the federal world.
So it sold to federal government. So, I had a TSA clearance, couldn’t do anything, didn’t do anything. I smoked in college. So after a, I don’t know, 15 year hiatus, I tried it again. And so I realized that it was a completely different animal..
So, for instance, one time I smoked and then I began to realize I really needed to sort of change how I was dealing with my kids. I didn’t like what I was seeing in some of my behavior, and I just, I sort of started to figure it out. I guess, is the way to put it. And I changed my behavior with my kids and I’ve seen the changes as they’ve grown over time.
And that’s just a small experience. I realized that this really helped clear my head and helped me think, and made things better. That was the start. Once I saw the difference it had in my behavior and my outlook on life, I decided to get into the industry. Immediately started looking at how to get a dispensary, how to get on that retail side.
And unfortunately, I live in Charleston, South Carolina, where it’s still very much illegal.
448 (B.J.): Mm-hmm. Oh yea!
Larry: So I had to go to the CBD route living here. Even though I explored looking at moving to Virginia, Maryland, different places to maybe go that route.
448 (Raz): Mm-hmm.
Larry: I felt like with my family here, this was the best way to go.
So, yeah, I started a CBD company, and I’m very much into fitness and athletics. So, I thought that was the route for me. Also, for any entrepreneurs trying to get in the business (industry), I went to MJ BizCon. Which is the biggest cannabis conference for business in the world.
I went there, signed up and did the one-day new business tour where they walked you through everything. And that was really helpful. And the statistics that they showed, showed me that going into the athletic side of the industry, that was gonna be the biggest growth segment in the industry.
So that’s when I kinda said, “Okay, that’s where I need to be. And that’s where I kind of fit in anyway.” From there I started Bold Biologix, to be sort of an elite performance supplement that focuses on sleep, recovery, and pain management. So I have four products that I rolled out four years ago, thanks to MJ BizCon.
I actually went there and I was able to meet suppliers. I was looking for a white labeler. So someone that could actually produce it. But I could put my name on it, go market it and get in the business that way. That’s exactly what I did and I’ve been kind of rolling ever since.
448 (Raz): Okay. Awesome.
448 (B.J.): Awesome. Well, you kind of segwayed into the next question, you say you created four products..
Q: When you created these four products. Who did you have in mind? Who are these products supposed to be used by?
Larry: Really I was looking at more elite athletes. People that are very much into fitness.
I call ’em fitness freaks. Those folks that are, that’re going to the gym, they’re working out. Either they’re playing a sport or they’re very much into their own fitness. The people that are serious about it. And I wanted to develop those products in a way that would make sense to athletes. Athletes, me previously being one, you want to feel it right away. You want to know that it’s working.
448 (Raz): Yeah.
Larry: So I had to have a high CBD content in some of the topicals so that when an athlete puts it on, right away they know that it’s working.
448 (Raz): So, looking for that product to push out under yourself…
Q: Did you have to go through a lot of different companies to get that result that you were looking for? Or did you already know who you wanted to go with, because you heard of their products maybe from someone else?
Larry: No, it started at MJ BizCon. I walked the floor. I walked every inch of that floor and met every company that sort of met the profile that I was looking for and then started doing my research on what products they offered. I started getting samples from them, sending them out to friends and family and having them test it out, and also testing them myself.
And then once I was comfortable with who I was going with the final step, I actually went and visited their facilities and made sure that they were. ISO certified. Quality assurance. That they either had or were on track for good manufacturing, or GMP license.
I just wanted to make sure that they were completely legitimate, met with their CEOs, went and visited, did the tour of their facilities, and then I finally made my decision on who I went with.
448 (Raz): Yeah. Okay. So, yeah, you did the from A to Z really?
Larry: Oh, yeah.
448 (Raz): Making sure that you stand behind your product.
Larry: That was a six month process.
448 (Raz): Okay. Wow. I feel like that’s like a very important part of that too because, you know, with it being a product that you don’t see exactly from the ground up, you have to trust what they’re giving you.
Larry: That’s right.
448 (Raz): Meeting with them and really understanding who they are, what they’re about, and where they come from, to align with your own principles is really important.
So, I think that that’s a great way to look at that. And for anybody else that is getting into it, I think that’s a great blueprint to follow.
Larry: Yeah, I mean, our industry on the CBD side is unregulated. It’s considered a supplement and because of that, probably more than half of the products out there don’t not meet the COAs, so I would call all those products illegitimate.
So I wanted to make sure that, anybody buying my product, using my product, knew that they could trust the source from A to Z. All the way back to the grower. And that’s what I think we have in our supplychain.
448 (Raz): That’s wonderful.
448 (B.J.): That’s dope. I think you touched on a very important point.
Like you said, CBD is unregulated and as cannabis legalization is kind of trying to find its way, CBD is unregulated and it is legal. Like you said, they view it as a supplement. So you have all these iterations and versions. I mean, we live in America, where you can be and do anything you want.
Larry: That’s right.
448 (B.J.): As long as you have the capital to do so. You can throw a few dollars
at anything and slap a label on it and say “Oh yeah. This is CBD.”
So I think that’s very important that you know a differentiation from the gas station CBD.
Q: You said that previously, you were an athlete. What sport(s) did you play? What were you previously active in or currently active in?
Larry: Three sports really. Basketball, Jiu-Jitsu, and Wrestling. Uh, I’m sorry, four, Tennis and most of those I played at kind of a high competitive level. Jiu-Jitsu, is a great example, whether you’re young or old, you’re going to get some kind of pain or injury. Like UFC fighters, they’re training MMA and Jiu-Jitsu all the time, and you’re gonna be twisting elbows doing all kinds of stuff, and you’re gonna have pain.
And I needed something that they could relate to, that they could immediately feel comfort and that was my goal going that route.
448 (B.J.): Awesome, awesome. So, um, my last and final question is…
Q: What would you previously had done before you got into cannabis, before you started Bold Biologix for recovery, after playing these sports, say you’re in a season of a basketball league. What are you doing for recovery?
Larry: Oh man, that’s a really good question because, it completely changed when I developed my products. I was popping Advil every day because of basketball. My heels and my back,
from all the rebounding.
I’m pretty big. I play down low a lot. That’s a lot of banging. Literally I was, I was doing Advil every day and I said, this is terrible. “Yeah, I know this is not good for me. It’s not good for my body.” And, I don’t think I’ve taken an Advil…In the last seven years.
If I’m hurting, if it’s something that, you know, a muscle, or something like that, I’ll put on one of my topicals. Otherwise I use my tincture, and it takes down all the swelling. That’s what CBD does internally and externally. And I noticed the difference.
I don’t have a lot of those pains anymore.
448 (Raz): That’s amazing.
Larry: But yeah, I literally went from popping pills to using something all natural.
448 (Raz): Getting back to the roots.
Larry: That’s right.
All: *Laughs*
