Every great product begins with a problem.

This one began with a water bottle.

When I met the founder, his hydration device was still called DrinkUp — a personal DIY experiment made from two LEDs, a tilt sensor, a battery, and a strip of tape wrapped around his favorite water bottle. He wasn’t an athlete, but he was trying to become healthier. Running, lifting, and building new habits… yet something still wasn’t improving.

His bottle stayed full.

For days.

He learned what many of us never realize: thirst is not a reliable hydration signal.

That single insight, paired with 23 years of electronics engineering experience, sparked a tiny invention that changed his life — and later, the lives of many others. The moment he strapped that blinking reminder onto his bottle, he started drinking three liters a day… and seeing measurable improvements in stamina within two weeks. He wondered, “How many people suffer from the same silent problem?”

That question became the heartbeat of an entire company. And that’s where my role began.