Sebastian Wahl and Carl-Philipp von Polheim are the founders of mybacs (https://mybacs.com/). Mybacs is a direct-to-consumer (D2C), research driven, biotechnology company for gut-health products based in Zug (Switzerland) and Munich (Germany). Their goal is to revolutionize the healthcare market around the human microbiome and thus make a decisive contribution to the health and daily well-being of everyday customers. Mybacs is specialized on the development of innovative and high-dose synbiotic dietary supplementsThey have two types of products - a Travel and Daily well-being probiotic product.Sebastian holds a Master's degree with distinction in Pharmacy from ETH Zurich (https://ethz.ch/en/studies/prospective-masters-degree-students/masters-degree-programmes/masters-degree-programmes-natural-sciences-and-mathematics/master-pharmaceutical-sciences.html). Carl-Philipp studied business administration and holds a Master of Science in Management from ESCP Europe (https://www.escpeurope.eu/).In this episode we talk about the origin story of mybacs, how to start manufacturing a physical product, the emerging direct-to-consumer industry, tools and resources to start your own D2C company, VC fundraising tips, the benefits of probiotics, their key learnings for other aspiring founders, and more.Please follow me on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/leaptakerspodcast/), Twitter (https://twitter.com/TheRemoKyburz), and my Website (http://www.leaptakers.com/), where I post new episodes, share cool stuff & interesting articles I found, and blog occasionally! Sign-up for the mailing list to stay in the loop (https://www.leaptakers.com/subscribe)!Show notes:02:54 -- Introduction of Sebastian, Carl-Philipp, and mybacs04:02 -- Exploring the origin story of mybacs06:12 -- Previous work experience before founding mybacs07:23 -- Thoughts and considerations before taking the leap08:53 -- Awareness of probiotics and the effect of the human microbiome on well-being in Europe vs. US10:08 -- Geographies that mybacs operates in10:22 -- How to manufacture a physical product as a startup11:53 -- Tips for planning your supply chain12:34 -- Timing from idea to shipping the first product13:15 -- Thoughts about assembling the right team in the D2C space14:40 -- How to incentivize experienced people & experts to join your startup?15:17 -- Raising outside capital and thoughts about raising money from VCs16:56 -- How to find a great Venture Capital investor18:37 -- The advantages of the D2C market and business model21:45 -- How to ship a product?23:24 -- Helpful resources, tools, and books to start your own company24:36 -- The future vision of mybacs27:28 -- Understanding the mybacs travelers product27:51 -- Favorite knowledge resources29:32 -- Hobbies to take your mind off the startup life30:12 -- Key learnings from starting a company. What would you do differently?31:07 -- Career advice for ambitious future “leap takers”32:16 -- What does courage mean to you?If you're enjoying the podcast, the best way to support the show is by leaving a review on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/ch/podcast/the-leap-takers-podcast/id1468975811?l=en) or in your favorite podcast app. Special Guests: Carl-Philipp von Polheim and Sebastian Wahl.