Alexiou Gibson’s sea moss company gets ‘Shark Tank’ deal

Although entrepreneur Mark Cuban and actor/comic Kevin Hart have completely different careers, they each understand individuals love inspiring tales. On the season 13 finale of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” the pair struck a $600,000 cope with Alexiou Gibson and his firm that sells edible seaweed moss gel.

“Life modified within the blink of an eye fixed,” Gibson mentioned. “So many individuals utilized to the present and few make it, particularly Black-owned companies. It was resembling surreal second. There have been occasions I wished to give up, however I saved preventing.”

Rising up within the Bahamas, Gibson endured a number of persistent situations and weighed over 540 kilos. He was informed that his physique was was too far gone to make any important modifications to his well being.

As soon as he moved to Florida in 1998, he was bullied, and he hit all-time low with insecurities and melancholy. Together with diabetes, hypertension, excessive ldl cholesterol and respiratory situations making it tough to stroll lengthy distances, in 2014, his doctor informed him he wouldn’t stay to see 30.

“I began figuring out 4 to 6 hours a day,” mentioned Gibson, who lives in Wellington. “In 16 months, I dropped a big quantity of weight and I wish to construct a neighborhood of people who find themselves impressed and may be taught from my story and rework themselves into the most effective variations of themselves.”

After receiving distressing information from his doctor, Gibson, now 35, labored towards a more healthy way of life. Together with changing into vegan, he began going to the health club and he wished the chance to assist others pursue their targets.

“After going plant-based, I dropped one other 100 kilos,” he mentioned. “Everybody has to seek out their ‘why’ and for me, it was a demise sentence. So, I needed to change and do one thing.”

Gibson would get up at 5:40 a.m. to do exercises. He would do bodily actions, however after quarter-hour he can be drained.

Ultimately, he would grit his enamel, dig in his heels and with every exercise, he started to see muscle groups that not way back had been buried.

“I wished to satisfy the most effective model of myself and I labored my endurance as much as two-hour classes,” Gibson mentioned. “Slicing out empty energy like sugary drinks is a large significance, getting lively, one thing easy as strolling across the park makes a distinction and having an excellent ‘why’ along with your psychological well being will take you a great distance.”

Gibson began documenting his weight reduction and his vegan way of life. He additionally credit his transformation to utilizing sea moss, which he would later use for his profession. Gibson is the CEO and president of The Transformation Manufacturing unit, a well being product firm impressed by his personal weight reduction.

The claims of the advantages of sea moss embody decreasing blood strain, weight reduction, wholesome mucus membrane assist, digestive well being, thyroid assist, hair progress, amongst others.

Sea moss is an entire meals supply of minerals containing 92 of the 102 hint minerals discovered within the physique. It’s produced right into a gel that is available in completely different flavors and could also be utilized in teas, smoothies, coffees, pancake batters and different merchandise, Gibson mentioned.

Made in a very vegan kitchen and blended in alkaline spring water, Gibson’s TTF Sea Moss is crafted from the oceans of Jamaica and it’s by no means pool grown.

When COVID was at its peak, Gibson was involved for his grandmother’s immune system, and he began making sea moss components for her.

“The enterprise began in my kitchen throughout the top of the pandemic,” he mentioned. “I wished to construct her immune system since we had been in a compromised world and I began making her lattes within the morning with sea moss. From there, I began getting messages from nurses who had COVID sufferers and wished to guard themselves, and we gave it out free of charge.”

He would later share movies on social media of its advantages whereas documenting his weight-loss transformation and what he calls his “Alexiou 2.0″ journey.

“We encourage individuals to be the most effective model of themselves and that’s a 2.0 journey,” Gibson mentioned. “We began transport sea moss to pals, household and important employees, and our order quantity began coming in so quick that we needed to create a website.”

He then realized sea moss may very well be a worthwhile enterprise and he had the chance to assist others who struggled with well being points just like his previous. The entrepreneur’s profession, nonetheless, virtually took a distinct route.

As a 25-year-old Palm Seaside State School junior on the Lake Price campus, in 2011, he interned with NASA. His curiosity in science and devices led him to be one in all 48 neighborhood faculty college students chosen from 25 states to participate in a three-day NASA program in Huntsville, Alabama to design and construct a prototype car to roam Mars.

He has additionally been a recipient of the celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Management Award, International Citizen Award and Buick Engineering Scholarship.

“The enterprise began with simply myself, my mother and my grandmother, and it exploded in a single day,” Gibson mentioned. “It received to some extent the place it was overwhelming and my grandmother can be up till 1 within the morning packaging merchandise in jars. We received to some extent the place 18-wheeler vans had been in a residential neighborhood dropping off jars simply so we may put sea moss in these jars to ship them and assist individuals throughout.”

With sea moss gross sales all through the U.S., Canada, Colombia, and even Switzerland and Australia, Gibson mentioned he realized this may very well be the beginning of a worthwhile enterprise. Inside just a little over a yr, Gibson’s enterprise grew a following on social media.

Throughout his look on the season finale of “Shark Tank” with Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner and visitor “shark” Kevin Hart, Gibson informed them he wished assist getting his sea moss on cabinets at main retailers. He requested for $500,000 in alternate for five% of TTF. A lot of the Sharks had been impressed by the corporate’s financials however had been confused about how a $25 8-ounce bottle may have a lot attraction to shoppers.

“It began as our household enterprise and sea moss is used for therefore many issues,” Gibson mentioned. “It’s like having a Starbucks drink however with 92 healthful minerals.”

O’Leary made a suggestion of $500,000 for 30% of TTF, however Gibson wasn’t . As an alternative, he centered on Hart and Corcoran, providing them 20% of TTF’s fairness for $800,000.

“We had been the primary sea moss firm to be on the present and the one deal of the night time on the season finale,” Gibson mentioned.

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Hart mentioned he’d be keen to compromise at $600,000, however Corcoran declined. Cuban, who’s vegetarian and has invested in quite a few vegan meals firms leaned over and informed Hart, “I’ll do it with you.”

Gibson’s favourite approach of utilizing sea moss is in a latte as a result of it makes the milk wealthy and frothy. He additionally makes use of it in his beard to makes the hair fuller, darker and softer, and he additionally consumes sea moss in soups.

“Typically when individuals wish to thicken their soup, they’ll add potatoes or add flour,” Gibson mentioned. “Sea moss has carrageenan in it and it thickens it with out including starch.”

Gibson continues to seek out any alternative he can to teach, encourage and encourage, and he plans on releasing his weight-loss transformation story as a documentary.

He’s additionally modifying his first e-book, “7 Figures in 7 Months: What I Did Whereas the World was Pandemicing,” and is planning a TTF scholarship. This system would assist individuals with bodily and psychological well being by giving them the assistance they should evolve and add them to a TTF Wall of Fame so different individuals could be impressed.

“This has been an unimaginable journey to date and that is only the start,” Gibson mentioned. “I’ve gotten 1000’s of messages, emails, calls, even from different sea moss firms, particularly individuals from my nation saying that I represented the Bahamas nicely on a world stage. I’m wholesome and serving to individuals develop into the most effective model of themselves is my ardour and goal. I’m glad I lived by all this and to see the most effective model of myself, the corporate and different individuals.”

Go to seamosstransformation.com.