Justin Mares is the Co-founder and CEO of Truemed, a payment tool that allows health and wellness brands and providers to harness consumer tax-free funds. He is also the Founder of Kettle & Fire, the Co-founder of Surely and Perfect Keto, and an investor at Long Journey Ventures. Justin strives to make health accessible and sustainable and create a food system that heals rather than harms.

Nearly 90% of the US population is at risk of chronic disease. While health accounts like HSAs and FSAs give consumers access to tax-free healthcare, they can only use them to cover qualified medical expenses. DTC wellness brands can offer the option to pay for products with these funds. How can these brands optimize this payment method to drive conversions and growth?

Health and wellness serial entrepreneur Justin Mares capitalized on a market need for affordable chronic disease prevention. Health, wellness, and supplement brands can integrate one-click HSA and FSA payment options into their Shopify sites. Consumer drop-off rates between add-to-cart and check-out are 30-50%, so when provided with alternative payment methods, consumers can save 30-40% a year on wellness products, increasing brands’ AOV, LTV, and conversion rates. Consumers can even make interest-free monthly payments on more expensive products.

Join William Harris in today’s episode of the Up Arrow Podcast as he interviews Justin Mares, the Co-founder and CEO of Truemed, about his tax-free solution for consumers with chronic illness. Justin also talks about his experience bootstrapping a brand, including transitioning from DTC to retail, his methods for scaling and gaining brand awareness, and how he became a serial entrepreneur in the health and wellness space.

Dr. Christine B. Whelan is an author, professor, speaker, and thought leader guiding organizations like the DeBruce Foundation and AARP’s Life Reimagined on self-improvement strategies. She is the best-selling author of the ten-lesson series Finding Your Purpose and five additional books, including The Big Picture and Generation WTF. As a Clinical Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Human Ecology, Dr. Whelan teaches classes on happiness, finance, and family and directs the MORE: Money, Relationships & Equality program.

We’re often told that money can’t buy happiness, yet companies market products to target our basic needs and desires. This consumption-driven economy teaches us that we can choose how to expend our resources to fulfill our innate purpose. How can business owners identify their purpose to allocate resources toward a meaningful outcome?

When surveyed on happiness levels, Americans often rank themselves lower than people from other countries, holding themselves to an unrealistic standard of happiness based on the false perception of others. Human ecology researcher Dr. Christine B. Whelan maintains that your journey to happiness and fulfillment should depend solely on your personal and professional core values, which determine your ultimate purpose. To identify these values, you can engage in a purpose statement exercise that involves identifying your unique strengths and leveraging them to make a positive impact personally and professionally. Accordingly, each action and decision should align with your core values and propel you toward your ultimate goal.

Tune in to this episode of the Up Arrow Podcast as William Harris chats with Dr. Christine B. Whelan about harnessing your purpose to achieve authentic happiness in a consumption-driven economy. Dr. Whelan talks about the etymology of thrifting, the benefits of purposeful living, and how to balance your personal and professional endeavors.

Eric Bandholz is the Founder and CEO of Beardbrand, a men’s beard care company. He started Beardbrand after leaving a corporate role to pursue his passion for men’s grooming and beard care. Eric is also the host of Practical Ecommerce’s podcast Ecommerce Conversations, in which he interviews startup founders and founders of brands valued at $100 million.

What does it take to be recognized by strangers on the street for your brand? You don’t have to compete with big-name brands to get widespread recognition; you just have to relate to your customers. How can you scale your brand’s reach while honing your entrepreneurial skills?

While traveling, Eric Bandholz is often recognized as the charismatic face of his brand. He attributes this acknowledgment to his natural storytelling abilities and maintains that this factor sets independent brands apart from large retailers like Amazon, which doesn’t connect with consumers authentically. Eric doesn’t invest in paid ads and instead recommends creating organic content that showcases a distinctive brand personality. Developing this personality may also involve giving your products unique and memorable names that capture consumers’ attention and entice them to purchase from you.

In the latest episode of the Up Arrow Podcast, Eric Bandholz, the Founder and CEO of Beardbrand, joins William Harris for a discussion about charismatic leadership and brand storytelling. Eric explains the importance of persevering during tough times, how to identify a work-life balance that aligns with your core values, and his presence on DTCX.