Jeremy Glickman ’20 Enters the Supplement Scene
January 21, 2022
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — A coffee supplement designed by Lifestacks Supplements, a company co-founded by Jeremy Glickman ’20, may provide an extra boost to kickstart your day. Lifestacks’ coffee enhancer “Tempo” was created to be a healthy, functional and tasty creamer to increase energy and focus.
The product originated from Glickman’s involvement in the biannual Entrepreneurship Fellowship where he worked with a team of student entrepreneurs and a professional designer to collaborate on the development of the brand.
“ Tempo promotes all-day clean energy, enhances focus and awareness, and mitigates the crash and jitters that accompany caffeine,” Glickman said. “Tempo is also a product that people can feel great about consuming because it is keto, gluten-free, dairy-free, additive free, and only has 0.5 net carbs.”
The enhancer is infused with MCT oil and a stack of seven nootropics — compounds or supplements that enhance cognitive performance — that give it the boosting qualities. The product takes effect in 15-30 minutes after consumption.
From a nameless idea to a product available on Amazon , Glickman’s journey has shifted from being a full-time student to co-founding the company where Tempo was developed. Glickman said that managing the startup as a student was challenging, but it has now become his top priority.
“ The hardest part of launching on Amazon was starting from scratch,” he said. “On launch day, starting from zero ratings/reviews and appearing on page eight for our target search term made it challenging to build momentum right off the bat and compete with products that have been selling for years and have hundreds and even thousands of reviews.”
Despite the initial struggle, Tempo has significantly grown since its initial launch. The product currently has a rating of 4.3 stars on Amazon. With the positive feedback from reviews and high return rate of customers across ages, occupations and lifestyles, Glickman hopes to expand the scale of Tempo on Amazon and seek retail opportunities.
“ The most rewarding part of developing Lifestacks has been hearing from customers about how Tempo has improved their daily routine or a critical aspect of their life,” Glickman said.
As a recent college graduate whose inspiration came from his own team's need for more energy throughout the day, Glickman understands the massive impact that their products can have. The Lifestacks team has several new ideas for innovative supplements they aim to produce in the next few years.
Through his involvement in the Entrepreneurship Fellowship, Glickman was able to co-found his own business and explore his passion. He noted that the Career Center Immersion Excursions were some of his most valuable experiences at Illinois Wesleyan, opening his eyes to the power of networking and creating a personal brand.
“Illinois Wesleyan helped me catapult into business and life because of personal connections with the career center staff and professors who offer amazing guidance and support,” he said.
By Kailee Galloway ’23