Hum Client Spotlight: CHOQ
Our Client Spotlight series features business leaders, entrepreneurs, and company executives from high-growth companies who have successfully fundraised via Hum’s Intelligent Capital Market. Each Q&A will discuss why they started the company, challenges they faced in scaling, and why they chose to partner with Hum.
CHOQ is a supplements manufacturing company that offers hormone health, testosterone, stress support, thyroid health, and herbal products. Founded in 2019, in its first year CHOQ sold over 100,000 bottles directly to consumers globally.
Seaton Collard is CHOQ’s President and a founder of the company. In this Client Spotlight Q&A, Collard discusses founding CHOQ, its differentiation, and raising capital with Hum.
Q: Thanks for taking the time, Seaton! First, can you provide a brief overview of CHOQ, the founding story, and the company’s mission?
A: CHOQ is a direct-to-consumer, specialty supplements company that delivers high-end supplements to optimize human performance and recharge vitality.
Q: Since founding CHOQ in 2019, what can you say were the key ingredients to scaling the company to where it is today?
A: CHOQ employs a lean and motivated team. CHOQ first focuses on the product to provide the customer value and powerful results. We built CHOQ via in-house expertise instead of relying on teams of outsourced consultants and fractional resources. CHOQ’s employees operate product development, finance & accounting, fulfillment, customer service, and marketing strategy all in-house. CHOQ retains control of the customer journey and experience from marketing and lead generation through post-purchase customer service.
Q: What is CHOQ’s differentiation? What makes your products stand out from competitors in the market?
A: CHOQ sets itself apart from other supplements by creating potent and effective products that generate tangible results for the consumer. CHOQ is formulated in-house utilizing our network of premium quality ingredient suppliers to produce a first-rate product line.
Q: Why did you and the team decide to raise outside capital to help grow the business?
A: CHOQ was founded in 2019 and to date has only funded growth with non-dilutive financing. We utilize working capital to drive expansion by funding marketing initiatives and inventory purchases ahead of the sales they generate. We give equal attention to both profitability and cash flow management as we scale.
Q: How did you and CHOQ discover Hum and what was your experience like working with Hum’s team and raising capital via the Intelligent Capital Market (ICM)?
A: CHOQ’s CFO received a recommendation to pursue Hum Capital through his network and reached out to discuss the structure of Hum Capital credit facilities. However, we were pleasantly surprised with the brevity and simplicity of Hum Capital’s underwriting process. We closed on funding within two weeks. Hum Capital was the first lender in the space in which we felt we had a partner who evaluated, understood, and expressed interest in CHOQ’s growth plan. Our funding needs will certainly change as we achieve greater scale and we are confident in Hum Capital’s ability to provide resources for both future debt and equity rounds.
Q: Would you advise other founders and entrepreneurs to raise capital via a platform like Hum?
A: Yes, I absolutely will recommend Hum Capital to other entrepreneurs in my network. I wish we found Hum Capital sooner as it would have saved us from the headache, expense, and uncertainty of short-term lending partners. The diligence and underwriting process was smooth, quick, and painless. Thanks to Hum, CHOQ now operates with certainty regarding our liquidity position and can invest in longer-term growth initiatives.
This testimonial may not represent the experience of all clients and is not indicative of future performance or success.
