A Q&A with Mollee Rucker, Co-Founder of Keto Brainz Nootropics
By Krista Roman
Quite Frankly chats with Mollee Rucker about what drives her passion for entrepreneurship and determination toward self-reliance.
1. Where are you from and what was your upbringing like?
I grew up in the woods in a house with 52 stairs, a German Shepherd named Big Dog and hippies for parents. We actually did have a mile walk up a dirt road to the bus stop. I loved art and reading and thought I hated math and science.
This is a tough question because there’s the “what was it like” and there’s the more important “what have you learned and what have you made of it.”
I come from a family that went through a very tumultuous family business fracture. I come from a place where my mom made sure I took classes of all kinds, made sure I loved learning, made sure I was always curious, and made sure to understand what it was to be kind: “You can strongly dislike someone’s behavior but you can’t hate them.”
I was a fat kid and obese in my early teenage years.
I was anorexic, skinny and living in the gym by 16.
I moved to San Luis Obispo at 17.
I got on a train and moved to Boston for a year and 1/2 at age 21…
I come from a place that taught me to grow and evolve fast. I come from a place that taught me (over-time) that self-reliance and self-sovereignty are super-powers.
2. How would you describe your personality? What makes you unique?
Driven, curious, stubborn…
I think I’ve come to understand that it’s unique to be self-possessed in today’s world. I strive for my decisions to be my own and not influenced by outside forces.
3. What is your educational background or are you self-taught?
I have clinical nutritionist certification, but I did not learn anything new from that schooling. I’d been working in the supplement space for a while and got it into my head I needed “proper” certification. So…I started down that path and after the first “rung” was so unimpressive, I stuck with the self-learning.
I’ve been an Autodidact for as long as I can remember. I got called an autodidact when I first moved to Boston…I thought it was a bad thing until I went home that evening and looked it up.
I’ll get curious about one thing, which leads to all of the associated tangents and I’m not satisfied until I’ve exhausted exploration of my initial question AND all associated tangents.
4. How has your work experience prepared you for your current role with Keto Brainz? What inspired you to start this business?
Oh man. My ENTIRE work life from the age of 10 when I would help my aunt out at her kitchen shop all the way up to my last “real” non-consulting job as Director of Innovation for a company, was preparation for starting a company of my own.
I think though the biggest and most impactful takeaway from ALL of my work history is to avoid unnecessary steps, avoid unnecessary meetings and to avoid making things unnecessarily complicated. Keep things clean and simple. Produce a quality product and speak honestly about what you have created.
If it was not for my brother Kiel, the other half of Keto Brainz, we would have no company. I was always concocting and dialing-in superfood treats and beverages. I had NO desire to turn any of them into a business. BUT! With Keto Brainz, I had a concoction that Kiel and everyone who tried it, loved and wanted.
Keto Brainz is just the morning supplement stack that I had optimized to add to my coffee over my 20+ years in the supplement and wellness industry. It’s only a product because my brother insisted…and he was right!
5. What do you like to do for fun? Any hobbies or special interests?
CrossFit was my primary fun until a full length rotator cuff tear last year. Now my “fun” is finding all of the weight lifting actives I CAN do + hiking and playing with my doggos!
6. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you visit? Do you have a favorite place to go? Are you more of a beach, mountain or city person?
Hmm….Iceland! :D
I am 1000% a small town mountain girl.
7. For those who aren’t familiar, can you briefly talk about what exactly Keto Brainz is and why you are so passionate about it?
At its core, Keto Brainz is a solution for simplifying what could be a complicated brain & body optimizing supplement routine.
Keto Brainz is your creamy delicious, no bs ingredients coffee creamer.
It’s your complicated bio-hacking neurotransmitter optimizing stack, but deconstructed & simplified.
Keto Brainz is a focus inducing, anxiety crushing & body energizing tool for daily use.
ALL humans deserve to live “inside” a high functioning brain.
If we care to become ever more aligned versions of ourselves then there is no way around living an intensely self-examined life. And If one’s neurotransmitters are “off” or not optimized, it’s incredibly difficult to move through life in a functional way where you’re always working to evolve, improve and feel GOOD about your existence.
8. As a female founder, what advice do you have for other women or anyone else out there looking to start a business or new venture?
Ooo…so, I’m GenX (whatever than means lol), so I still view people as HUMAN before gender or anything else. Keto Brainz is 50% me and 50% my brother. We feel incredibly fortunate that we work so well as business partners. We both bring a different set of competencies to the table and we never have to worry about offending each other.
Male OR female, starting a business is not for the weak of constitution. It will be harder than you think, it will take longer than you think, it will be more costly than you think…but it is 1000% worth it!
Kiel said something in the beginning that he does not even remember saying, but it’s been HUGE for me as we have fought to build and grow our little company: “With a start-up business, you’re 1000 days to the starting line.”
9. What’s on your playlist? Any favorite genres of music or artists you love to listen to?
Hmmm…Mostly LOTS of comedy and science lol
Joe Rogan, Theo Von, YMH, Metabolic Link, Huberman, Gabriel Lyon, Lex Freidman, Adam Corolla…An odd ball mix of comedy, health and science with a dose of politics from TimCast, Jimmy Dore, Tucker Carlson, Dave Smith and more.
I once took a test that purported to tell you which areas you are most and least “intelligent” in…I was least intelligent in music.
I do enjoy music, but I have never been a “music person.”
10. What do you want your legacy to be? Is there anything you feel is important you want to share with the Franklies?
I believe CHOICE is the magic we have as humans. We cannot often choose our circumstances but we can always choose our responses to our circumstances.
I’m clear. The fact that we exist is incredibly improbable. Yet here we are, the sentient owners of bodies built for survival and brains that refuse to accept that's all we are. Pretty Fu**ing epic.
I am so impressed with Frank’s audience! We live in a world where people seem to be intellectually dulled, hyper-emotional and lacking curiosity…my experience with Frank’s audience thus far is that they are the exact OPPOSITE: kind, supportive, sharp and intensely curious with a desire for life-long learning…my kind of people!
Mollee Rucker is the co-founder of Keto Brainz Nootropics. To learn more, click here and use promo code FRANKLY.