CEO and Co-Founder of Bioniq - Vadim Fedotov

Vadim, it's great to see you. I've been taking supplements for the last 20 years, so I'm really excited to have this discussion. I know you were a professional athlete. Can we talk a bit about what you've been up to before founding Bioniq?

Sure. I started by playing professional basketball. I played for the German national team and was scouted to play against the U.S. national team. That led to an opportunity to play Division I basketball for the University of Buffalo in New York, where I played for four years. After that, I was offered to play overseas, but during my career, I had four torn ACLs. Usually, one ACL injury is a red flag, but having four made it clear that sports might not be my future. So, around 24, I decided to move into the corporate world.  

Growing up in Germany, it's almost expected to either become a dentist or a management consultant, so I chose the latter. At 26, Rocket Internet recruited me to join Groupon, where I helped launch the company in Eastern Europe. I became the youngest CEO in the 48 markets we had at the time and led Groupon post-IPO for five years.  

After that, I moved into corporate ventures and media, but during that phase, I realized it was time for me to create value on my own. Education and health have always been my two biggest passions. That's when I decided to explore what could make the most sense in these fields. I wanted to create something that would educate people about what goes into their bodies and provide personalized solutions.

That vision led to the creation of Bioniq, which started through trial and error and pilot projects in 2017-18. After a successful pilot, where we got feedback from industry leaders, including the head of performance at the UFC, we knew we were onto something groundbreaking. By 2019, we officially launched Bioniq in London, and I haven't looked back since.

Interesting. Can you share some insights from your time in Groupon? Was it your first CEO role?

Yes, it was my first CEO role. When I joined, Groupon was pre-IPO, and the focus was solely on sales and growth. We had a massive marketing budget, one of the highest in our region. It was a period of incredible growth. I was responsible for 38 offices and thousands of employees. You go through a phase of growth at all costs, then post-IPO, you start dealing with quarterly reports and shareholder expectations.

The shift from growth at all costs to profitability was a major turning point. We drastically reduced the number of offices from 38 to 2, closing them down, shifting people to freelancers, and focusing on high-margin, proven partners. You go through these growth stages, pre-IPO, post-IPO, and you learn a lot about corporate culture and bureaucracy. As a founder, when you look back, you realize how much those decisions impact your business.

These are the kinds of things you learn at a corporate level that aren’t always the best for your management style or business needs.

Very interesting. So, after going through the IPO, why do you think Groupon ultimately failed?

As everyone knows, marketing discounts is a quick way to generate sales, but it has the shortest retention and the lowest lifetime value (LTV) long term. It creates one-off sales spikes but doesn’t build sustainable growth. The problem with Groupon was that we became a kind of “steroid” for our partners. They relied too heavily on sales, but when customers only came during promotions, partners started doing too many sales, which led to decreased margins and worsened service quality.

As a result, the customer experience declined, and it became a vicious cycle. The partners couldn't grow without more sales, but the sales didn’t allow them to provide the service needed. This ultimately hurt customer retention. The collective buying idea was brilliant, but not all partners understood it at first, and we pushed too hard in the beginning. By the time we figured out which sectors worked best, the boom had already passed.

The model itself, based on constant discounts, just isn’t sustainable for Groupon, nor for the partners, and ultimately, the consumer suffers too.

Let’s talk about Bioniq now. How did the idea come about?

As a founder, you often create something to “scratch your own itch”. For me, it was about feeling physically and mentally off. Despite my professional sports background, I found myself struggling with brain fog, fatigue, and weight issues, and I couldn't understand how someone in my position, someone who had the resources to eat right, hire personal trainers, buy supplements, and so on, could feel so bad.

I went to a doctor to see what could be done. After describing my symptoms, he ran a blood test and a week later, I came back hoping to get some answers. Instead, he looked at my results and told me, "You're fine." I was shocked. I had all these symptoms, yet he said nothing was wrong enough for him to prescribe medication. This moment made me realize that traditional medicine treats you when you’re already sick, not about optimizing your health.

So I started looking for alternatives. I began researching what people were doing, particularly in Silicon Valley. Around 2016-2017, I came across DNA testing but realized that DNA is static, it doesn’t change over time, and lifestyle changes don’t affect it. Then I looked at supplements, but the retention rates were low, most people didn’t stick with them. I also looked at at-home blood testing companies, but the products only told you what was going on inside your body, they didn’t offer any solutions. This got me thinking: What if there was a way to combine data with actionable solutions?

During this journey, I met a neuroscientist who had worked on clinical trials in Switzerland with Olympic athletes. Over seven years, he studied 954 athletes and found that optimizing micronutrient levels helped reduce sickness by 10 days per year. These athletes also showed a 6.9% improvement in physical performance and a significant boost in cognitive abilities.

I was blown away. I asked him, "If it works for athletes, what could it do for regular people?" He said, "35-50% improvement." That was incredible. I decided to try it myself. I went through the whole process: blood tests, urine tests, DNA analysis, and supplementation. My energy levels came back, and I felt completely optimized. I shared the process with a group of friends, former employees, and others. After two months, I asked who wanted to continue, and most people said yes. Then I asked who would be willing to pay for it, and that’s when I realized I might be onto something.

One person in that group was the head of performance for the UFC, who invited me to their performance center in Nevada. After meeting with the team, they said, "There’s nothing like this in the market. This could be unique." I took the Swiss technology for micronutrient optimization and combined it with an algorithm that gives personalized solutions based on real-time data. In 2019, I launched Bioniq with this feedback loop system, and it’s been a game-changer.

Very interesting. What’s the difference between granules and powder, for example?

Vadim:

We use granules made from prebiotics in Switzerland, which avoids this insulin spike. In Switzerland, supplement standards are as stringent as pharmaceutical ones, so we use pharmaceutical-grade supplements. Traditional supplements are usually in pill form. Manufacturers put vitamins into starch-based pills, which cause an insulin spike when consumed. This spike helps the body absorb the vitamins, but what people don’t realize is that when they take several pills, they’re also ingesting grams of carbs, which raises insulin levels.

For example, people who practice intermittent fasting often want to stay in ketosis or autophagy for longer. But taking regular supplements during fasting can spike insulin and break the fasting state.

The issue with conventional pills is that they’re one-size-fits-all. When you buy a bottle, it might say "take two pills," but two pills might be too many for one person, too few for another, or even harmful to someone else. Personalization is key, and more people are beginning to understand that. We're educating people about how the form and ingredients of supplements are just as important as their dosage. 

This makes me think from a business perspective. If you have multiple people with different results, you need to tailor everything for each individual. How do you manage that complexity?

Every formula is unique. In the history of the company, we’ve never had the same formula twice. Each user receives a personalized formula, and even the same user will never see the same formula twice. The algorithm analyzes about 120 components and determines which ones your body needs, along with the appropriate dosage. The raw materials are sourced from Switzerland, and then the custom formulas are created at our laboratory in London and shipped globally from our UK facility. 

Initially, we had people manually handling the formulas, but now the process is largely automated. There's a big optimization effort underway. However, we still have people involved to ensure that every ingredient and dosage is double-checked before being used. We have 120 different raw materials that are mixed according to the algorithm’s recommendations.

How many data points are enough for optimization? Are you continuing to add more data points over time?

We've been partnering with wearable companies for years. Bioniq users historically received their blood test results and answered the questionnaire, but with wearables, we can track additional data like workouts, sleep, recovery, and strain. This allows us to better understand a user’s day-to-day activities. By tracking these behaviors, we can adjust the product to better suit each person’s needs.

How does that process work? Do I fill out the questionnaire and take the supplements, and then update it over time?

Yes, that’s exactly how it works. When you start with Bioniq Go, you complete the questionnaire. Over time, you can update your answers in the app to reflect any changes, like diet, weight, activity levels, or any new medications. This ensures that your formula is always tailored to your current needs. If you’re a Bioniq Pro user, each new blood test gives you an updated formula.

Was there an improvement over time with the initial product, which was based on blood tests? I see you now have a pro version for athletes. Did you add or remove biomarkers over time?

About two years in, we realized that 50 blood markers were sufficient. For the past three years, we’ve been testing with around 50 blood markers, depending on the market, 50 in the U.S., for example. One of our breakthroughs is based on data from users who completed at least three cycles (initial, second, and third blood tests). We've seen that around 86% of users who started with low or below-optimal levels achieved optimal levels after six months. The most exciting part is that many of these users were already taking supplements when they started. 

I imagine your fundraising journey has been challenging. You’re running one of the most complex businesses out there, with a lot of customization, manufacturing, and scalability challenges. How difficult was it to fundraise?

It was very difficult for the first four or five years, but every founder faces challenges. My biggest mistake was wanting too much too early. I originally wanted Bioniq to be a platform for everything: biohacking, longevity, diagnostics. It was all over the place. When I spoke to potential investors, they couldn’t tell whether we were a platform, a hardware company, a diagnostic company, or just a supplement company.

It was hard because I was trying to do too many things at once. Eventually, we narrowed our focus to a supplement company that uses technology to disrupt the traditional market by optimizing dosages and providing customer feedback loops. Once we had a clear direction and product-market fit, it became easier to talk to investors and explain who we are, what sets us apart, and how our algorithm and feedback loop are unique.

Clarity of thought is key. What advice would you give to founders when it comes to fundraising, especially depending on the stage of their business?

When speaking to funds, it’s important to understand the stage you’re at. In the early stages, it’s not about having enough data; it’s about the founder, the vision, and the metrics. I made the mistake of focusing too much on sales early on, influenced by my experience at Groupon, where I prioritized quick sales at any cost. But what really matters are the cohorts.

Your first 1,000 customers are key. They make or break your business. We were lucky that our first 1,000 customers were strong advocates, even though we were a raw startup with rough products. They believed in the idea and innovation, which helped us get through the tough early days. Looking back, I would have focused more on those first 1,000 users instead of rushing to get 2,000 or 3,000 more customers.

Which cohort worked well for you in the beginning?

Our first cohort consisted of people who love new things, exclusivity, and being part of something new. It wasn’t so much about personalized supplements; it was about joining the newest, most unique product on the market. Once people tried the product and saw the improvements, the organic growth began. Initially, it was 35 to 40 year old men and younger women who were attracted to the novelty: “no need to drink 40 different bottles a day”.

However, the reason we got through the early stages was less about having the perfect product and more about having a strong, passionate community that believed in the idea. In the beginning, our medical director and nurse would drive to consumers to help them with blood tests and explain the importance of supplements. People don’t trust a health company unless they know who’s behind it. Being hands-on during the early growth phase was crucial, especially in our sector.

Can you share the story about Cristiano Ronaldo being one of your early clients?

About three years ago, he heard about Bioniq from one of his Manchester United teammates, Diogo D'Alohut, who had been using our product for years. Cristiano saw Diogo using it in the locker room and became interested. His team reached out to us to learn more about the product.

After two years on the product, his team reached out again. Cristiano was very interested in our development plans and wanted to learn more. Once we discussed the mission and vision of the company, he was convinced and decided to invest and become a shareholder. For us, having Cristiano Ronaldo involved is a dream. He embodies everything Bioniq stands for: performance, innovation, and discipline.

How did the announcement impact the brand?

The announcement was huge. With over a billion followers, Cristiano is the world’s most famous person. When he endorses something, it’s a game-changer. For startups, you go through a lot of “no’s” before people give something a try. Cristiano eliminates many of those doubts, people trust him, his endorsement is proof of quality, and it builds confidence in the product. Since the announcement, we’ve seen massive interest from the sports industry.

Numerous top sports teams have reached out, wanting to onboard their athletes. After hearing that Cristiano uses Bioniq, their athletes want to try it too.

What new projects are you working on in the next 1-2 years?

There are two key focuses. First, we want to enhance the feedback loop for users. We aim to make Bioniq a key part of people's daily routine, alongside nutrition, activity, and sleep. By providing data analytics, we’ll show how supplements directly impact health, helping users see the effect they’re having.

Second, we’re working on alternative intake forms for supplements. We believe the current system, taking pills and gummies, is flawed. Not only is the dosage often wrong, but the intake form itself can sometimes do more harm than good. We want to move away from pills and gummies and find better alternatives.

What do you think is the future of supplements in general?

Looking 10 years ahead, I envision a world where you wake up, go to your kitchen, and your fridge scans your body, your temperature, your current health status, and creates a personalized mixture of nutrients based on what your body needs that day. The future of supplements will be highly personalized, tailored to your daily needs, not just based on blood tests from months ago.

This kind of personalization will be available at local centers, not just in labs. People will stop taking supplements blindly and instead take what their body needs at that moment, which can change constantly based on diet, stress, travel, and other factors.

If you project 100 years into the future, what things are we doing today in supplementation or health that are totally wrong?

Looking back from 100 years in the future, I think the biggest issue today will be the prevalence of processed foods. Supplements exist because people are not getting everything they need from their diet, but the problem is that the food system itself is broken. Ultra-processed foods are everywhere, pushing people to take supplements to compensate.

The food system is not providing what our bodies truly need, and supplements often have the wrong dosages or aren't effective enough. The combination of poor food choices and ineffective supplements is not helping people's health. The shift away from ultra-processed foods and one-size-fits-all supplements is crucial. In the future, people won’t understand why we used to think a single product could work for everyone.