Kris Rice turned a personal search for calm into ChillPod, a cold plunge product that's changing how founders think about wellness and building hardware. Her journey is all about self-funded manufacturing, figuring out how to create a physical product with zero experience, and the grit it takes for a woman to break into the cold plunge industry. It's an honest look at what entrepreneurs go through when they can't shake an idea. Kris talks about the reality of manufacturing challenges, moving production overseas, and learning to trust herself while dealing with the mental toll of being a founder. Her story is a guide for anyone building a hardware startup, getting into cold plunge wellness, or stuck in the messy middle of their own thing. It's packed with takeaways that any business owner can actually use.
Key Takeaways:
1️⃣ Your Gut Is a Strategy Tool
Kris built ChillPod by trusting intuition even when the cold plunge market felt crowded and manufacturing costs were heavy. Founders move faster when they follow the signal pointing toward real opportunity.
2️⃣ Inexperience Can Be Your Superpower
With zero experience in product manufacturing, Kris brought a fresh lens to the cold plunge industry. Sometimes the founder who knows the least sees the strongest path forward.
3️⃣ Boundaries Build Better Businesses
Growing ChillPod pushed Kris to set firmer boundaries with partners and vendors. Clear limits protect a founder’s energy through manufacturing challenges and funding uncertainty, and they help the business grow.
Timestamps
00:00 – Welcome and meet Kris Rice
00:47 – The spark behind ChillPod
03:39 – Her daughter’s mental health journey and personal awakening
05:17 – First cold plunge and the breakthrough moment
05:21 – Bright Starter Sprint Ad
06:38 – Turning a horse trough into a product idea
09:16 – Early design failures and finding the right partners
12:49 – The leap into manufacturing overseas
21:14 – Trusting intuition and surviving the messy middle
38:10 – Big lessons learned and what comes next for ChillPod
Curious to keep up with Kris or check out ChillPod? Tap the links below.
Website: https://thechillpod.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kris-rice-chillpod/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechillpod.co