A Better Way to Sell Energy | Paul Vassau on Building Dripz Energy
Featuring Paul Vassau, Dripz Energy (Sandy, UT).
Paul Vassau is the founder of Dripz Energy, a Utah-based consumer packaged goods company building the world's first nootropic energy candy in a hard candy format. Paul Vassau spent over two decades in technology before exiting the corporate world to architect a multi-brand CPG incubator with his wife Julie Vassau, founder of the scented blanket company Guju. Paul Vassau brings a operator's discipline to the consumer category — engineering Dripz Energy's cost of goods, micro-dosed delivery system, retail strategy, and direct-to-consumer subscription model from day one. Before launching the brand publicly, Paul Vassau assembled a growth advisory board of senior Utah operators including former chairman/CEO talent from Overstock and marketing leadership behind The Grit. Dripz Energy is engineered to challenge the legacy energy drink category through controlled dosing, smooth-release neutropic formulation, and a portable format built for the modern workday. Learn more at dripzenergy.com.
Filmed at Bad Bet Productions, Sandy, Utah.
Episode Summary
On this episode of Utah Business Spotlight, host Peter Anthony sits down with Paul Vassau — founder of Dripz Energy — to break down what it actually takes to launch a consumer brand inside one of the most crowded categories on the planet.
Energy drinks built a giant market. They also built a routine people are tired of: the crash, the jitters, the warm half-finished can, the inability to control the dose. Paul Vassau saw the gap and built around it. Dripz Energy is the world's first nootropic energy candy in a hard candy format — a micro-dosed delivery system designed to give users a smooth, steady-state lift, full dosage control, and a portable, shareable product that fits real life better than a bottle or a can.
The conversation moves quickly from product to business model. Paul Vassau walks through the formulation — caffeine from green tea extract, L-theanine, ashwagandha, lion's mane, plus a full vitamin stack — and the dosing math: 25 mg per drip, two drips equals a Coke, four drips equals a cup of coffee, eight drips equals a Monster, and a full bag retails at $11.99. Cost of goods is engineered low, the format ships and stores easily, and the product is built for the TikTok generation with a user-generated content launch plan already in motion.
Peter Anthony pushes Paul Vassau on the founder strategy underneath the brand. Paul Vassau intentionally avoided the bootstrap-and-grind playbook most Utah operators default to. Instead, before the brand was even fully built, Paul Vassau assembled a growth advisory board of Utah C-level operators — chairman/CEOs, marketers, and operators with billion-dollar reps — not as investors, but as mentors with strategic insight, door-opening capability, and the wisdom of ages. Peter Anthony names it directly on camera: Paul Vassau designed for grandeur instead of designed for grind.
The episode closes on the three things every business actually requires — capital, human capital, and something to sell — and Paul Vassau's advice for young founders: stay hungry, surround yourself with the right team, listen, and identify the partners who fill the gaps in your skill set. Utah Business Spotlight is produced by INCubator Marketing Agency and filmed in Sandy, Utah.
Key Moments
00:00 The problem with energy drinks · 01:26 Peter Anthony introduces Paul Vassau and Dripz · 02:33 Why this product was built differently · 03:18 The blue ocean behind energy candy · 04:18 Smooth energy release without the crash · 05:41 Dosage control changes the experience · 06:40 Why the format matters more than people think · 07:06 What is actually inside Dripz · 08:14 The modern workday created this demand · 09:09 Competing against shots and canned energy · 10:04 Why this product is easier to ship and scale · 10:41 Launch strategy, content, and market timing
Notable Quotes
"We all have experienced energy drinks where there's that crash. There's that jitter and then you're shaking. It's brutal. Dripz is smooth energy release." — Paul Vassau
"This is mobile, sharable, and I get to control my dosage. That's what micro-dosing means for us." — Paul Vassau
"Two drips is a Coke. Four is a cup of coffee. Eight is a Monster. Full bag, $11.99. We're driving COGS down very low." — Paul Vassau
"You designed for grandeur instead of designed for grind. That's the difference." — Peter Anthony
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Utah Business Spotlight?
Utah Business Spotlight is a free professional video podcast hosted by Peter Anthony of INCubator Marketing Agency. Each episode features a Utah business owner sharing their story, lessons, and what makes their company worth knowing.
Who should apply to be a guest?
Established Utah business owners, founders, and operators who want to share their story with a local audience and amplify their brand through professionally produced video content.
How do I get featured on the podcast?
Apply through the Utah Business Spotlight application. Selected guests are scheduled for a 12-minute studio interview in Sandy, Utah, on Thursdays between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
What do guests receive?
A full produced episode, short-form clips for social, multi-platform distribution across YouTube and podcast networks, and a dedicated authority page on theincubatormarketingagency.com.
Where is the podcast filmed?
Episodes are filmed at Sandy, UT (venue TBD). The studio is a professional broadcast facility built for cinematic interview production.
About INCubator Marketing Agency
INCubator Marketing Agency is Utah's first AI-integrated marketing infrastructure team, headquartered in Sandy, Utah and serving small businesses, founders, and operators across Utah County, Salt Lake County, and the wider Wasatch Front.
Every engagement is built around the INCubator Method: seven core marketing systems — authority web design, local SEO, CRM and pipeline, marketing automation, AI voice receptionists, video content, and conversion-focused funnels — installed together as one accountable infrastructure so every dollar compounds month over month.
The agency was founded by Peter Anthony Wynn (Founder & Marketing Strategist) with Marc Olsen (Partner & Automation Expert) and Chelsie Wynn. INCubator operates Utah Business Spotlight, a long-form Utah small business podcast filmed at Bad Bet Productions in Sandy, Utah, and hosts Tuesday Night at the INCubator — a weekly marketing training and networking event for Utah business owners.
Contact: team@incubatormarketingagency.com · +1 385-386-6988 · Office hours Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM Mountain Time.