Sophie Hood: The Wellness Founder Disrupting a Billion Dollar Category With a Transparent Product!

What does a year of actually backing yourself look like? When Sophie Hood first appeared on Top of Mind in July 2024, she was a Sydney founder with a hangover cure tonic and a big idea. Now she's back in Sydney briefly, away from her home in New York - pitching Qantas at board level, quietly building a second brand, and telling Hayley she doesn't really want to be the face of her own company anymore. In just over a year, Sophie has moved countries with no visa and no job, bootstrapped a US and UK launch from scratch, rebranded her entire product positioning, developed four new SKUs - including a clear electrolyte drink that will be the first of its kind in the category - and started building an entirely new brand in private. Here’s what we cover in this episode: - Sophie in 2024 vs Sophie now - the one mindset shift that made everything else possible - The Soul Tonic rebrand - why 'hangover' became a dirty word, how the product evolved into recovery and hydration, and her new cognitive performance arm - The clear electrolyte drink - why everything in the hydration category is bright blue, and how Sophie plans to be the first to disrupt it with something truly transparent - The Qantas pitch - how a single TikTok about airplane hydration turned into board-level conversations, cabin crew DMs, and an active campaign pitch - Moving to New York with no visa and no plan - why bootstrapping the American launch was the right call, and what she'd tell herself on day one - So Topical - the second brand Sophie is building in private with her business partner Francesca, launching to a community before it ever goes public - The wellness roundup - matcha, cold plunging, fasting, lymphatic drainage, Korean skincare, Ozempic, the 5AM club: overrated or underrated? If you have a question you want answered: 🎙️ Leave us a voice note → speakpipe.com/TopOfMindPodcast 📩 DM us → @topofmind.pod 💌 Email → hello@topofmindpod.com 🎧 Or drop a question in the Spotify Q&A box Sign up to our emails and get the ideas, events, and tools that’ll keep you inspired, confident, and showing up like the brand you know you can be: https://www.gambitcollective.com.au/lets-chat Top of Mind is an extension of our business Gambit Collective - Australia’s first pay-as-you-go agency for founders and brands ready to be known, respected and experienced. Don’t forget to rate, subscribe, and review – it helps the podcast grow, brings in incredible guests, and unlocks more conversations to help you grow and scale your brand. Follow along on your preferred channels: Sophie Hood on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sophiehood1/ Sophie Hood on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-hood-b1b2a3115/ Top of Mind on IG: https://www.instagram.com/topofmind.pod/ Top of Mind on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@topofmind.pod Gambit Collective on IG: https://www.instagram.com/gambit.collective Hayley on IG: https://www.instagram.com/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayleywestoby/ Hayley on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hayleywestoby