Who this is
Rafael Frenk has been an entrepreneur since 2012. He originally wanted to become a top manager at Siemens, but after being robbed at Berlin's Alexanderplatz he dropped out of his business degree at 22. After several failed ideas he taught himself copywriting and joined Primal State, the biohacking brand of his then flatmate Janis. In 2021 that led to Glow25, a collagen brand for women which, according to the episode, grew to more than 100 million euros in revenue without investors. Today Rafael has stepped back from day-to-day operations, joins board meetings every two weeks, is lead investor in the Berlin social wellness club ANTI, invests as a business angel in female health and pet health, and is writing a book.
Episodes
Numbers from the episode
FAQ
What is Glow25?
Glow25 is a collagen brand for women that Rafael Frenk founded in 2021 with his business partners, growing out of Primal State. The name refers to the age at which collagen production starts to decline. According to Rafael, Glow25 covers more than a third of the collagen market and is category leader in Europe. The range goes from Collagen to Collagen Plus to Collagen Intensive. To the episode →
How did Glow25 grow out of Primal State?
Primal State was a biohacking brand with 26 products and around 3 million euros in revenue. An ABC analysis showed that 80 percent of customers bought collagen, mostly for beauty and ageing well. So the team built a separate collagen-only brand aimed entirely at women and ran it against Primal State's collagen in March 2021. According to Rafael the new ads were 10 to 20 times more effective, and after six months revenue reached half a million euros. To the episode →
Did Glow25 take on investors?
No, according to the episode Glow25 is bootstrapped. Earlier, at Primal State, the team ran a crowd-investing campaign of 1 million euros at a 10 million valuation, structured as a loan to be repaid. Today Glow25 has seven-figure bank loans, mainly for a new 8,500 square metre site for production, logistics and product development. To the episode →
How does Rafael Frenk say you learn copywriting?
By copying and reciting. Rafael has copied out hundreds of pages of successful sales copy by hand. His tip: take two or three strong role models, rewrite or recite them word for word and compare what they have in common. He says he wrote the sales campaign for Collagen Intensive entirely himself in Google Docs, and it became a multi-million-euro launch. To the episode →
What is ANTI in Berlin?
ANTI is a social wellness club at Brunnenstraße 9 in Berlin where Rafael is lead investor and shareholder. Two other founders run it. There are classes such as Pilates and yoga and a membership, but the business model rests mainly on events and community activations with health and wellness brands. At the time of recording Rafael was looking for co-investors for Oasis, a social spa with sauna, ice bath and social area. To the episode →
How does Rafael Frenk deal with stress?
Rafael describes stress as a weight that grows with the company: the stronger you get, the more you load on. Breathwork, retreats and communities of like-minded people have helped him. His most pragmatic hack is an inner thermometer: he notices the moment he is running on 5 percent emergency power and is essentially working on credit. For his week he uses the Perfect Week Protocol and plans around the feelings he wants to experience. To the episode →
Quotes
„Man kann einen Sportwagen haben, aber auf einer Schotterstrecke sein. … Und häufig ist das, was du falsch machst, dass du das richtige Vehikel auf der falschen Strecke benutzt.““You can have a sports car and be on a gravel road. And often what you're doing wrong is using the right vehicle on the wrong road.”
„… es ist unmöglich, ein Produkt zu verkaufen, dessen Zeit noch nicht gekommen ist. Und es ist unmöglich, ein Produkt aufzuhalten, dessen Zeit gekommen ist.““It's impossible to sell a product whose time hasn't come yet. And it's impossible to stop a product whose time has come.”
„… ich bin eigentlich überzeugt, dass im E-Commerce-Supplement-Markt, du kannst 10 Millionen Euro mit einem Produkt auf jeden Fall machen, wenn das wieder verkaufbar ist.““I'm actually convinced that in the e-commerce supplement market you can definitely make 10 million euros with one product, as long as people buy it again.”
„… wenn du das erste Mal darüber nachdenkst, ob eine Person noch die richtige Rolle hat, ist meistens der Moment, wo es vorbei ist.““The first time you wonder whether someone is still in the right role is usually the moment it's over.”
„… ab jetzt laufe ich auf 5% Notstrom.““From now on I'm running on 5% emergency power.”