Our Founder’s Story

How a burden became a breakthrough - and a mission to bring healing.

I never set out to become a founder. There was no grand vision, no perfect pitch deck. Just a clipboard, a pair of walking shoes, and a job that sent me knocking on strangers’ doors in unfamiliar neighborhoods.

As a political canvasser, I traveled from state to state: Illinois, Georgia, Florida, New Mexico. Every day, I walked mile after mile, sweating under the sun or braving the cold, having face-to-face conversations with people from all walks of life. The job was to talk about elections. But again and again, people brought up something far deeper-something more personal.

They talked about healthcare. I spoke with people from all backgrounds-different races, religions, and economic statuses-and they all said the same thing. Regardless of who they were or where they came from, there was a shared sense of frustration and fear. The system felt broken. They felt forgotten.

But it was the cancer stories that stayed with me. People battling for their lives while being financially destroyed, emotionally worn down, and left behind by the very system meant to protect them. I couldn’t shake it.

I didn’t have a solution yet. Just a fire in my chest, a deep ache that told me, “This isn’t right.”

The Turning Point

While working a campaign for a gubernatorial candidate in the suburbs of Chicago, I met a woman named Michelle Stubblefield. She invited me to her church, Jesus Outreach Ministry in Elmhurst, Illinois. I went for political reasons-hoping to connect our candidate with more community leaders. But what happened inside those church walls had nothing to do with politics.

The air felt different. Heavy. Sacred. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was walking into a divine appointment. As the music swelled and prayers lifted, I felt something shift in my spirit. And then, a moment I’ll never forget.

God began to speak to me through Scripture. Verse after verse came alive in a new way. I began to see that I wasn’t powerless. I had authority-spiritual power-to change my life, to resist temptation, to choose righteousness. The light broke through my confusion and self-deception.

In that moment, I saw myself clearly-my sin, my ego, my patterns of self-sabotage.

I broke. I didn’t just feel shame. I felt conviction.

That night, I began the hardest and holiest journey of my life. I repented-not just in word, but in lifestyle. I started over.

It was messy. I stumbled often. But I was no longer pretending. I was surrendering. I began listening to sermons by Pastor Stephen Darby, a preacher from Kentucky. His voice carried truth like fire. He spoke about addiction, alcoholism, pride, dangers of self-righteousness, preached against victimhood, effeminization, spiritual warfare-things I had never heard addressed so directly. And every word confronted me. I would stop listening for weeks, then return because I couldn’t stay away. Something deeper was being awakened in me. God was tearing me down and building me back up.

The Struggle

Even after that spiritual awakening, I faced hardship.

I moved to Austin, Texas with my good friend from college, hopeful and full of ambition. We both worked in tech and were inspired by the city’s fast-paced startup culture. We decided to launch a turmeric powder side business. We sourced from Alibaba, bottled the product ourselves, and started selling to friends, coworkers, even strangers online. For a while, it felt like we were making it.

But growth revealed our lack of preparation. We didn’t know how to scale. We burned through our funds, took on debt, and watched the business collapse.

I tried to pivot. I joined a real estate investment firm and landed a wholesale deal worth $142,000. I worked tirelessly, hopeful the commission and bonus would be the break I needed to re-align myself.

But that bonus never came. They ghosted me. Rent was due. I had nothing.

I was evicted.

It wasn’t the first time I had failed. In fact, failure had followed me for years. I had once been on track to play college football but lost it all because of skipping classes and chasing the party life. I dropped out. I burned bridges. I wandered from one job to another-warehouse shifts, call centers, political campaigns-not because I was climbing, but because I couldn’t sit still long enough to face myself.

And now, everything I had tried to build was gone again. I packed up what little I had and flew back to Maryland-broke, exhausted, and spiritually bruised.

I remember lying on my childhood bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering how I kept ending up back here. All I had were my regrets. But sometimes, what feels like an end is really the beginning.

The Spark

Back home, needing purpose and direction, I began volunteering with the American Cancer Society. Not because I had a master plan, but because I needed to serve.

That’s when it all started to come full circle.

I sat across from cancer patients during community events, hearing their stories firsthand. There were moments that broke me-like when I heard an elderly woman share that she was being charged $96,000 with basically no information on why and was now in a crisis, worrying about how she'd protect her pension. Or when people expressed the pain of feeling like life-and-death decisions were being made based on profits, not healing.

These weren’t just headlines. These were human beings. Beautiful, strong, terrified people. Forgotten people.

It reminded me of the pain I saw canvassing. Only now, I wasn’t just listening-I was searching. Searching for something real, something that could help.

That’s when I discovered medicinal mushrooms.

I learned that in countries like Japan and China, mushrooms like Reishi and Turkey Tail had been used alongside chemotherapy for decades. I was intrigued but skeptical. So I paid a medical doctor $500 to write a literature review on their benefits in oncology care.

What came back was a 17-page report packed with peer-reviewed studies and clinical trials. These mushrooms weren’t alternative-they were adjunctive. Proven to boost immune function, reduce side effects like fatigue, and even improve treatment outcomes. It was real. It was scientific. And it was being ignored.

I knew I had found something.

The Beginning of Replenish

I didn’t have a team or a lab. But I had faith-and a laptop.

I went on Upwork and found a researcher named Jainu. Her profile was minimal, but something told me to message her. She said yes. Slowly, we began developing our own hypotheses and researching together-testing ideas, challenging assumptions, and asking whether we were wrong, right, or at least headed in the right direction.

Soon after, I brought on Rebeka, a brilliant molecular medicine student from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She shared our passion for natural healing and scientific rigor. Together, we embarked on a transformative nine-month journey-fueled by curiosity, guided by compassion, and grounded in relentless pursuit of truth. We poured over late-night research, collaborated across time zones, refined formulations, and celebrated every insight like it was a miracle.

Out of that came our first precision mushroom formula, and eventually, our AI-powered dosage tool-a system that tailors dosages based on clinical data, patient needs, and profiles.

We weren’t just building a product. We were building a solution. A prayer answered. Something life-giving.

Around that same time, I connected with Saira, a writer who had already been deeply engaged in the world of natural medicine and medicinal mushrooms. Her insights were thoughtful and aligned with the heart of what we were building. I asked her if she would want to be part of the team-and without hesitation, she said yes. She believed in the mission and the potential to bring real change.

The vision was becoming clearer. I began reaching out to creatives who could help bring it to life. I connected with Ekin and Mitchell, two gifted designers, through LinkedIn. I shared the heart of Replenish-what we were doing and why. They were intrigued by the idea and joined the team with excitement.

Soon after, I found Thirza on LinkedIn as well. His portfolio spoke volumes. When I reached out, he responded with genuine enthusiasm and joined the mission right away. It just felt right-like this formation of people, talents, and purpose wasn’t by chance. It was grace. Each connection, each yes, felt like confirmation that something bigger than us was unfolding.

Where We’re Going

Today, Replenish is an evidence-based, science-centered startup on a mission to empower cancer patients to take back control of their treatment experience. We do this by helping them naturally manage side effects using safe, evidence-based medicinal mushroom formulas, personalized by AI.

We’re not just creating supplements. We’re creating support systems-tools that provide relief, restore energy, and help patients feel human again in the middle of one of the most dehumanizing battles of their lives.

We’re working to enhance bioavailability through nanotechnology, ensuring that even patients undergoing chemo or radiation can absorb and benefit from our formulas.

But we’re not just managing symptoms.
We’re restoring dignity.

We want to reduce the emotional, physical, and financial toll of cancer. We want patients to feel seen, supported, and empowered. Because healing should not be reserved for the wealthy. And medicine should never add more suffering.

This Is More Than a Business. It’s a Calling.

We believe healing is a human right.
We believe natural and evidence-based care can coexist.
We believe patients deserve truth, choice, and hope.
And above all, we believe that with God-all things are possible.