A Note From CEO Ricky Villanueva
Dear Northestars,
A simple thank you does not quantify the emotions and feelings of gratitude that the corporate team has for each of you. Over the last two years in business, I have gotten to know many of you on a first-name basis. I’ve enjoyed spending moments through messenger chats, hugs in the hallways of events we’ve done, or even getting to know you through a simple letter I sent you or a comment I left on one of your social media posts. I’ve gotten to know many of your dreams, struggles, challenges, desires, etc. I’ve felt the cheerful emotion of victory as you hit a certain rank, and I’ve also felt the pain you might have experienced when you fell short of a rank or experienced the loss of a family member, health scare, financial challenges, etc.
What stands out to me, and what fills me with pride and gratitude, is your unwavering commitment to show up and keep going. Life's true challenge lies in the decision to persist, and you have consistently demonstrated the courage to face adversity head-on.
Let me share a few stories with you that might make you laugh and also might make you think, “Is this really a guy that should carry the title of CEO?” But heck, if I’m not honest with you, then we’re all screwed. Honesty builds trust, and without it, everything eventually crumbles, but with it, over time, that trust can break through any challenge presented. When I took the role of CEO, I had to look in the mirror and tell myself I had a lot to learn but that I wouldn’t be the guy with a suit and tie sitting behind a desk. I wanted to get my hands dirty and be in the dirt… after all, without dirt, flowers, and trees can’t blossom. You have to go through the mud of life in order to get to the GOOD STUFF!
In June of 2022, we were happy to introduce NCT, the first original formula. We had gone in and done the final product tasting. Jessica, myself, Demitrius, and Ashley all checked off on the flavor. We were so excited. We went live for orders that month, and you guys knocked it out of the park with over $100,000 in sales in the first 24 hrs. We were all jumping up and down… excited and grateful. And then, uh oh… we got the first message from someone saying, “This tastes like swamp water.” I ran over to the cupboard and mixed one up and instantly thought, “Shit, it’s swamp water.” I called Jessica into the kitchen; she had a taste, and I could see it in her eyes… THE SWAMP LOOK! More and more messages began to pour in… “Tastes gross,” “Eeeww,” “I can’t stand the taste.” It was endless. We got to the bottom of it… the formulator at the time unfortunately had unintentionally overlooked a slight dilemma when sourcing a product that at the time had MCT Oil. This caused the flavor to completely shift, and it was something none of us could have seen coming. That day we quickly funded another round of product with a new flavor, and it was going to take two months to produce, so what was I going to do, just sit there for two months? Nah… I ran to my phone and recorded a video called “Taste like shit, but keeps you fit!” And you know what? We just rolled with it. There was nothing we could do except for KEEP GOING!
We were hit with another formula challenge in October of 2022. Unfortunately, it’s not something we can talk about. It was simply another EVEREST… another GOLIATH… but on a Sunday afternoon in October, I made a call to Franco. He picked up on the first ring and said, “I was just thinking of you!” That conversation led to the birth of NCT 2.0 with our Thermboutyrate and Glyvia. Now, looking back, I can truly say THANK YOU for the Goliath that was put in our path. If it weren’t for that pivot we had to make, I would have never made the call to Franco. We began working on the new formulation, and this became the flagship of Northestar. Two capsules & your NCT Powder first thing in the morning.
January 2023, the new NCT Powders were finalized. Just to be sure the watermelon & wild Berry flavors were good to go, we sent samples to Michele, Ashley, & Catherine. A few days go by and the messages began to roll in. As Britney Spears would say, “Oops, I did it again!” They hated the flavor. This was two weeks before we needed to go live for orders. We hopped on a plane to Vegas and back to the flavor house and began the process again. We called Franco and said, “Get over here we need your help!” He met us in Las Vegas. We walked into the flavor house and almost spent 24 hrs taste testing. This was about the equivalent of each of us drinking 10 sachets of NCT Powder. But we needed to get the job done. By the end of that day, we were so wired on thermobutyrate we could have ran a marathon without shoes. We were that wired. We sent the new samples out to Michele, Ashley, and Catherine, and they all loved it! It was a hit! Thank you, God!
April of 2023, as sales were skyrocketing, we hit the next challenge… we ran out of NCT Capsules. The question was, do we take the capsules off the site? If we made that decision, then we would have also need to pause all autoships. We made the decision to keep sales going and do our best to communicate to every customer and affiliate that their capsules would ship the moment it was back in stock and that in the meantime we would partially ship anything in a combo pack order, and then when the capsules arrived, we would ship it to them for free. We felt good about this decision, but it completely backfired. The messages that began rolling in were extremely negative. Lesson learned, never do that again! We were working fast to get the capsules back in stock. We had committed to begin shipping 4 weeks later, on a Friday. The day before on Thursday, we got the call from the manufacturer saying it wouldn’t be until the middle of the week after that they could get everything going. NOPE! We needed to keep our word. Our shipping facility at the time was in Vegas, and the capsules were getting packaged in Utah, so Demitrius, since he lives in Utah, drove to where they were packaging the capsules, loaded as many as he could on his truck and drove 6 hrs to Vegas. I believe he left Thursday around 11 p.m. and arrived in Las Vegas around 5 a.m. I called Demitrius, “Bro, please be careful, drive safe, and text me when you get there.” The text came in on Friday at 5 a.m. that he had arrived and by 9 a.m. that day, we began shipping capsules again. What a freakin' victory! We just chose to keep going!
Okay, let me stop there. Those are just 3 stories out of the dozens we have experienced in the last two years. The last two years have been full of laughter, tears, struggles, lessons and victories. I’ve fallen in love with the entire process. I love the grind; it truly is a part of my DNA to be an entrepreneur. I feel that it’s my calling.
There are two types of company owners, in my opinion: the actual owner (Owner) or the investor. What’s the difference? An investor is simply looking for a return on their money. That’s fine. Nothing wrong with that. But it’s all about the bottom line. A company owner stands for a mission. A company owner has enemies he wants to demolish. A company owner represents something that is simply different. Was Steve Jobs an investor? Nope, he was a company owner; he truly wanted to change the world. Was Phil Knight an investor? Nope, he was a company owner. He was committed to changing the shoe game, and even as a kid, he traveled across the world to learn about different materials, cultures, etc., in order to figure out ways to build Nike to what it is today. On a trip to Greece is when he decided to change the name of his company from blue ribbon to Nike because Nike was the goddess of victory. Wow! That just represents something BIGGER. Steve Jobs and Phil Knight both dealt with massive amounts of struggle before the victory to what Apple and Nike are today. Northestar represents SOMETHING BIGGER. It represents MORE… it represents keep going… it represents something different… it represents leadership… it represents a higher standard… it’s a way of life, and if you look up every night at the stars, you will be reminded of that. The corporate team here… we are owners; we are not investors. We see the bigger picture. We will outlast any competitor, challenge, or obstacle that gets in our way.
As we continue to shape the direct selling space, my prediction is that Northestar will go down as one of the biggest companies in our industry. For this, I extend my heartfelt thanks. Thank you for trusting us, for saying yes, and for your unwavering support, effort, and commitment. Extend our gratitude to your families, for we are a family-oriented business that believes in God, Family, and Business. Your dedication is appreciated, and as you gather with loved ones this Thanksgiving, know that you are in our thoughts.
Sincerely,
Ricky V
