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Andrew Kozlovski
Andrew Kozlovski, Student at USC and CEO of BrainzPower
Your brain is the most important organ in your body. Without it, we cease to function. Every organ requires specific vitamins and minerals to support its health, stability, and focus.
Meet Andrew Kozlovski, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Southern California, and CEO of BrainzPower. But, he’s not just any entrepreneur, he’s the millennial’s ideal depiction of how to utilize social media and turn it into more than just a profitable business, all while finishing up his collegiate career. Kozlovski sat down with Forbes for an exclusive interview on how he came up with this venture and how he manages to balance his school responsibilities with his $10,000/month business.
Andrew Rossow: You’re now a senior at USC, how did you come to create BrainzPower?
Andrew Kozlovski: Three years ago, during my freshman year, I noticed a great number of students were taking adderol during midterms and final exam period to enhance their focus and mitigate symptoms of ADHD. It was everywhere, so I was curious and looked into it. I went to a doctor, and he told me that it was an amphetamine, and an addictive substance that ultimately wasn’t great for your body.
The problem I came to understand was that because there was no way to actually diagnose ADHD, individuals would claim they have the symptoms and would be prescribed it. As a high school athlete, I was taking natural supplements, so I wanted to see what equivalents were out in the market. There weren’t many available, that were actually helpful for the body.
Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that there is an extremely high demand for this type of product, but nobody is addressing it. While I was already in a mindset to be an entrepreneur and searching for ideas, I believed this would work, so I went for it.
Rossow: But, you don’t actually create the products, correct?
Kozlovski: No, that’s our FDA-approved laboratory out in Atlanta. What I did was researched every natural ingredient I could find that was known to help cognitive focus, mental health, and stress relief. I compiled all these ingredients into a document, and went to labs all over the U.S. with this list, asking for the creation of a product that contained many of these ingredients, all in one. The lab we found knew the rules on what could be mixed, couldn’t be mixed, and what was proven to work.
Running The Halls of Brains Across College Campuses
Andrew Kozlovski
Andrew Kozlovski, University of Southern California
For the past few years, the opioid epidemic and substance abuse has plagued college campuses and communities across the country. There’s been a lot of talk, judgment, and punishment…but minimal education on it.
Rossow: What would you say BrainzPower’s message is?
Kozlovski: The goal is two-fold, but ultimately addresses adderol abuse on college campuses. What I want is for college students to stop taking it, and look to something safe and natural.
The other side is that I want this for myself. I work crazy hours and I’m stretched pretty thin. I want something to help me start my day off right, providing me with focus and attentiveness. We take a lot of supplements and pills for our immune system, but we never think about taking products for nourishing our brain.
Andrew Kozlovski
BrainzPower
I’ve never really seen something for it, other than your average fish oils. It’s about educating students on something that didn’t exist yet, or something nobody was talking about at the time.
Rossow: How do you come across the majority of your customers?
Kozlovski: Very rarely do people cold message me and ask about the product. In actuality, I don’t post too much about BrainzPower, because I don’t want to spam people or push out the products. My focus is telling my story as an entrepreneur, rather than making sales. That’s how you ultimately get sales is due to people’s curiosity and learning about it.
My Instagram account contains our company’s website in the bio line, which directs people to all the questions they may have, right then and there. In response, they start buying products.
Turning Instagram Into A Platform For Success
Rossow: You’ve become an Instagram entrepreneurial star, turning the platform into the main source of your business. How did you capitalize on that market?
Kozlovski: My ideal goal was to target, market, and reach college students. I knew all of their attention was turned towards social media, so it was super easy to link the two together. The next step was getting eyeballs to a designated platform—it was Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.
At the time, Snapchat was hard to monetize and drive traffic to websites. They didn’t have the features they do now, like “stories” mode, which makes it easier for businesses and brands to market themselves. Instagram, however, I would see pages with large followings, so I took the time to rip it apart and understand the algorithm behind it.
Rossow: You recently accepted the #CYBERBYTE challenge, a YouTube initiative aimed at spreading awareness about standing up against cyberbullying. As a college student and entrepreneur have you been victimized by online trolling?
Kozlovski: Everyone is going to get cyber-bullied. I've gotten hundreds of messages attacking my appearance or character. But you have to remember, the people who are talking like this, they aren't in a good place, and hate to see someone succeed and happy. I want others to know to ignore them. Just remember, build your confidence, because everyone is beautiful. Be happy and love yourself.
Rossow: You have a following of over 110,000 people. What’s your secret?
Kozlovski: I went through every picture, from the beginning, to see what they did and how their account changed over time. This included looking at the type of content they posted and what hashtags they used. With social media, there is always a pattern—there’s no hiding how someone can grow and mature, even socially. Take my account for example, you can see how my content has changed over time, understanding which pictures and/or videos resonated the most. I sat on Instagram for hours a day, for over two months, breaking it down into all of its key points.
Instagram via @andrewthekoz
Instagram: @andrewthekoz
Rossow: So, taking these key points and applying them to your brand and image, how difficult was it?
Kozlovski: Once our product came, I started testing it on the platform. Of course, a lot of things didn’t work, but at the same time, some things worked extremely well. At that point, you go all in on what works well, while continuing to look for new opportunities.
Rossow: What would you consider to be the “most valuable content” a business or brand could put out there?
Kozlovski: The content itself is by far the most important, not the labels, the hashtags, or effects you can add to the content. My account comprises of images and video. By having someone listen to my voice, and elaborating on a topic for over 60 seconds each, is much more engaging and valuable, than simply posting a picture and labeling it with a caption like “Los Angeles.” But, one thing my page is well known for, is the lengthy essays I post in all my captions. Each posting has a topic or theme. I go into it with an essay because it creates a connection with the person reading it, allowing your followers to know you.
Rossow: How many followers would you say you have as of now?
Kozlovsi: As of right now, my business page has about 104K followers, an all natural, organic following. No pun intended.
Student Today. Entrepreneur Forever.
Rossow: Now, let’s not forget, you’re a senior in college, USC, a well-reputable institution. How do you have the time to run a business while attending classes?
Kozlovski: While my grades are above-average, I place most of my emphasis on the business. I don’t see as much value worrying about a business calculus class, versus actually being an entrepreneur and putting those textbooks into action.
Rossow: What kind of support were you seeing from your family and those around you?
Kozlovski: Initially, my family was against it. They told me not to start a business, because it would take away from my studies, and I had no experience as an entrepreneur. So, I was on my own with it.
Rossow: Why do you think they were so against this venture?
Kozlovski: I think at the beginning, I think it was because they had never heard of a product like that, which helped cognitive retention and health, and didn’t understand how an individual could sell a product like that through Instagram.
Rossow: So, you put your own money into this business?
Kozlovski: I took all the money I had saved up over the years, which amounted to about $500-$600, from birthdays and other events, and put it all into the business. I ended up making it all back within 2-3 weeks, and I just kept reinvesting it.
But, don’t get me wrong, school is a huge financial commitment. Whatever needs to be paid, I pay it, then whatever else is remaining, just goes back into the business. I don’t spend money on anything that doesn’t move the business forward.
Rossow: What are your average sales per month?
Kozlovski: Throughout my collegiate career, it was about $10,000 per month, but right now, it’s about $30,000 per month.
What Does The Future Hold For Our Insta-Entrpreneur?
Rossow: Why do you feel that this type of business works?
Kozlovski: Since the emergence of e-commerce, like Amazon and other online shops, our age demographic sticks to online. Instagram is doing a great job in providing updates and features for businesses and brands to become more seamless.
">Andrew Kozlovski
Andrew Kozlovski, Student at USC and CEO of BrainzPower
Your brain is the most important organ in your body. Without it, we cease to function. Every organ requires specific vitamins and minerals to support its health, stability, and focus.
Meet Andrew Kozlovski, a 21-year-old senior at the University of Southern California, and CEO of BrainzPower. But, he’s not just any entrepreneur, he’s the millennial’s ideal depiction of how to utilize social media and turn it into more than just a profitable business, all while finishing up his collegiate career. Kozlovski sat down with Forbes for an exclusive interview on how he came up with this venture and how he manages to balance his school responsibilities with his $10,000/month business.
Andrew Rossow: You’re now a senior at USC, how did you come to create BrainzPower?
Andrew Kozlovski: Three years ago, during my freshman year, I noticed a great number of students were taking adderol during midterms and final exam period to enhance their focus and mitigate symptoms of ADHD. It was everywhere, so I was curious and looked into it. I went to a doctor, and he told me that it was an amphetamine, and an addictive substance that ultimately wasn’t great for your body.
The problem I came to understand was that because there was no way to actually diagnose ADHD, individuals would claim they have the symptoms and would be prescribed it. As a high school athlete, I was taking natural supplements, so I wanted to see what equivalents were out in the market. There weren’t many available, that were actually helpful for the body.
Ultimately, I came to the conclusion that there is an extremely high demand for this type of product, but nobody is addressing it. While I was already in a mindset to be an entrepreneur and searching for ideas, I believed this would work, so I went for it.
Rossow: But, you don’t actually create the products, correct?
Kozlovski: No, that’s our FDA-approved laboratory out in Atlanta. What I did was researched every natural ingredient I could find that was known to help cognitive focus, mental health, and stress relief. I compiled all these ingredients into a document, and went to labs all over the U.S. with this list, asking for the creation of a product that contained many of these ingredients, all in one. The lab we found knew the rules on what could be mixed, couldn’t be mixed, and what was proven to work.
Running The Halls of Brains Across College Campuses
Andrew Kozlovski
Andrew Kozlovski, University of Southern California
For the past few years, the opioid epidemic and substance abuse has plagued college campuses and communities across the country. There’s been a lot of talk, judgment, and punishment…but minimal education on it.
Rossow: What would you say BrainzPower’s message is?
Kozlovski: The goal is two-fold, but ultimately addresses adderol abuse on college campuses. What I want is for college students to stop taking it, and look to something safe and natural.
The other side is that I want this for myself. I work crazy hours and I’m stretched pretty thin. I want something to help me start my day off right, providing me with focus and attentiveness. We take a lot of supplements and pills for our immune system, but we never think about taking products for nourishing our brain.
Andrew Kozlovski
BrainzPower
I’ve never really seen something for it, other than your average fish oils. It’s about educating students on something that didn’t exist yet, or something nobody was talking about at the time.
Rossow: How do you come across the majority of your customers?
Kozlovski: Very rarely do people cold message me and ask about the product. In actuality, I don’t post too much about BrainzPower, because I don’t want to spam people or push out the products. My focus is telling my story as an entrepreneur, rather than making sales. That’s how you ultimately get sales is due to people’s curiosity and learning about it.
My Instagram account contains our company’s website in the bio line, which directs people to all the questions they may have, right then and there. In response, they start buying products.
Turning Instagram Into A Platform For Success
Rossow: You’ve become an Instagram entrepreneurial star, turning the platform into the main source of your business. How did you capitalize on that market?
Kozlovski: My ideal goal was to target, market, and reach college students. I knew all of their attention was turned towards social media, so it was super easy to link the two together. The next step was getting eyeballs to a designated platform—it was Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.
At the time, Snapchat was hard to monetize and drive traffic to websites. They didn’t have the features they do now, like “stories” mode, which makes it easier for businesses and brands to market themselves. Instagram, however, I would see pages with large followings, so I took the time to rip it apart and understand the algorithm behind it.
Rossow: You recently accepted the #CYBERBYTE challenge, a YouTube initiative aimed at spreading awareness about standing up against cyberbullying. As a college student and entrepreneur have you been victimized by online trolling?
Kozlovski: Everyone is going to get cyber-bullied. I've gotten hundreds of messages attacking my appearance or character. But you have to remember, the people who are talking like this, they aren't in a good place, and hate to see someone succeed and happy. I want others to know to ignore them. Just remember, build your confidence, because everyone is beautiful. Be happy and love yourself.
Rossow: You have a following of over 110,000 people. What’s your secret?
Kozlovski: I went through every picture, from the beginning, to see what they did and how their account changed over time. This included looking at the type of content they posted and what hashtags they used. With social media, there is always a pattern—there’s no hiding how someone can grow and mature, even socially. Take my account for example, you can see how my content has changed over time, understanding which pictures and/or videos resonated the most. I sat on Instagram for hours a day, for over two months, breaking it down into all of its key points.
Instagram via @andrewthekoz
Instagram: @andrewthekoz
Rossow: So, taking these key points and applying them to your brand and image, how difficult was it?
Kozlovski: Once our product came, I started testing it on the platform. Of course, a lot of things didn’t work, but at the same time, some things worked extremely well. At that point, you go all in on what works well, while continuing to look for new opportunities.
Rossow: What would you consider to be the “most valuable content” a business or brand could put out there?
Kozlovski: The content itself is by far the most important, not the labels, the hashtags, or effects you can add to the content. My account comprises of images and video. By having someone listen to my voice, and elaborating on a topic for over 60 seconds each, is much more engaging and valuable, than simply posting a picture and labeling it with a caption like “Los Angeles.” But, one thing my page is well known for, is the lengthy essays I post in all my captions. Each posting has a topic or theme. I go into it with an essay because it creates a connection with the person reading it, allowing your followers to know you.
Rossow: How many followers would you say you have as of now?
Kozlovsi: As of right now, my business page has about 104K followers, an all natural, organic following. No pun intended.
Student Today. Entrepreneur Forever.
Rossow: Now, let’s not forget, you’re a senior in college, USC, a well-reputable institution. How do you have the time to run a business while attending classes?
Kozlovski: While my grades are above-average, I place most of my emphasis on the business. I don’t see as much value worrying about a business calculus class, versus actually being an entrepreneur and putting those textbooks into action.
Rossow: What kind of support were you seeing from your family and those around you?
Kozlovski: Initially, my family was against it. They told me not to start a business, because it would take away from my studies, and I had no experience as an entrepreneur. So, I was on my own with it.
Rossow: Why do you think they were so against this venture?
Kozlovski: I think at the beginning, I think it was because they had never heard of a product like that, which helped cognitive retention and health, and didn’t understand how an individual could sell a product like that through Instagram.
Rossow: So, you put your own money into this business?
Kozlovski: I took all the money I had saved up over the years, which amounted to about $500-$600, from birthdays and other events, and put it all into the business. I ended up making it all back within 2-3 weeks, and I just kept reinvesting it.
But, don’t get me wrong, school is a huge financial commitment. Whatever needs to be paid, I pay it, then whatever else is remaining, just goes back into the business. I don’t spend money on anything that doesn’t move the business forward.
Rossow: What are your average sales per month?
Kozlovski: Throughout my collegiate career, it was about $10,000 per month, but right now, it’s about $30,000 per month.
What Does The Future Hold For Our Insta-Entrpreneur?
Rossow: Why do you feel that this type of business works?
Kozlovski: Since the emergence of e-commerce, like Amazon and other online shops, our age demographic sticks to online. Instagram is doing a great job in providing updates and features for businesses and brands to become more seamless.
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