How One Mom’s Quest for Having it All Has Led Her to Create a Natural Way to Boost Energy

MOMMYGO

Elena LeDoux and Dina Patel celebrating the formula of MommyGo

Elena Ledoux: One Mom’s Quest to Have it All

Elena Ledoux had thought she could have it all. A challenging and exciting career as a litigation attorney in Honolulu and a happy and thriving family, including her 9-year old son. When she came across an article in the Atlantic Magazine entitled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” - she scoffed. The article argued that the women who have managed to be both mothers and top professionals are superhuman and do not exist in nature. As her hours at work had increased, however, she spent all of her mental energy in the office. By the time she got home, she would lay lifelessly on the couch while her kid was pleading for them to read a book or play a game. It was frustrating and heart-breaking at the same time - a child would not understand that while he sees his mommy right there - she was not really there. Cue in the #mommyguilt.

When her second son was born - who was much less complacent than his brother - he demanded his mother’s attention with his chocolate-chip eyes and powerful lungs. Elena started looking for some type of energy boost to help her cope with balancing her newly expanded family and her growing career. Unfortunately, all she could find were Red Bull and 5-Hour Energy. Neither seemed to be suitable for regular consumption and came with a crash. Coffee was somewhat better, but it provided jitters and tasted harsh by itself, without loads of sugar and cream. There was no healthy and sustainable way to get energized. Eventually, her older son started struggling at school and Elena had to make a decision of what’s more important for her and the decision was not in favor of her legal cases.

The following two years were some of the best years of her life. The family, including Elena’s husband who was self-employed and could work remotely, had travelled the world and spent 24/7 together: living like locals, eating fabulous food, going to museums and small towns to explore. Both kids thrived and were happy and healthy. By the time it was time to come back to the United States, the family decided to settle in Las Vegas and live a simple lifestyle with more emphasis on its quality. That’s when Elena’s best childhood friend from their native Uzbekistan had won a diversity visa and relocated to the US. When she was unable to find a job, the two friends decided to start a small business which didn’t require large capital investments or language ability (her friend did not speak any English) - cleaning homes.

Within three years, the business grew at an incredible pace and quickly became the top maid service in the city, employing 40 people and dominating every platform.

Suddenly, Elena found herself again with not enough hours in a day and her kids begging her for personal time together. She had thought that by now - years from her original search - surely the market had come up with something for her. Not testosteroney, aggressive-looking energy drinks that were meant for partying, scaling the Everest, or driving a truck. But something more gentle, wholesome, and women-friendly. She was wrong. There was still nothing for moms. Moms were not a sexy segment of the market.

That’s when Elena thought of creating the natural energy shots on her own. “How hard can it be? It’s not rocket science!” - she thought. That night she posted on her FaceBook: “Does anyone know a food scientist?” One of her friends - a tea distributor - knew one and introduced them. The food

scientist turned out to be a tea expert with a prior experience working in a beverage industry and also major natural grocery retailers. She suggested that Elena used something that she had not thought of - matcha green tea. She explained that the Japanese farmers would shade their tea plants a few weeks before harvest, preserving the amino-acids contained in their leaves. The key amino acid is L-theanine, which slows absorption of caffeine by the body and was shown by the multiple studies to improve cognitive function, increase focus, and relieve stress. As a result, the matcha provides a sustained energy boost without the crash and jitters of the other caffeinated drinks. Japanese buddhist monks have used it for centuries to maintain a calm, alert state during meditation.

After much trial and error in the beverage-formulation lab in LA, MommyGO was born. The base was the highest quality matcha (called cermonial grade) which has little in common with the sugary milky matcha lattes at Starbucks.

Lavender coconut flavor was inspired by Elena’s experiences in Provance and Hawaii.

The base flavor of all MommyGo beverages was slightly adapted to the American taste by adding a little bit of honey and natural flavoring.

After a successful crowdfunding campaign, the first production run was bottled in a professional facility in Florida via an expensive method that allowed to avoid the common artificial preservatives entirely.

Rose Almond flavor was inspired by the beautiful time her family had in Turkey.

MommyGO has been quickly gaining popularity among LA and NYC yoga moms, teachers, doctors and nurses, and jet-lagged travelers. Surprisingly, fitness gurus use it for a quick energy boost which prevents the snacking on cookies at only 20 calories.

One other important aspect of MommyGO that has been resonating with women (and men not willing to wait for “DaddyGO”) who drink it - is that it supports an important cause. A part of its profits is regularly donated to the Healthy Sunrise Foundation - Las Vegas-based, non-profit that provides life-saving medical care for pregnant women and healthy start to babies and children locally and around the world. Dina Patel, a pediatric nurse practitioner, and a Vice President of the Healthy Sunrise has collaborated with Elena and even joined MommyGO as a partner

The lemon-ginger-honey flavor was suggested by the lab itself which formulates beverages for many major consumer brands.

Children supported through Healthy Sunrise Foundation.

“Yesterday I was able to spend quality time with my employees, visit my mom, and volunteer at my son’s school, thanks to drinking my matcha shots. All of that and the fact that it also helps to make the world a better place really makes me think that women CAN have it all,” said Ledoux.

Contact Elena at happy@mommygo.co and https://mommygo.co.

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