Hard to Resist Self-Employment

NASE News

Hard to Resist Self-Employment

Resist Nutrition makes it easy (& delicious) to snack for balanced blood sugar on-the-go with doctor-recommended, plant-based protein and fiber bars filled with all natural ingredients for metabolic health and have a clinically proven stable blood sugar response.

Almost half of Americans have a metabolic or hormonal disorder today from diabetes to PCOS where they need to keep blood sugar stable — but it is hard to do that on-the-go without a ton of artificial ingredients.

Found this out firsthand after getting diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance. NASE member Drew Lederman and her co-founder Emily (NYU Food Studies ’22) knew they could make a better bar and they teamed up with a medical advisory board to make Resist!

When and why did you join NASE?

I joined NASE in May 2024 at an inflection point in my small business. It’s getting big enough to where I have hired outside help but not yet big enough to have taken on debt. It’s big enough to take up all my time, but not yet big enough to pay myself or my co-founder a living wage. It’s big enough to make me excited, but also anxious about failing.

We’re going through a lot of big changes between now and the end of the year that are putting pressure on our profitability which means we can’t pay ourselves. By 2025, we’ll have overhauled and strengthened our supply chain, optimized internal systems for sales and marketing, reduced our cost of goods, improved our product line, and so much more. Needless to say, it’s worth it, but I knew I wanted the support of NASE while navigating such a crazy time as a first-time business owner.

What inspired you to enter the field
you are in?

From a young age, I thought I wanted to be a performer. I was always singing and annoying my family with “shows” that I would put on in the living room. I went to New York University to study acting and that year I started having health problems. To help myself feel better, I started researching. I tried various medications, but nothing was working so I delved into food and lifestyle — and it worked! Then in my senior year of college, the pandemic hit.

The talent agency I was going to work at after graduation went on a hiring freeze. And suddenly I was living with my parents, doing graduation through Zoom, and wondering what I was going to do with me life. I started freelancing in sales, marketing, and content creation for local businesses and eventually for bigger brands in the food space.

Then I got into an NYU entrepreneurial program for students and recent alumni. I learned the basics of entrepreneurship and met Emily, a new friend who was getting a master’s in food studies. Together, we decided to start Resist after finishing the program in 2022!

When and why did you start your business?

I was diagnosed with PCOS (13% of women) & insulin resistance (1/3 of Americans) at 18. My doctor recommended a high protein, low carb diet to help my symptoms and keep my blood sugar stable. I was a busy student, so I relied on protein bars every day. But I started having acne, fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, & more. It was so frustrating — I thought I was doing everything right!

The culprit: the bars I was eating were either filled with artificial ingredients that disrupted my hormones & gut (ex. Quest, Built) or they had cleaner ingredients that would spike my blood sugar (ex. RX, Go Macro).

My co-founder Emily & I bonded over this struggle to find delicious, all natural snacks that didn’t spike blood sugar. In 2022 alongside our medical advisory board (dietitians, PharmD, and MD), we made Resist, all natural, doctor-recommended bars that are clinically proven to keep blood sugar 6x more stable than other natural bars. Now we’re disrupting legacy blood sugar-friendly brands like Glucerna and FiberOne.

How do you market your business?

We are an omni-channel business. For direct-to-consumer, we market through social media ads, organic posting, podcasts, PR, SEO, email, events, and our network of 800+ medical providers. For our retailer channel, we generate sales through cold calls and emails, pitches, trade shows, wholesale platforms, distribution partnerships, and demos.

What challenges have you faced in your business? How have you overcome them?

Sometimes I feel like we’ve hit every issue possible — selling out four times, manufacturing issues, unreliable suppliers, machine malfunctions, and more. Our biggest challenge to date has been working with unreliable and untrustworthy manufacturers and suppliers. These series of unfortunate relationships has resulted in delays, bad product, sold out our periods for months, and the loss of retailers and customers. It also means that we took a big hit on sales and revenue, which we did not project for. Personally, it has been incredibly stressful.

On the bright side, it’s forced us to take a hard look at our business and has encouraged us to move to new manufacturers and suppliers, and to be more careful with our contracts from day one. This has been one of the most expensive shifts we’ve ever taken for our business but it is necessary to prevent facing issues like we have in the past.

Do you have any employees?

Aside from my co-founder and myself, we have a full-time virtual sales assistant who helps us with sales outreach, lead generation, store velocity, deductions and so much more. We’d like to add on a fractional CFO and a performance-based broker in the next year!

What’s your schedule like, what’s a typical day for you?

Emily is west coast-based and I’m east coast-based which means my mornings are open for checking emails and high intensity projects. We have our daily standup at noon and save meetings for the afternoon. We also will have hour-long work sessions together where we strategize and plan certain projects a few times a week. After work, I like to go to the gym, make dinner, and relax with a new show or book!

What’s the best thing about being self-employed?

The best thing is how passionate I feel about my job. I love talking about it and sharing it with the world!

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever received from a client?

Our customers will often send in screenshots of their continuous glucose monitor results showing that Resist bars kept their blood sugar. It is the best compliment knowing that our products work (outside of a clinical study) and are actively helping people!

What’s the most important piece of advice you would give to someone starting their own business?

I would say don’t give up! The businesses with longevity are not always the most well-funded or even the best ideas — often times it’s the businesses that have outlasted the rest. How do you do that? In simple terms, I think you do it by prioritizing profitability and listening to your customers.

Which NASE member benefit is most important to you?

I feel like there are a lot of business resources out there, but fewer resources focus on the business owner outside of the business. I think NASE is super important in that sense from a community, resources, and networking perspective — plus the discounts help!

Any other information you would like to share?

Follow the RESISTance on instagram @eatresist or shop eatresist.com :)

Courtesy of NASE.org
https://www.nase.org/about-us/Nase_News/2025/01/28/hard-to-resist-self-employment