Startup Savvy: Young Entrepreneur George Moulton of Fun Guy Shares Their Secrets For Rapid Growth and Success
An Interview With Eden Gold
Being determined is the key and will help you achieve goals you set. When you’re driven to succeed, you will do whatever you need to to get there.
The entrepreneurial landscape is more vibrant and challenging than ever, with young entrepreneurs at the forefront, driving innovation and redefining the boundaries of success in the business world. These dynamic individuals are not only creating new products and services but also building sustainable business models that thrive in today’s fast-paced, technology-driven environment. Their journeys are filled with lessons of resilience, strategic innovation, and the relentless pursuit of growth. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing George Moulton.
George Moulton, the Co-founder and CEO of Fun Guy, is a serial entrepreneur and a visionary. He has spent over a decade working intimately with functional mushrooms and herbs in the psychedelic adjacent space. His business acumen has led to the starting and selling of a variety of businesses — from an Italian dessert company to a curated adventure tour company in sunny San Diego. His love of high-adrenaline sports and exploring desolation wilderness was a natural progression to his current ventures: fungtion and fun guy fungtional — sister brands supporting the full spectrum of mushroom + kanna wellness — from daily supplements to recreational delights. George is also a founding member of the microdosing collective, a non-profit working towards legalizing safe access to psychedelics.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about cultural sensitivity, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
There are so many angles that tie it all together, so I’ll try to keep it simple. I think it all comes down to my belief that anything we need to heal can be found in nature. After my first two businesses, I realized they were learning experiences guiding me towards my true passions. I’ve always loved cooking, hosting, and curating experiences which I pursued through my italian dessert business and the adventure tour company. These were fun for a short time, however I never really got the “this is it” feeling from them. They felt limited to me.
I’ve always been very focused on living a clean healthy lifestyle to keep my performance levels at peak for my adventurous lifestyle revolving around snowboarding and surfing . About 6 years ago, I became obsessed with incorporating mushrooms and plants into my daily routine, once I discovered the powerful healing benefits they provided. After experimenting with all types of products I found on the internet or through my travels, I realized I needed to create my own product with a formula that fit my lifestyle. As I began to explore this, I had that lightbulb moment of “this is it!” I wanted to create products that could help people optimize there health and wellbeing through the power of nature
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Which career? Well as for the newest ventures, I would say meeting my co-founder, Phoebe. The way we met felt like the universe meant to bring us together. At the time I was finally ready to launch the first company, fungtion, Phoebe and I ran into each other at our mutual friends launch party: We had met on instagram first then a few times before but never really got to connect. I knew she had already successfully built a functional wellness company very similar to what I was dreaming of doing.
At this point I had laid the basic footprint but I knew I needed to form a team to help me get across the finish line. I didn’t want to hire random people off the internet so I was continuously manifesting the perfect partner to help me build this.
A few weeks later is when Phoebe and I saw each other again, she didn’t recognize me at first, haha but as soon as she realized who I was, we dropped in to our first real conversation. We exchanged updates on each other’s lives and I was surprised to hear that she was no longer working with her previous company.
I instantly asked her if she wanted to help consult for me on this brand I was trying to launch.
A week or so later we met up to talk more so I could show her everything I was working on. Phoebe was very into the concept and agreed to do a 3 month consulting gig. After the first week I was so impressed, I said to myself, I need to do whatever I can to have this gem on my team full time.
To sum it all up , it’s like fate brought us together. We compliment each other in so many ways, our relationship feels like yin and yang. From here, I knew I was on the right path, it was like I found my soulmate.
You are a successful individual. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Haha thank you, I’m just grateful to be here. Hmm, the first thing that comes to my mind is resourcefulness. There’s so many others that come up but other top of mind traits would be motivated and fearless. I believe being resourceful is a key trait and here is a short example; I’ve been able to work my way up from moving to Tahoe with my snowboard and a suitcase to building and funding 3 businesses without any fanatical backing. I used the knowledge I had to make the money I needed to create the life I wanted.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview about young entrepreneurs secrets to rapid growth and success. To start, how would you define success?
This definition has continuously adapted over the years as I gained more knowledge through life experiences. Currently, I would define success as being able to live a life doing what you love so you never feel like you’re working. Yes, being financially stable enough to where I never have to worry about putting food on my plate and a roof over my head are also a part of this, however this all falls into place when you figure out how to financially support yourself and family by pursuing your passion.
What unconventional strategy did you employ that significantly contributed to your startup’s growth, and why do you think it was so effective?
Building a mood board account on instagram as a brand awareness page, for a brand that was not yet launched. It was portraying the idea of a psychedelic inspired brand through art that would subliminally promote a brand based around healing through psychedelic mushrooms. I had a deep belief that the path to psychedelic legalization was developing so I wanted to ride that wave.
As the following grew, I knew the branding was resonating with people so, Phoebe and I decided it was time to create a product for this brand. Since psychedelics aren’t legal yet, Phoebe helped create a formula, with fully legal ingredients, to replicate the feeling of a true micro dose. We now could give the people what they want. A recreational product that helps you feel, not just feel but feel good! Legally. By developing the brand recognition before launching, we now had a jumpstart to quick growth.
Can you share a critical pivot point in your startup’s journey and how you navigated the decision-making process?
Yes, this was actually quite recently. It was when we launched Fun Guy after working on fungtion for a little over a year. I have such a deep attachment to what fungtion has become however the path we began with made it difficult to really grow with bootstrap funding. As soon as we saw the orders pile up during the first week of Fun Guy, Phoebe and I knew we had to pivot and focus all our attention on what was working. So we took the gas off efforts with fungtion and went all in with Fun Guy. We navigated the decision by reading the writing on the wall.
How do you balance the need for rapid growth with maintaining a sustainable and healthy company culture?
By sticking to our vision and mission. We deeply believe in reciprocity so we do our best everyday to not cut corners and run our businesses as sustainable as we can. We aim to create minimal waste and support regenerating a healthy planet. We’d rather be a healthy modest size business that makes the planet a better place than a giant corporation that contributes to destroying the earth.
In what ways has your personal definition of success evolved since the inception of your startup?
It has evolved from thinking success is quantifiable. I used to think success came from the amount of money you earn, but now I see that I’m worth the amount of happiness I achieve.
Based on your experience and research, can you please share “5 Things You Need to Succeed as a Young Person in Business?”
1 . Determination
Being determined is the key and will help you achieve goals you set. When you’re driven to succeed, you will do whatever you need to to get there.
2 . A Solid Network
Strategically build a network. When you surround yourself around successful people you will be more likely to than not be inspired to strive for success as well!
3 . Communication Skills
Effective communication skills are crucial for building valuable relationships that can benefit you in the future
4 . A Purpose
You need a purpose to live for, a driving force behind your motivation. When you know your purpose, you can use it to guide your path to success.
5 . Critical thinking skills
Excelling in critical thinking enables you to tackle challenges and achieve goals independently, without relying on others.
What is one piece of advice you would give to an aspiring entrepreneur that you wish someone had given you at the start of your journey?
Don’t rush. Take your time and enjoy the ride.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Hmm I would probably start a movement to legalize psychedelic mushrooms because of the healing power they offer. The world needs a lot of healing and mushrooms can help us get there.
How can our readers further follow you online?
I don’t really spend much time online but the best way to find me would be through instagram. I mostly use it as a tool to video journal my favorite experiences and keep in touch with friends from all over the world.
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
About The Interviewer: Eden Gold, is a youth speaker, keynote speaker, founder of the online program Life After High School, and host of the Real Life Adulting Podcast. Being America’s rising force for positive change, Eden is a catalyst for change in shaping the future of education. With a lifelong mission of impacting the lives of 1 billion young adults, Eden serves as a practical guide, aiding young adults in honing their self-confidence, challenging societal conventions, and crafting a strategic roadmap towards the fulfilling lives they envision.
Do you need a dynamic speaker, or want to learn more about Eden’s programs? Click here: https://bit.ly/EdenGold
Startup Savvy: Young Entrepreneur George Moulton of Fun Guy Shares Their Secrets For Rapid Growth… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.