Business

Toronto Startup “Duma Energy Drink” Revolutionizes How You Feel About Energy Drinks

Published

4 years ago

February 22, 2022

It’s no secret that the energy drink business is massive, and the list of brands emerging into this industry is constantly growing. Every year, the sales volume increases, and there is an increasing demand for safer alternatives. As the founders of Duma, Andrew Zoka and his business partners, Leslie Wiafe Seth VanDaele and Maxim Nechaev have created an energy drink that isn’t just less sugar and caffeine, it actually promotes health and vitality.

Andrew remembers that there were times when he and his team would buy energy drinks to keep themselves going throughout the day. But he always had concerns over what these drinks could do to a person’s health. An idea sprang to life, and he immersed himself in information about the human body and the many different things that can affect it, where he learnt about the work of experts that showed how our energy can be subject to changes due to circadian rhythm, sunlight, sleep, and a multitude of other things.

This charismatic individual began experimenting, searching for the most effective mixture of these ingredients that could provide a boost of energy as well as promote psychological and physical health. One of their goals is to promote health and well-being in a market that is full of arguably dangerous alternatives. “I don’t think there should be unhealthy food products on the market at all in this day and age,” Andrew says.

Duma is so much more than just energy drinks. In fact, it’s their true, underlying purpose that sets them apart from the many other companies that are also putting out health based energy drinks. The real mission is to generate income that can be donated to cutting edge medical research, specifically, for sickle-cell anemia.

This is something that matters very much to Andrew and his business partners, because approximately 300,000 babies per year are born with sickle-cell anemia, and it is a disease that plagues Andrew Zoka himself. This has given Andrew a unique awareness of the fact of how many people around the world, many of them children, suffer from this incurable disease, and he doesn’t believe it is necessary. Thanks to the advancement of medical research and technology, Andrew feels that, with proper funding, a cure could be developed, and sooner rather than later.

Duma hopes to change health both personally through the product, as well as globally through

the research their proceeds can facilitate. Their energy drink is getting set to launch in 10 pilot stores throughout Los Angeles, California, and more than 10 in the Toronto area. The future looks bright for these entrepreneurs, who are excited to be able to make a difference in such a big way, both for now, and possibly for many generations to come.

Business

Scaling Success: Why Smart Habits Beat Growth Hacks in Modern eCommerce

Published

1 month ago

July 26, 2025

Matthew Wiles

There’s a romanticized image of the eCommerce founder: a daring risk-taker chasing the next big idea, fueled by late-night caffeine and last-minute inspiration. But the reality behind scaled, sustainable brands tells a different story. Success in digital commerce doesn’t come from chaos or clever hacks. It comes from habits. Repetitive, structured, often unglamorous habits.

Change, a digital platform created by eCommerce strategist Ryan, builds its entire philosophy around this truth. Through education, mentorship, and infrastructure, Change helps founders shift from scrambling for quick wins to building strong systems that grow with them. The company doesn’t just offer software. It provides the foundation for digital trade, particularly for those in the B2B space.

The Habits That Build Momentum

At the heart of Change’s philosophy are five core habits Ryan considers non-negotiable. These aren’t buzzwords; they’re the foundation of sustainable growth.

First, obsess over data. Successful founders replace guesswork with metrics. They don’t rely on gut feelings. They measure performance and iterate.

Second, know your customer deeply. Not just what they buy, but why they buy. The most resilient brands build emotional loyalty, not just transactional volume.

Third, test fast. Algorithms shift. Consumer behavior changes. High-performing teams don’t resist this; they test weekly, sometimes daily, and adapt.

Fourth, manage time like a CEO. Every decision has a cost. Prioritizing high-impact actions isn’t optional; it’s survival.

Fifth, stay connected to mentorship and learning. The digital market moves quickly. The remaining founders are the ones who keep learning, never assuming they know it all.

Turning Habits into Infrastructure

What begins as personal discipline must eventually evolve into a team structure. Change teaches founders how to scale their systems, not just their sales.

Tools are essential for starting, think Notion for documentation, Asana for project management, Mixpanel or PostHog for analytics, and Loom for async communication. But tools alone don’t create momentum.

Teams need Monday metric check-ins, weekly test cycles, customer insight reviews, just to name a few. Founders set the tone by modeling behavior. It’s the rituals that matter, then, they turn it into company culture.

Ryan puts it simply: “We’re not just building tools; we’re building infrastructure for digital trade.”

Avoiding the Common Traps

Even with structure, the path isn’t always smooth. Some founders over-focus on short-term results, chasing vanity metrics or shiny tactics that feel productive but don’t move the needle.

Others fall into micromanagement, drowning in dashboards instead of building intuition. Discipline should sharpen clarity, not create rigidity. Flexibility is part of the process. Knowing when to pivot is just as important as knowing when to persist.

Scaling Through Self-Replication

In the end, eCommerce scale isn’t just about growing a business. It’s about repeating successful systems at every level. When founders internalize high-performance habits, they turn them into processes, then culture, then legacy.

Growth doesn’t require more motivation. It requires more precision. More consistency. Your calendar, not your to-do list, is your business plan.

In a space dominated by noise and novelty, Change and its founder are quietly reshaping the conversation. They aren’t chasing trends but building resilience, one habit at a time.