Health Tech: Jack Dell’Accio On How Essentia Organic Mattress’ Technology Can Make An Important Impact On Our Overall Wellness

An Interview With Dave Philistin

Creating technology requires to re-think everything and dropping all assumptions. When I was working with chemists early on in order to eliminate chemicals from memory foam, it was difficult for many to think outside the box and consider that this product could be reworked or even that an organic product could be made to behave different. Assumptions can be our greatest challenge as it can be difficult to look past what you know about how something works. Material behavior is impacted not only by their reactions, but also by their environments.

In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jack Dell’Accio.

Jack Dell’Accio is the Founder and CEO of Essentia and leads the company in its material science developments for the healthiest sleep outcomes. Through the years, he has worked directly with health gurus, professional athletes and teams in the NBA, NFL, MLS, and over 25% of the NHL players on creating healthy sleep performance. Health Gurus that use, endorse and recognize Essentia as the leading wellness mattress include Dr. Mark Hyman, Dave Asprey, Deepak Chopra, Ben Greenfield, Brian Clement, Andy O’Brien, Dr. Frank Lipman, Delos (The founders of the Well Health Safety Rating & Stay Well Properties), Dr. Provo, and many more. Jack has developed and Essentia produces the world’s healthiest mattress and has been recognized by several internationally renowned institutions for creating the healthiest sleep environment. Essentia has been rated #1 for 7 consecutive years on Consumer Reports including just recently for 2022. For the last 9 years, it has been the only approved mattress by Hippocrates Health Institute. Learn more at www.myessentia.com.

Jack is the Hippocrates Health Institute’s Certified Sleep Coach and is featured monthly on campus for a lecture focused on the sleep environment and maximizing your potential to thrive through sleep.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?

My pleasure. Thank you for having me!

I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. My parents immigrated to Canada at a very young age from Italy, but they definitely raised my two sisters and I with strong Italian traditions. Looking at how this shaped me, I think having that experience of the best of both countries was a real building block. There was a great sense of community from school, to playing sports and then coming home to very traditional values and a big Italian meal nightly. I learnt a lot at that dinner table, my parents had a family business and they regularly had discussions about work during dinner. We got to hear all the ups and downs of what owning a business really was. I think this is what really planted that entrepreneurial seed in all of us. I got to see first hand how a company can have an impact on people and our communities. My dad was a great role model, very open-minded to new ideas and exploring products that a step ahead of mainstream. He taught me how to think outside the box and not just accept the obvious.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

There have been many great moments throughout my career, and lots of interesting stories from more serious finance meetings that took an interesting twist, to being on the Dragon’s Den (Canada’s equivalent of the Shark Tank). The things that connects all of the stories that stand out to me are the great human connections made.

Maybe it’s my history with hockey both as an avid player and fan that made this one story the most interesting. In 2016 during an awesome Stanley Cup run, the Pittsburgh Penguins invited me to a playoff game. Andy O’Brien, renowned strength and conditioning coach, and I had been working together getting a lot of players more in tune with their sleep, and we were working with quite a few of the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was interesting as I had connected with most of the players on the roster to help with their sleep needs, but never had the opportunity to meet them in person. Upon my arrival, I quickly realized that I was not just getting a seat in the stands, but I was extended an invitation to watch the game in the owners box. Meeting the Penguins owner, Mario Lemieux, was incredible because he also happens to be from my hometown of Montreal, and was someone I grew up admiring as one of the best players in the league.

After the game I also got to meet the players, and I thought to myself how unlikely the path to this kind of involvement with a professional sports team was coming from a mattress company. Over the years I’ve worked with many teams and organizations behind the scenes and still to this day feel that it is an incredibly enjoyable part of my work.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Hard to pin down one person as there have been so many people along the way. So many people helped in different ways, However one person that comes to mind is a friend in Europe. While I was in the exploratory stage of developing my latex formula, I was hosted by a group of engineers who were not so open to disclosing all their knowledge on latex and synthetic formulas. One night an old friend joined us for dinner and became my strongest ambassador. As a foreign visitor, having them open up in detail was a challenge, but following that dinner, all had changed and the learning began unobstructed. That changed the path of my material testing and component blending and led to some important breakthroughs which became the basis of our patented slow response organic latex foam.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I’d probably love to pick a life lesson quote from The Godfather, there were many. Also relatable with my Italian unhealthy emotional attachment to food — “Leave the gun, take the cannolis”.

I think the life lesson quote that resonates with my path towards product development and building Essentia is “If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters”.

Material science involves trial and error, constant pivots, constant testing and evaluations that change the path forward and at times surprise us with unexpected finds. The same also with all our relationships both personal and business. Happiness comes with being flexible and willing to change in order to support and deliver happiness to everyone around you.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

Motivating — Empathetic — Empowering

- You can’t do it alone, having a team that is motivated and believes in the goals you have set forth is what builds a company. In the years I’ve been doing this, one thing that seems clear is that being involved with my team is motivating, the further detached that I am to a campaign or project, the less motivated they are. So from my experience, including the team in my thoughts, plans, and vision is very motivating for them and helps them connect to the project. Doesn’t hurt that I am passionate about what I do and I believe that my attitude and appreciation towards them is genuine and is transparent.

- Caring for everyone’s circumstances, everyone’s personal outcomes, and authentically creating a product and company determined to deliver something good is very powerful.

Over the last two years, all companies have been impacted by Covid. For us, this was a challenge as we had to deal with so many individuals across US and Canada, manage both the new legal guidelines for public safety but in many cases very personalized situations with immuno-compromised staff and families with children home from school. While many of our positions were not able to work from home,we worked to make each space safe and comfortable before anyone returned. There have been many other cases in the past where we’ve dealt with major personal challenges for certain individuals where we’ve stepped up to help out. Sometimes it’s been financial, other times delivering food when a family has been sick, to even maintaining a place in the company for someone facing their ultimate health challenges. Overall, I believe that my team knows that I care, and that is why when it’s time to step up for the company, they all do.

- Allowing your team to be leaders and thinkers. When a person really owns their work there is a lot of pride associated with it that allows them to overcome potential hurdles quickly and efficiently. People who report to me need to be leaders and thinkers. I am there to support them. However I’ve seen time and time again when the team directly below me does not do the same with their teams, there is a breakdown and we are not as efficient. When our production lead was not given the full responsibility and ability to think and pivot, this resulted in delays, quality issues, and lack of motivation. When I changed the executive for a more thoughtful and empowering leader, one that had enough confidence to have everyone under them learn, grow and lead, the results for the company were unmatched and this was with the same group of people who were once not as motivated and effective.

Ok super. Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive impact on our wellness. To begin, which particular problems are you aiming to solve?

The problem that I was looking to solve is actually the foundation to everything in our lives for both mental and physical wellness. I am talking about Sleep Wellness. I recognized 20 years ago that sleep had the power to heal both physical and mental conditions, sleep was the foundation to happiness and wellness. My goal was to elevate everyone’s lives to be their better self, whether it be someone undergoing critical health challenges, an elite athlete and everyone in between.

How do you think your technology can address this?

In my research, I’ve noted that stimulants are an obstruction to achieving the best sleep outcomes. Essentia’s technology creates a sleep environment designed to promote longer REM and Deep Sleep cycles within your overall sleep time. This results in better mental and physical recovery. What do I mean by stimulants? We’re talking about things like dust mites, overheating, EMFs and more. Anything that accelerates your central nervous system activity can be considered a stimulant when you are looking at sleep.

This is why Essentia is the only company to address all seven key elements needed for truly restorative sleep. No other mattress can address each element effectively, and not only does our technology address all seven but it exceeds what is expected. These seven key elements are being certified organic, proper posture support, allergen free, optimized sleep, temperature regulation, fast recovery and EMF protection.

Our patented molding technology offers a fast response to small movements at night and eliminates negative space between the back and mattress. Our organic foam is a dust mite deterrent and does not trigger or cause latex allergies as reported by Dr. Robert G. Hamilton of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Our patented organic foam also allows for natural cooling of the sleep surface up to 7 degrees over an 8 hour sleep cycle, and most recently we introduced our EMF Barrier Foam Formula which protects the body from all electromagnetic fields in the bedroom and their impact on our blood cells. This is especially important now as we are combating not just 3G and 4G technology but also the emergence of 5G waves.

Essentia is the only company to have EMF protection technology actually be incorporated into the mattress without the need of an additional layer or having to plug something in. As we are the manufacturer and foamer, we are able to create not only create different feels of our organic foams but in this case we are able to infuse mineral EMF protection into the organic foam itself.

Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?

Twenty years ago, I had two family members get diagnosed with cancer. It was quite a shock to our family as we thought we were healthy and did all the right things. In observing their journey, I leant more about the potential causes and things that we were unaware may be harmful to our bodies. Moreover, I saw the impact the sleep environment had on their healing and wanted to do something that would make a difference not only for my family members but for everyone that may be going on this journey. That lead me to looking at what I had access to, which was my father’s connections to the latex industry. My thought was how do I make a more comfortable mattress like a memory foam but without the petrochemicals that you find in them. This is what really fueled my passion to create our patented organic foams.

How do you think this might change the world?

Changing the world is pretty big, but I think we can impact lives for the better, Hopefully the awareness that we are bringing can lead to better sleep choices for everyone. We invest one third of our lives sleeping, its not a choice, its critical for us to exist, and those who thoughtfully sleep well, thrive. The approach we’ve taken for better sleep outcomes is unmatched and I believe is a game-changer, the impacts on human behavior, human happiness, and human sustainability are immense, and what we promote for human wellness carries a natural extension of environmental sustainability.

Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?

I don’t see any drawback. In fact only unintended advantages. The technology addresses human sustainability first, while also addressing environmental sustainability. The results have the ability to impact both mental and physical thriving which have exponential effects on all lives interacting with healthier, happier people and the world.

Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”? (Please share a story or an example, for each.)

1. Creating technology requires to re-think everything and dropping all assumptions. When I was working with chemists early on in order to eliminate chemicals from memory foam, it was difficult for many to think outside the box and consider that this product could be reworked or even that an organic product could be made to behave different. Assumptions can be our greatest challenge as it can be difficult to look past what you know about how something works. Material behavior is impacted not only by their reactions, but also by their environments.
2. Looking to fill a need seems like the obvious path of most product innovators, however often these don’t have the social impact that we’re looking for. Something changed can sometimes be the larger contributor than something new. It’s more than just filling a need, it’s about walking the walk and talking the talk. When I realized that I had developed a product that was unmatched in performance and delivered incredible outcomes, I knew that I was at the birth of something special that could change the sleep industry. We could have simply sold this to the big brands and walked away but then I knew that they would use this for merchandising and marketing rather than impacting people’s lives. This is what led me to paving my own path with Essentia, because its more than just doing the bare minimum.
3. Don’t rush the process. Seeing through all the possible outcomes and impacts takes time, and each of those outcomes need to be evaluated and considered which usually leads to more development. The initial process in developing technology is a long and patient one. When we were testing to create a more cost effective formula in order to make our technology more accessible, while the desired outcome was not met, it did trigger new outcomes that lead to our improved temperature regulation.
4. Make sure that we are not creating a superficial solution. Resolving core issues will have success and longevity. When we realized that our technology was relevant for sleep wellness, we were able to expand our users from the sick, to the healthy lifestyle demographic, and to the high achievers. Focusing on wellness rather than a material has set the long path and growth for the company.
5. You should be just as concerned about the impact of the production of the technology and its impact on our communities as the product does for the user. It is all a cycle, we cannot destroy our environment on our path to delivering a better product. From sourcing, to production, to the lifecycle of the product, thoughtful analysis and actions on every level will have that proper desired social impact. In our case, we invested in developing equipment that could compress our dense material so that our mattresses take up less space in trucks and reduce the carbon impact. But even in the material conception, it was important to develop a product that was biodegradable as mattresses in landfills is a major concern. When exposed to the elements, an Essentia mattress can fully decompose in three years.

If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?

I’ve been at this for twenty years, and I’d say that what drives me, my fondest memories, and the greatest satisfaction has come from improving people’s lives along the way. Having a positive impact will be a powerful driver in your happiness. I see first hand how my product is enriching the lives of Essentia sleepers. I would also consider their impact on the environment and how that full circle then helps us have a bigger impact on the earth itself. Once you’ve been able to get stable, Uplifting the community is next. I founded the Betterhood program at Essentia for altruistic campaigns to help as many people as we could in our communities. Seeing the results for that work, and seeing the pride that my team has when we are doing good is what makes forging down this path worth it.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Tom Brady! When looking at the TB 12 method he really takes a holistic approach to health and wellness and that includes his sleep. In fact Tom Brady gets a solid 9 hours of sleep a night, and I definitely think the GOAT needs to sleep on the GOAT of mattresses!

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I am focussed on sharing as much as I can, not only my technology but all that I have learned along the way. I am sharing this mostly through our Rise and Thrive Podcast where I am looking to bring all the experts that I’ve had the opportunity to meet or work with over the year. I hope this can be a spark for more mindfulness and further develop our wellness as a community.

Plus they can check out myessentia.com, instagram, facebook, linkedin etc.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.

Thank you for sharing my journey.