Meet The Disruptors: Alex Neist of Hostage Tape On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss also changed my life. The root of his message links back to emotional intelligence. It is essential to be able to harness and utilize emotional intelligence to guide you through any task on a daily or through any walk of life. Voss not only taught me how to sell, and negotiate, but he also taught me how to confront difficult conversations. This book is the foundation of the principles I teach my employees as we are all constantly dealing with people. People want to feel heard and understood and when selling or connecting to someone, this book has tips that are the backbone of successful communication.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alex Neist.
Alex Neist, founder and CEO of Hostage Tape, the hottest selling mouth tape on the market. They’ve sold out twice already in 2023. “Mouth-breathing is one of the leading causes of snoring and sleep apnea, and mouth tape can be a game changer for those struggling with these common sleep issues. Hostage Tape is a comfortable and easy solution to improve sleep, decrease snoring and enjoy all the health benefits that come with sleeping well.”
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
My name is Alex Neist and I’m the founder and CEO of Hostage Tap. I’m responsible for steering the growth of the brand, marketing and expanding its market footprint throughout the U.S. and Canada.
I’m an ex-Canadian Football League quarterback and played for teams like the Tri City Diesel, Tulsa Talons, Spokane Shock and the Bakersfield Blitz. I also was a coach for a variety of positions, including head coach, assistant coach, wide receiver, offensive, passing and quarterback.
After my football career was over, I set my eyes on new business ventures, including Hostage Tape. I saw a need for a tool to help people get a proper night’s sleep. Using my knowledge of sleep and my obsession with grid tape, Hostage Tape was founded.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
We’re selling mouth tape with a Liquid Death style of marketing which essentially publicizes the company’s uniqueness. It is very polarizing, meaning that depending on who you ask, they either think it’s life-changing or life-threatening. People either love it or hate it. From a holistic perspective, Western culture lacks an understanding of the science of breathing and the positive effects of nose breathing. I was a perfect example of this lack of awareness as I was a high-level athlete my whole life, and I had never heard of mouth tape and didn’t nearly understand the health benefits of nose breathing.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The first 15k units we ordered were completely wrong. A small detail wasn’t communicated in our manufacturing process which caused the product to feel very different than what people love today.
We learned to communicate every detail of the manufacturing process and triple check everything on production and use continuous quality assurance on every production run. It taught me the importance of clarity in communication without assuming details.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
For Hostage Tape, I was inspired by “My First Million podcast.” I loved hearing Sam & Shaan bounce ideas off each other and just the general conversations. Listening to them felt like I was around “my boys” and it motivated me to take a leap and start my second company. But truly, the people who inspired me the most were my parents. My parents taught me that I could accomplish anything and build whatever I wanted if I just put in the work and was determined to do it. I am never afraid to take a leap and start over.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
Crypto and AI are great examples of having both positive and negative disruptors. To make something that will truly change the world, you have to disrupt some things in a negative light. However, this process creates a solid foundation for what the future of the company can be. Crypto, for example, will be extremely important and impactful for the world. However, it needs to go through cycles of negative disruptions to get to that point. AI is another example of a negative displacement, as many people will lose their jobs, causing a lot of people to get displaced. However, in the long run, this will open up a new batch of jobs in a different realm.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
- My parents taught me I could accomplish anything I dreamed of as long as I worked hard enough. These words have such a strong value to my core beliefs and are something that I teach my kids every day.
- Stoicism: I learned through my divorce and then getting back together with my wife, the idea of Stoicism. This taught me to remove emotion by not taking things personally and just staying calm and collected. You might have a storm going on inside, but on the outside, it is critical to present yourself to be calm, cool, and collected.
- Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss also changed my life. The root of his message links back to emotional intelligence. It is essential to be able to harness and utilize emotional intelligence to guide you through any task on a daily or through any walk of life. Voss not only taught me how to sell, and negotiate, but he also taught me how to confront difficult conversations. This book is the foundation of the principles I teach my employees as we are all constantly dealing with people. People want to feel heard and understood and when selling or connecting to someone, this book has tips that are the backbone of successful communication.
- Robert Cialdini is another author who has inspired me as he has written a handful of books on the foundations of selling, persuasion, and marketing. Cialdini is a psychologist, and he teaches the psychology behind marketing and human communication.
- Jordan Belford is someone who doesn’t usually get credit, but there is brilliance behind his process of selling. His message and process have allowed me to teach his method and continuously inspire others.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
We’re building multiple brands that we’re passionate about through Neist Media. Hostage Tape is just the first. We will be building many more brands under this umbrella and QB Grip is the second brand to be launched.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss. This taught me the foundation for how to sell and have emotional intelligence.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
I have learned throughout my life that “you can do anything you dream of, as long as you work hard enough for it.” I have always been a bit of an underdog my entire life. When I was in high school, I wasn’t the player that everyone was recruiting and no one even thought I would be starting Quarterback, but I knew I could play and knew I was talented. Despite the doubts of everyone around me, I believed that I could get the starting quarterback position and play in college. That manifestation soon became a reality as I made it to a professional football league through the same hard work and determination that got me starting quarterback in high school. In the football world, I was a nobody. Quickly, however, I was thrown into playing alongside well-known players who came from top programs all around the country. I remained determined as I was trying to invalidate everyone’s preconceived notions about me. My “underdog” mindset enabled me to start a thriving business and once again prove everyone wrong. I know I can do whatever I want when I work hard enough.
If you could inspire 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.
I think a message that would be critical to spread is the theme of Hope. Hope makes life worth living, and without hope, there is very minimal meaning to life. Especially, for the people who aren’t inspired by their parents’ positive mindsets, it is important to learn the gravity that “hope” can have on your life.
How can our readers follow you online?
@hostagetape on every social platform.
Hostagetape.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexneist/
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
