# Gainful

> Gainful is a New York-based personalized sports nutrition company that builds custom protein powders, hydration, pre-workout and performance supplements tailored to each customer's body, goals and dietary needs. Customers take an online quiz, get a formula matched to them by Gainful's algorithm and registered dietitians, and can chat with a real RD about it. Founded by high-school soccer teammates Eric Wu and Jahaan Ansari and incubated at Y Combinator, the brand grew from a dorm-room experiment into a profitable, multi-channel business now sold direct-to-consumer and in Target stores nationwide.

- **Founded:** 2017
- **Headquarters:** New York, New York, United States
- **Founders:** Eric Wu (Co-founder, COO (former CEO)), Jahaan Ansari (Co-founder, CTO)
- **Team size:** ~50 employees
- **Products:** Personalized Protein Powder, Hydration, Pre-Workout, Performance Boosts, Performance Greens
- **Notable:** Surpassed 1 million orders and created over 1 million personalized supplement blends, Reached profitability in early 2023, Expanded from DTC into Target retail (1,800+ stores)

## Products & services

- **Personalized Protein Powder** — Custom protein blends (whey, plant, collagen whey, isolate, lean, performance, keto-friendly) formulated to the customer's body, goals and dietary needs via an online quiz.
- **Hydration** — Personalized electrolyte hydration formulas; also marketed to help counter GI side effects associated with GLP-1 use.
- **Pre-Workout** — Customized pre-workout formulas tailored to training and tolerance.
- **Performance Boosts** — Add-on boosters including creatine, fiber and collagen peptides.
- **Performance Greens** — Greens supplement for everyday nutrition support.
- **Flavor Packets** — Eight naturally flavored single-serve packets so customers can flavor unflavored protein their way.
- **Registered Dietitian Access** — One-on-one guidance with registered dietitians via email, chat and text included with products.

## Achievements

- Surpassed 1 million orders and created over 1 million personalized supplement blends
- Reached profitability in early 2023
- Expanded from DTC into Target retail (1,800+ stores)
- Named Hyrox official supplement and nutrition partner (2023-24)
- Founders raised Series A by age 25 as first-time entrepreneurs

## Latest updates

- **2024-09** — Closed a Series B round led by District Ventures Capital; Arlene Dickinson joined the board of directors.
- **2023** — Launched first retail expansion with Target and reached profitability.
- **2023** — Became Hyrox's official supplement and nutrition partner and partnered with Chelsea Piers Fitness.

## Links

- Website: https://gainful.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gogainful
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/gainful
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gainful/
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/Gainful/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@gogainful

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gainful
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-15