There’s a very specific moment when a startup stops feeling like a hobby.
It’s not when you register the company.
It’s not when you post your first Instagram Reel.
And it’s definitely not when someone says, “cool idea.”
It’s when your product is suddenly… for sale.
And more specifically: for sale IRL (sorry Ecom guys).
On a shelf.
In a store.
Where strangers can buy it without knowing who you are, or that you have a very cool website and Instagram.
For us, that first store was SIT Rápido (kiosk at NTNU).
This is the story of how that happened :)
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Chapter 1: Confidence (the slightly delusional one)
We genuinely believe that REVIVE makes sense.
Better electrolyte consumption ➝ Better Hydration ➝ Better Recovery
You don’t need a PhD to connect those dots (hopefully).
Initially, we started selling only online. However, due to the nature of our business (beverage), one of our most important goals was to place REVIVE in a physical store.
One of the places in the top of our list was NTNU (naturally).
And it is important to remember that as a new company you won't have a lot of things:
• A big brand
• A long sales track record
• A million kroner marketing budget
However, we were VERY confident that REVIVE could actually help students. And honestly, that felt more important than all of the above.
So we did the most startup thing possible.
We sent a cold email to the NTNU kiosks proposing a partnership.
(Note: The amount of time that I overthinked about this email is not writen 😅)
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Chapter 2: The BIG Meeting
They replied!
We had:
• A time
• A place
• An opportunity
We were SO happy! I almost couldn't believe it.
The day of the meeting arrived.
And pitching REVIVE is always a little bit… fun 😅
“It’s a hydration drink… for after drinking… but also just in general… it has a premium electrolyte profile… students love it… and no, it’s not a hangover cure.”
It starts slightly awkward and funny every time.
However, after answering questions properly, and proving that yes, we actually know what we’re talking about, things always starts pointing in the right direction.
The person on the SIT side was INCREDIBLY nice and very clear about one thing:
"Students wellbeing comes first!"
After reading more and talking with us, they felt REVIVE could genuinely help with that.
At the end of the meeting, we were asked to wait a few weeks for a final decision. The person that we had a meeting with would bring our case to the other partners.
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Chapter 3: The Long, Quiet “Maybe”
During the meeting we had no instant yes, and no instant rejection either.
So the following days were just long days of:
- Waiting
- Overthinking
- Refreshing inboxes
- Pretending not to care (we cared a lot)
After some weeks, we got an update:
the person responsible was away due to personal reasons.
Four months passed...
It was almost the end of the year.
Then: pling 🎶 (email sound)!!!
I’ll leave the translated email here so you can read it yourself.
After 4 months of waiting, no need to say that it was the most mixed feelings that things could get 😅
But honestly?
We were really happy! Hushuahsu
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Chapter 4: Logistics and Contracts (welcome to adulthood)
The logistics and product handling went very smoothly. Luckily, we already had experience from our UKA partnership.
However, we had a slightly awkward moment.
We needed to ask the SIT representative to sign a contract.
There’s something strange (this little funny feeling) about being in your 20s and asking a “real adult” to sign a contract for YOUR company.
That said, being the son of two lawyers, I knew my parents would be shocked (in a very bad way) with me if we didn’t have a written agreement with SIT.
So we did it properly.
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Chapter 5: The Realization
I genuinely don’t know how to describe the feeling of seeing REVIVE being placed on the shelves and in the fridges right in front of me.
It felt like I died in my sleep and woke up in heaven (which is not a great description, but I said I don't know how to describe it 😅).
A little photo of REVIVE on the shelves below
Me and Miriam just stayed there SOOO proud!
Proud of what we've achieved, and of all the hard work we've done.
This day.
This feeling.
I’ll never forget it 💙
