DC: What’s your name(s), major(s), minor, and graduation year(s)?
Djampa: My name is Edwin Djampa (I also go by my middle name Bright). I am a Nutritional Food Science Major and I graduate in May 2022.
DC: In two to three sentences, how would you describe your startup?
Djampa: Here at Omega 3 we make granola bars that are enriched in omega-3 fatty acids. We have chosen to focus on this nutrient because it’s essential to a person’s overall wellbeing; and it is lacking in many diets. More specifically, Just like you can go to the grocery store and see a section to help you if you want to lose weight, a section if you want to eat sugar free, a section that is more celiac disease consciences (aka gluten), and a section if you want to bulk up in the gym (keto-friendly and low carb), we believe that there should be a section that screams “Hey do you want to keep your brain balanced, healthy, and strong? Well, here are the food items you can eat to do so”. At Omega 3 we feel as though that aisle is so needed right now.
DC: At what point did you know you wanted to create your own startup?
Djampa: I knew I wanted to create the startup in April of 2019 after attending a nutrition class lecture about how much the American Diet lacks omega-3 fatty acids.
DC: What or who is your biggest influence for your startup?
Djampa: The lack of attention nutrition was getting as a viable way for people to take care of their mental wellbeing was my biggest motivation to start this business.
DC: In the new virtual world, how has your focus or ideas changed?
Djampa: This new virtual world (especially the isolation part of this new world) has reminded so many people that it is essential to proactively take care of one’s mental health.
DC: What updates or significant accomplishments can you share with us about your company from the last six months?
Djampa: In the last 6 months we were able to get into 6 stores (1 of them being a small east coast chain store), making that 8 stores in total that we are in right now.
DC: If you could give advice to any aspiring entrepreneurs, what would it be?
Djampa: Advice for Entrepreneurs: You have to see the vision of your company before anyone else can. What I mean by that is others might not see or understand your business and that’s okay because essentially that’s what innovation is – An individual sees something and brings it to fruition before anyone else can do the same. Remember if it was easy everyone would do it. Lastly, I’ll leave you with this quote: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”