Sustaining the market for cold-water therapy, how Coldture landed an impressive offer on Dragons’ Den
Three minutes, a bathtub and 3°C water. This is all it takes to reap the rewards of cold plunging. Cold exposure means taking your health to the next level, and the advantages vary from relieving muscle soreness to building mental and physical strength.
After sustaining a knee injury during the pandemic, Toronto-based hockey player and Ted Rogers School of Management (TRSM) alumni Daniel Mazour (external link) discovered the benefits of cold plunging.
“It was a low point in my life,” Mazour recounts. “I started doing ice baths at home in my tub. I felt the incredible results on my knee. But moreover, I got addicted to the mental clarity that I was getting. And I saw a need for that.”
In 2014, Mazour graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) with a Bachelor of Commerce in Business Technology Management (BTM). During his time at TMU, Mazour took on the role of BTM Director with the Ted Rogers Student Society (TRSS).
One simple idea has the potential to blossom into a successful start-up. As Mazour valued the mental benefits of ice baths, he found a way to improve the at-home practice. “Because I was in my bathtub, it was shallow, and I couldn't get my whole body in. So, I started looking for solutions.”
With an uprise in health and wellbeing, Mazour and co-founder Michael Spivak saw a market for cold-water therapy. It was in the beginning of 2022 when these ambitious entrepreneurs created Coldture (external link) —Canada’s premier cold plunge company.
“It’s very effective because it’s one of the only kinds of wellness modalities that you feel instantly…you get this rush of adrenaline when you sit in the tub…you get these endorphins just flushing through your body. Overall, there's just so much backed research that shows how it helps all kinds of different mechanisms throughout your body—from your hormonal system to your joints, inflammation, and builds up your immunity,” explains Mazour.
The impact of Coldture’s ice baths extends beyond personal wellness routines to classrooms. Recognizing the growing interest in cold-water therapy, Dr. Ellen Choi, an assistant professor at TMU has also incorporated Coldture ice baths into her curriculum. Featured in last month’s newsletter feature “Transforming Stress to Strength in the Wellness Industry,” Dr. Choi uses Coldture ice baths for The Polar Plunge, a component of her MHR741 - Interpersonal Effectiveness and Teams course. This exercise helps students improve their self-awareness, self-control, stress management, and team building skills.
Mazour and Spivak were determined to launch Coldture into action. Their plan was to spread the idea to as many people as possible and test materials to create a top-notch solution. “We've been growing and innovating on the product,” Mazour excitedly details. “We have lots of new models out now, and we're continuing to grow our product line.”
In fact, Mazour and Spivak are one of few to secure a deal with the dragons—on Canada’s Dragons’ Den (external link) —of course.
As the two entrepreneurs stepped foot on stage, a panel of six venture capitalists stared back at them. It was the business opportunity of a lifetime and there was only one chance to impress the dragons.
And as it turns out, cold plunges might just be the answer to life’s problems.
Coldture received overwhelming success, landing an offer of $200,000 for ten percent equity with Michele Romanow. So, Mazour gives advice to those striving to go on the show: “Pitch your idea in a way where it's going to be exciting for tv,” he suggests. For Coldture, this meant adding an activation element to their pitch by encouraging one of the dragons to test out their ice bath. Ultimately, Mazour says that Dragons’ Den was an excellent way to gain brand recognition and credibility.
Enactus TMU (external link) is a student group dedicated to educating and empowering communities by leveraging sustainable entrepreneurship. Having been a member of this group, Mazour believes that it was his involvement in student extracurriculars that has contributed to his career accomplishments. “Enactus is like an entrepreneurship presentation class…it was the closest thing to mimicking Dragons’ Den.”
Mazour highlights the importance of gaining experience by volunteering and involving yourself with like-minded entrepreneurs. “Getting real life experience, connecting with the local community and having placements with local entrepreneurs,” he stresses, “these environments give a firsthand look of how start-ups are operated.”
But Mazour reveals the true strategy for achieving success. “I think the biggest factor is just having a determination to succeed and not give up,” he says, “I think that's the biggest learning that you can get.”