The wellness industry needed a wake-up call, so she built Sleep or Die

Let’s start at the beginning. How did Sleep or Die come to life?

I was in a cycling accident a few years ago that resulted in a concussion and triggered the first real sleep struggles I had ever experienced. For the first time, I was forced to examine the options available seriously and where they fell short. I felt like I had tried everything, and that frustration ultimately led to what Launch 002 is designed to solve.

That experience made one thing clear to me. Sleep is not a soft wellness ritual. It is survival. It is mental clarity, emotional regulation, and long-term health. That belief is what drives everything we do.

Sleep or Die reframes sleep as a non-negotiable rather than an optimization. How do you hope this shift in attitude sets you apart in the sleep wellness space?

We approach sleep from a fundamentally different place. Sleep is not something you squeeze in after everything else is done. It is the foundation on which everything else is built. Choosing sleep in a culture that rewards burnout is an intentional and often countercultural act. When people sleep well, they think more clearly, regulate their emotions better, and show up as stronger versions of themselves. That understanding informs every decision we make, from product design to how we talk about rest.

The sleep category is increasingly crowded with supplements. How are you approaching differentiation, and what sets your product apart in this space?

Most sleep supplements did not start with sleep as the main problem. They were created for something else and later adapted for sleep, often using the same familiar formats. The challenge is that those formats do not always align with how sleep actually works. Drinking liquids before bed can mean waking up in the middle of the night, and sugary gummies are not always what your body wants when you are trying to wind down. All of these formats also take an hour to hit your system because you have to digest them.

We approached it from the opposite direction. We talked directly to people about where sleep supplements make their evenings harder, not easier, and designed around those real frustrations. The goal was to create something that supports the exact moment you are trying to fall asleep, without adding another thing to think about.

We are not trying to out supplement the category. We are rethinking how sleep support should show up when it matters most.

Sleep or Die is now building a waitlist for Launch 002. What is the product?

Launch 002 is Sleep Strips, fast dissolving oral strips designed to support sleep in a way that feels light, simple, and almost invisible. You place the strip on your tongue, it dissolves quickly, and hits your system in about 10 minutes.

We built Sleep Strips to feel like a quiet companion at night rather than a production. Something that fits naturally into the moment you are getting into bed and want your body to slow down.

This drop uses several references to a strip club. How does that creative direction tie back to the importance of sleep?

As we launched Sleep Strips, playing on the term strip club felt like one of those creative moments a traditional sleep brand would never touch, and that is exactly where Sleep or Die thrives. It is unexpected, a little mischievous, and disarming in the best way.

The creative is not about strip clubs themselves. It is about shifting the emotional energy around sleep. Making it feel less clinical, less guilt driven, and more approachable. When you can laugh and loosen up around sleep, you are already closer to actually getting it.

How has community played a role in the creation and iteration of your brand?

The Zombie Club is woven into how we build, not just how we launch. They have been deeply involved in pressure testing Launch 002, helping us refine everything from the experience to the small details that matter most at night. Their feedback challenged us to be more thoughtful, more specific, and more honest about what actually supports sleep.

That collaboration pushed us toward a solution designed around real nights and real behaviour, rather than familiar supplement conventions. The result is a format built with sleep in mind first, shaped by the people who need it most.

We also prioritize substack, giving the full nitty gritty details on our bi-weekly share out, called the Sleep or Die Diaries.

What advice would you give to other creators or entrepreneurs who are hoping to make a similar leap?

Be relentlessly authentic to who you are and what you are actually good at, not who you think you are supposed to be, and build from conviction, not comparison. When something comes from genuine passion and lived experience, people can feel it. That kind of momentum cannot be manufactured or copied, and it is what carries you through the uncomfortable and uncertain parts of building something real.

Looking ahead, how do you want Sleep or Die to evolve, and what kind of mark do you hope to leave on the way people think about sleep?

I want Sleep or Die to continue shifting the culture around rest. I want people to feel like a badass for sleeping nine hours, for going to bed at 8:45 pm, or for sleeping until 10 am if that is what their body needs. Rest is not lazy, and it is not something to justify or explain.

At scale, I want Sleep or Die to be the brand that makes sleep feel desirable, protected, and worth prioritizing. If people start measuring success by how well-rested they feel rather than how exhausted they are, that is the mark I hope to leave.

Finally, we would not be Thingtesting if we did not ask this. What other brands, sleep tools, or nighttime essentials would you love to see sitting next to Sleep or Die on someone’s nightstand?

The Hatch alarm clock, the Saje diffuser, and the Eight Sleep mattress cover, even if that last one technically lives on the bed, not the nightstand.