Newsletter #32: An Interview with the Co-Founder and CEO of Better & Better

Recently, Karl Bracken of Ocampo Capital sat down with Vlad Vukicevic, Co-Founder and CEO of Better & Better, Inc.  Better & Better was founded in 2019, as a company looking to disrupt the toothpaste and supplements markets by combining the two.  Better & Better makes it possible for people to “brush your vitamins” thereby repositioning toothpaste as “a daily health delivery system.”  Vlad, a serial entrepreneur, has an incredible personal and professional story- which is part of what makes Better & Better so compelling.

KB: Thank you for being here, Vlad!  The origin story for Better & Better is pretty incredible. Can you share that with our audience?

VV: Better & Better’s origin story is in essence, my own personal story. As a child, I survived cancer by going through numerous chemotherapy treatments and a bone marrow transplant. This experience shaped the way I think about health and the way I live my life. 

Over the many years since, I found myself relying on a growing number of daily supplements to maintain my health and to overcome the long-term effects of my intense childhood treatments. But taking pills every day was inconvenient, expensive, and surprisingly difficult to consistently maintain.

I kept thinking there had to be a better way to incorporate the daily routine of supplements more seamlessly into my life. That need eventually became Better & Better. We are building a wellness company built around a simple belief: taking care of your health should feel effortless and fit naturally into the things you already do every day.

We started by improving one of the most universal daily habits: brushing your teeth. Our vitamin-infused toothpastes combine oral care with nutrients like Vitamin D3, E, B12, Calcium, and Zinc, creating a simple way to bring more functionality into a routine people already have.

For me, Better & Better is about reimagining wellness around everyday habits, making better health simpler, more intuitive, and easier to sustain.

KB: Your story is indeed incredible.  What about your background helped you as you started Better & Better?

VV: Better & Better is the third company that I’ve founded. Both previous companies were successful in creating new categories, growing quickly, and being acquired by larger, strategic partners. 

This entrepreneurial background, combined with my personal health experiences, give me both a bottom-up and a top-top down approach to the problems we are solving at Better & Better.

KB: What is the mission of Better & Better?

VV: Our mission is to make better health effortless by turning powerful, existing habits into opportunities for wellness.

We’re building a world without pills.

KB: What is your lineup of currently available products?

VV: We have four unique toothpaste varieties:

1. Purity - the clean, organic, and natural toothpaste that serves as the base for all our other varieties and is the choice for customers looking for the most minimalist solution
2. Fortify - toothpaste designed to protect, strengthen, and restore teeth with fortifying micronutrients. Fortify Toothpaste is the first toothpaste to add Vitamin D3 and Calcium
3. Detoxify - toothpaste for that extra deep clean, with bacteria-fighting micronutrients. Detoxify Toothpaste includes the cleansing power of Vitamin B12, Vitamin E, and Zinc
4. Kids - is perfect for kids’ maturing teeth, with foundational micronutrients for full-mouth and full-body health. It includes Vitamin D3, Vitamin E, Vitamin B12, and Calcium

In addition to our toothpaste, we have developed a full portfolio of complementary products–including manual and electric toothbrushes, manual and electric flossers–that are plastic-free, plant-based, and work seamlessly to expand our Better & Better brand.

KB: How did you come up with the name of your company?

VV: Better & Better represents our constant commitment to improvement. We strive to create products that make us feel better. Perfection is impossible, but perpetual progress is at our core.

Better & Better also stands for our functional approach to oral care: better for our mouth, better for our body.

Finally, the Better & Better ethos is integrated in how we make our products, replacing plastic with sustainable, plant-based solutions: better for our body, better for the planet.

KB: That is awesome: Better & Better all around!  Who is the Better & Better customer?

VV: What we do every day makes us who we are. Our customers are looking to upgrade their daily routines. Generally, it’s the head of the household looking to replace traditional oral care products with a cleaner, healthier, and more functional solution. They are looking to improve the quality of their lives and their family’s lives.

Better & Better is the first oral care brand that has a unique set of qualities: out with the bad, in with the better.

KB: Given that you are a serial entrepreneur, what were the biggest surprises as you launched Better & Better?

VV: Toothpaste is a serious matter for many people. It falls within a unique category that combines health and wellness, cosmetics, and food. It is unlike any other mass-market product.

KB: What have been the most memorable moments or milestones in Better & Better’s history, thus far?

VV: We started the company and began research and development during the peak of the COVID pandemic. Being able to get through that period of time and successfully launch our first products was a major milestone.

Since then we’ve been able to consistently grow and improve. New milestones keep coming–100,000 customers, being named the best toothpaste by GQ Magazine, etc.–and we’re very excited about what’s to come.

KB: History shows that some of the best consumer companies were founded during very difficult times, because if you can make it through the headwinds, you can accelerate in tailwinds.  In that sense, perhaps starting during COVID set you up for more success later?  That said, what’s the biggest challenge you have faced thus far as a company?

VV: Our biggest challenge is also our biggest opportunity: we’re creating a new category.

People understand toothpaste, and they understand vitamins, but combining the two requires us to change the way people think about both. We’ve had to educate consumers that something they already do twice a day can become a much more meaningful part of their health routine.

That takes time. But over the past two years, we’ve seen increasing validation that once people understand the idea and experience the product, it really resonates.

The challenge now is less about proving that people want better toothpaste and more about showing them that everyday habits can become a platform for better health. That’s ultimately much bigger than toothpaste, and it’s the opportunity we’re building Better & Better around.

KB: I see that same dynamic with several portfolio companies: when you are trying to do something different, it takes time to educate.  With that said, what advice would you give other entrepreneurs?

VV: Big ideas take time. Resilience matters more than most people realize. There are going to be times when things take longer, cost more, or simply don’t work the way you expected. The entrepreneurs who succeed aren’t necessarily the ones who get everything right, they’re the ones who keep learning, adapting, and moving forward.

KB: Now flipping the question, what’s the best advice you have received from another entrepreneur?

VV: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Entrepreneurs have a tendency to be stubborn and overly self-reliant. Often it’s important to realize that the best outcome can come from a new perspective and some external support.

KB: What traits in entrepreneurs are most crucial to success, in your experience?

VV: A thick skin. The ability to be both profoundly confident in one’s vision and also immensely flexible in the path to realizing that vision.

KB: What do you see as the biggest upcoming challenges and opportunities for Better & Better?

VV: Our biggest challenge and opportunity comes from managing the next stage of our growth without losing what makes Better & Better different.

We’ve spent the past years proving that consumers are interested in a new kind of oral care: products that do more than simply clean your teeth. Now the opportunity is to take that idea much further.

We see the mouth as an incredibly powerful platform for health and wellness, and we’re developing new products that can deliver meaningful benefits.That gives us the potential to expand well beyond traditional oral care and build an entirely new category at the intersection of oral health and everyday wellness.

The challenge will be scaling thoughtfully, continuing to grow the core business while investing in rapid innovation, educating consumers, and staying focused as the opportunity becomes much larger.

It’s an exciting moment for us because we feel like we’ve only written the first chapter of Better & Better. The opportunity now is to show just how big the idea can become.

KB: What does an ideal advisor look like to you?

VV: It’s about networks and ideas. The ideal advisor is able to unlock new pools of potential partners, investors, and other people that will contribute to the company. The ideal advisor brings a new perspective that augments the founding team.

The best advisors know when to step in and help and when to pull back and watch.

KB: How do you leverage your various advisors?

VV: The key is knowing that not every advisor can be helpful in every situation. I leverage advisors based on their particular background, networks, and personality.

KB: Finally, what kind of advice do you have for me and Ocampo Capital?

VV: Keep going, keep building! There is a tremendous gap in the market for what Ocampo Capital is known for: a deep expertise, true conviction, and the financial wherewithal to support truly innovative consumer companies at the earliest stages.

It’s an honor for us to be a part of the Ocampo family.