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Your eyes know when your brain is fading—and that tiny lag can cost a run, a rep, or a line of code. We sit down with Jak and Sanjay Green, the father–son team behind Eyeonize, a caffeinated, mentholated under‑eye balm built to cool, hydrate, and wake you up without another cup or can. What started with a gaming industry shock, grew into a product designed for anyone who stares, rides, studies, or drives for long stretches and needs clarity on demand.

This is a story about product integrity, community, and a clear why. It’s also about redefining energy as a subtle, portable boost you can use mid‑flow, without stopping what you’re doing. If you’re juggling screens, chasing daylight, or stacking miles, you’ll walk away with a fresh take on focus, branding, and what it means to build something useful, clean, and real.

If this conversation hits, follow the journey, share it with a friend who lives at a desk or on a trail, and leave a quick review to help more people find the show.

The Circling Podcast is proud to be in partnership with Bend Magazine. Claim your five-dollar annual subscription when you visit www.bendmagazine.com and enter promo code: PODCAST at checkout. Your subscription includes 6 issues of our regions top publication celebrating mountain culture, and four bonus issues of Bend Home and Design, the leading home and building design magazine in Central Oregon.

Support The Circling Podcast:

Email us at: thecirclingpodcast@bendmagazine.com
Join the Circling membership: patreon.com/Thecirclingpodcast
Follow us on Instagram @thecirclingpodcast @bendmagazine
Cover Song by: @theerinsmusic
Bend Magazine. Remember to enter promo code: Podcast at checkout for your five-dollar annual subscription. https://bendmagazine.com.
BOSS Sports Performance: https://www.bosssportsperformance.com
Back Porch Coffee: https://www.backporchcoffeeroasters.com
Story Booth: https://www.storyboothexperience.com

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What if convenience food didn’t feel like a compromise? We sit down with Howl at the Spoon founder Melanie Jenkinson, a former creative director who traded pitch decks for real ingredients, to unpack how healthy convenient options can change the way we eat. From backcountry meals to office lunches, Melanie shows why right-sized portions beat the clutter and waste of old-school bottles—and why a sauce that expires in weeks is a good thing.

The conversation traces a winding path: Oregon hikes, a creative career stacked with pitches, the reality of gender gaps in leadership and funding, and a COVID-era pause that became an unexpected R&D gift. Melanie shares what 500+ markets and 150,000 samples taught her about flavor, packaging, and the language customers actually hear. We dig into the brand’s clean-label stance, why “sauce graveyards” are a solvable problem, and how fruit dust turned into a café-friendly, kid-approved upgrade for yogurt, oats, lattes, and ice cream.

We also talk systems and scale: moving beyond tents, building B2B partnerships with coffee shops and butchers, leaning into user-generated content, and using structured mentorship from Bend Outdoor Worx to set goals that stick. Through it all, Melanie’s mission stays clear—reduce food waste, make real food easy, and design modern formats that fit real life. If you’ve ever wondered why that bottle in your fridge still looks the same after two years, this episode will change how you stock your kitchen.

Enjoy the episode? Follow, share with a friend who meal preps, and leave a quick review to help more listeners discover founder stories that matter.

The Circling Podcast is proud to be in partnership with Bend Magazine. Claim your five-dollar annual subscription when you visit www.bendmagazine.com and enter promo code: PODCAST at checkout. Your subscription includes 6 issues of our regions top publication celebrating mountain culture, and four bonus issues of Bend Home and Design, the leading home and building design magazine in Central Oregon.

Support The Circling Podcast:

Email us at: thecirclingpodcast@bendmagazine.com
Join the Circling membership: patreon.com/Thecirclingpodcast
Follow us on Instagram @thecirclingpodcast @bendmagazine
Cover Song by: @theerinsmusic
Bend Magazine. Remember to enter promo code: Podcast at checkout for your five-dollar annual subscription. https://bendmagazine.com.
BOSS Sports Performance: https://www.bosssportsperformance.com
Back Porch Coffee: https://www.backporchcoffeeroasters.com
Story Booth: https://www.storyboothexperience.com

Remember, the health of our community, relies on us!

Send us a text

What if extra sleep at the trailhead didn’t cost thousands or require a rooftop crane? We sit down with Kai Nevers and Kate Raber, the duo behind Wanderhut, to tell the story of a hatchback tent that deploys the moment you open your rear door—adding headroom, real ventilation, and bug-proof comfort without the hassle of pitching a tent in the dark. Born as a taped-up class project and validated by a stranger in a Home Depot parking lot, their design carries a simple promise: save time, breathe easier, and wake up ready for the adventure.

We walk through the messy first prototype, the year-long quest to solve attachment (snaps for the win), and why focusing on the third-gen Subaru Outback became a superpower. Along the way, OSU Cascades and Bend Outdoor Works opened doors to mentors like former Nike design leader Naomi Morrison and industrial designer Ryan Price, whose hard-earned wisdom sharpened costing, positioning, and supply chain thinking. The result is a product that respects real-world constraints: it installs in minutes, lives in the car between trips, and hits a price point that welcomes new campers and overlanders without compromise.

Under the gear talk is a human story about partnership, grit, and community. Kate’s textile precision and Kai’s big-picture push create the tension great products need. They’re candid about cash flow, MOQs, tariff delays, and imposter syndrome—and how they keep the brand grounded by turning “marketing trips” into true resets outdoors. If you’ve ever chased vanlife comfort on a hatchback budget, this conversation offers practical insight, honest lessons, and a glimpse of what affordable, elegant outdoor design can look like.

Subscribe, share with a friend who sleeps at trailheads, and leave a quick review to help more builders and weekend warriors find the show. Want in early? Join the waitlist at wanderhut.co and tell which car they should build for next.

https://wanderhut.co/

https://osucascades.edu

https://brokesupply.com

https://www.bendoutdoorworx.com

The Circling Podcast is proud to be in partnership with Bend Magazine. Claim your five-dollar annual subscription when you visit www.bendmagazine.com and enter promo code: PODCAST at checkout. Your subscription includes 6 issues of our regions top publication celebrating mountain culture, and four bonus issues of Bend Home and Design, the leading home and building design magazine in Central Oregon.

Support The Circling Podcast:

Email us at: thecirclingpodcast@bendmagazine.com
Join the Circling membership: patreon.com/Thecirclingpodcast
Follow us on Instagram @thecirclingpodcast @bendmagazine
Cover Song by: @theerinsmusic
Bend Magazine. Remember to enter promo code: Podcast at checkout for your five-dollar annual subscription. https://bendmagazine.com.
BOSS Sports Performance: https://www.bosssportsperformance.com
Back Porch Coffee: https://www.backporchcoffeeroasters.com
Story Booth: https://www.storyboothexperience.com

Remember, the health of our community, relies on us!