Jordi, an LA-based founder & entrepreneur, shares about how he uses low-dose THC to stay cool, calm, and collected while leading a company to scale.
Why did you start taking Zeno?
I was always drawn to the idea of low-dose cannabis because of claims that it can help with anxiety, sleep, stress, things like that. But in practice, every time I took it, it felt like I was taking a macro-dose. I couldn't take a single hit off a joint without feeling like I had just taken a tab of acid. It just always ended up being way too intense.
When I started taking Zeno, however, I was like, “Oh, these are the benefits that were advertised to me by other cannabis brands — they just had been such an obscene dose.”
Sounds like you’re not a big cannabis user.
Not at all. I don't like the feeling of being high on cannabis. I've used psychedelics quite a bit and I've benefited from them a ton, but I don't like cannabis highs of any sort. It just puts me in my head: I stop talking. I overthink things. I’m awkward. I’m more anxious than I was before.
So what effects have you noticed with Zeno then?
With Zeno, the experience is just like, “being on my game.” A mixture of relaxed and focused. It just levels me out a little bit, sort of like a cup of coffee. I feel like I had a good night's sleep.
You mentioned stress and anxiety before. Is that your main reason for taking Zeno?
I don't have anxiety per se, but on any given day, I have three or four high-stakes meetings with investors and sales prospects. So if there's a day where I didn’t sleep that well, or it's been an intense week, or I have a stressful day ahead of me, those are the days that I end up taking Zeno, because it just helps level me out a little bit and relax.
It’s funny. In the past, if I had an intense or busy day, I would just jack up the caffeine. Whereas now I realize that mellowing out is the better answer. I have tons of natural energy, so the more I can calm myself down, the better and more productive I can be. Zeno has helped shift my perspective on what you can get done in a day by being more calm and steady as opposed to being more manic.
Why do you think being calmer helps you achieve more?
I think it's a byproduct of the information age and being a knowledge worker. In the factory era, if you’re making shoes, then yeah, maybe you want that energy and intensity to crank up the output. Whereas in my job as a CEO — which is primarily about setting vision for the team, hiring, fundraising, working on product — it's not about how many actions I take in a day, but how I can help the company make progress overall.
And that's largely a function of better thinking, of being able to slow down and make the right decision. Because if you rush and make the wrong decision, that can lead to weeks or even months of wasted time.
It even helps with the small day-to-day stuff. Like, I have 790 unread texts right now, and I'm just not that frazzled about it.
What about after work?
Well, I only take it in the mornings, but one thing I notice with Zeno is that I'm not as wound up at the end of the day. I don’t feel this major need to “unwind.” And that’s great, because I feel like I've gone through periods in my life where I’m like, “I could really use a drink to unwind,” and I don’t really feel that way anymore.
You mentioned coffee before. Do you still drink it?
Yes. Just one a day, in the morning, with my Zeno.
Together, you get the effect that you'd kind of hope you'd get from a cup of coffee on its own: awake, creative, focused, but at the same time steady and relaxed.
Coffee on its own leaves me feeling a bit all over the place. So the THC and Theanine definitely help.
Just one tablet a day, right?
Yeah. Like I said, my experience with cannabis is that anything near the doses that are the industry standard in most consumer products, I’m not having a good time.
How long have you been taking Zeno for?
Five weeks or so. But I don't take it every day. Probably more like three days a week.
In fact, one thing I really like about Zeno is that it gets me used to feeling at ease in my own skin, so that even on days where I don’t take it, I’m more even-keeled.
We talked about THC both for work and for after work. What about on the weekends?
Oh, I basically work all the time, haha.
Fair enough.
But I do remember that the first time I took Zeno, I was actually in Miami for a work trip. I had gone out with clients the night before and was a little bit hungover the next day. So I took one then, just to relax a bit.
Did it help the hangover?
Yeah. I tend to get a bit anxious when I’m hungover. Anxious and stressed and a bit self-conscious. So it was helpful with that.
Any parting words for the Zeno curious?
Well, I’ve already recommended it to a ton of people.
I’ve even given it to my mom and dad, neither of whom use cannabis recreationally or enjoy the effects of it. If you have reservations about getting high from cannabis but are also curious about the benefits, then Zeno is probably the best way to get those benefits.
It’s really the opposite of a high: it doesn’t take your mind someplace different — it simply brings you closer to what you are on your best day. Like, I want to be at my best for every meeting, but sometimes life gets in the way. Sometimes I’m on, sometimes I’m off.
Zeno gives me the confidence to go into a hectic day knowing that I'm going to be level-headed and smooth pretty much no matter what.
