Interview with Daniel Picou, founder and CEO of Vasayo
This article is part of a series featuring business executives who choose to live and work in Utah. If you know of an executive we should interview, please get in touch with us.
Business is about more than revenue. It’s also about relationships, nearby and extended communities, families, and new and innovative ways to ensure our health and vitality, especially during challenging times.
Vasayo is a Utah-based company creating products that promote wellness, enhance beauty, and support daily renewal. Its advanced delivery systems for absorption of nutrients contributed to the company being named one of the Top 50 healthcare companies globally by the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare (June 2019).
Above all, according to founder and CEO Daniel Picou, Vasayo values passion and people. With a mission and a philanthropic organization, Hearts & Hands for Humanity, the company aims to create 1,000 clean water wells for communities in Tanzania, Africa, with a mission to enhance one million lives.
How did you get started in this industry?
I had an 18-month friendship with my current business partner before starting Vasayo. I was involved in a different part of the industry when he told me he was going to build another company and asked if I was willing to make a move to Utah to join him. I said, “absolutely, I would.” I’ve been with Vasayo for five years, and it’s been an incredible ride.
What recent professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
Currently, I’m most proud of our joint venture with our Asian partner that gives us access to a Chinese direct sales license through a cooperation/joint venture agreement. We are providing Chinese citizens with chances to improve their health, have economic opportunities, and get ahead. I think it’ll be an amazing arrangement for our company and a great thing for people in the Asia-Pacific region.
What do you like most about living in Utah?
I love that there is so much to do in Utah, especially lots of adventures to be had. I also enjoy that I can experience all four seasons in our state. I am a very active person. Whether mountain biking, hiking, skiing, tennis, or golf, I love being surrounded by nature.
What do you like most about doing business in Utah?
Utah is a business-friendly state with a prominent source of research and technology. Having Vasayo headquartered here gives us tremendous access to significant research, especially around the newest and most effective delivery methods for nutritional technology and cutting-edge developments in beauty enhancement and life enrichment.
The family and community spirit and the outdoor destinations and cultural activities here are second-to-none.
What advice do you have for individuals considering starting a business, or relocating their business, to Utah?
Unlike other states where there is a lot of red tape, Utah welcomes new businesses. It’s a state that is easy to work with when it comes to getting business done. For anyone running a business or considering the launch of a business, I would let them know there are a lot of advantages to starting or relocating a business here.
What’s your primary challenge in doing business in Utah?
If there’s one challenge, it would be that Utah is not yet well known on an international scale. Salt Lake City is not Los Angeles or New York City. So, we’re missing some of the things you might have in those cities. However, some of the logistics are still better in the leading coastal states. Overall, I believe our advantages strongly outweigh the challenges.
What’s your business philosophy?
I want Vasayo to leave a positive legacy in Utah, both for the people we employ and the opportunities we offer. We want to build a company with value-based products that are good for the local economy anywhere we do business.
We try to stay ahead of the curve instead of chasing the curve with the latest science and the latest products.
What do you like most about being CEO of Vasayo?
I’m a strong believer that company culture is an organization’s most valuable asset.
I enjoy the opportunities to contribute my ideas to our corporate team and our community of brand partners worldwide. I also appreciate the efforts to innovate new ways to market ideas and products, create new ways to help each other, and live in abundance. When we unite our efforts, we can make a significant difference.
Additionally, I thrive on challenges. I enjoy watching something grow from this little thing that was just an idea into amazing opportunities. It’s all about helping people, brand partners, and contributing to the Utah economy.
Tell me a fun fact about yourself.
I’m a voracious reader with an insatiable thirst for knowledge on every topic imaginable. I’m also a chess nerd. I completely lose track of time when I’m playing chess. I try to stay away from it because it can become an unhealthy distraction.