Meet Patrick Drake | founder of autonomy

We had the good fortune of connecting with Patrick Drake and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Patrick, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
It’s no coincidence that I called my brand ‘autonomy’. It’s the value I hold most closely.

Autonomy is the ability to control your own outcomes. To decide what you do with your body, what you put in your body and to have the tools to thrive.

We’re living in a time where that way of life can be hard to achieve.

Think about the average morning routine: most people wake up and almost immediately get pulled into emails and social media. The first thing we’re putting into our bodies is often coffee or matcha with sugary milks, that are giving us brain fog. We’re being set up to fail.

I created the autonomy superfood latte range so that people can take a moment to enjoy a delicious coffee or matcha that give them clean energy and a clear mind.

Beyond that we support our customers with lessons and tips on how to dial in their evening and morning routines so that they can get better sleep and start their day feeling fresh and in control.

Essentially the business is an expression of everything that I feel passionate about and want for myself and everyone around me.

What should our readers know about your business?
My approach to business is the same as many of the entrepreneurs I admire: see a problem and decide to change it, rather than accept it.

That’s hard at first: people generally don’t like change, even if it’s good for them, because change requires creating new habits (and new habits require energy).

So my approach has always been to make the new habit *enticing*. When I co-founded HelloFresh I was also the head chef and so the approach was to create recipes that were so delicious, that people wanted to create a new habit. But side note: they were also really nutritious.

It’s exactly the same with autonomy. I spent a year working on the flavor so that people can have the most delicious latte or matcha latte, but side note: unlike the average latte, it gives them clean energy and a clear mind as well.

One lesson I’ve learned on my journey is that people often don’t know what they want or need. It’s like Henry Ford was attributed as saying:

“If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.”

Often the job of the entrepreneur is to shepherd people towards a new habit. You need to have the vision and the belief that your product will improve their life, even if it takes them a while to see this for themselves.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a Boulder resident one of my favorite things to do is pull over at the side of Boulder Canyon Drive and swim in the creek. You feel as though you are in the middle of the wilderness. Afterwards there’s really only one choice for me – brunch at The Kitchen on Pearl Street.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Growing up I didn’t have any mentors but I did have a lot of books. I read the biographies of so many successful people and I realised that they all had one thing in common: they had an incredible story. You simply could not put the book down. Among the best of them is Richard Branson, one of my only heroes who I am yet to meet in person.

Back then I told myself that if I created my life as an epic adventure then surely I would have a chance at success too. And so when I made the big decisions in my life I always made sure to take the option that was worth writing about. The option that was worth reading about. Was that a grandiose way to view my own life? Maybe. But bit by bit I wrote the chapters of my life and wove a story that I would end up telling to many.

Again, it goes to the heart of why I called my company autonomy: because I believe we can all be the author of our own life story and I want with all my heart to give people that chance.

Website: https://www.autonomyfoods.com

Instagram: @autonomyfoods

Facebook: @autonomyfoods

Youtube: @autonomyfoods