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Three Westport Grads Found Nutritional Startup In Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – It took less than a year for three friends from Staples High School to come up with a business plan for a nutritional drink and open an office in Fairfield for the “focus-enhancing shot” called Nootelligence Focus.

Cofounders of Nootelligence and Westport natives Ian O’Connell, Parker Kligerman and Jeff Moss are starting to market their product in Fairfield and Westport.

Cofounders of Nootelligence and Westport natives Ian O’Connell, Parker Kligerman and Jeff Moss are starting to market their product in Fairfield and Westport.

Photo Credit: Contributed
Ian O’Connell and Jeff Moss show off their new product, Nootelligence, a focus-enhancing drink that they're marketing in Fairfield and Westport.

Ian O’Connell and Jeff Moss show off their new product, Nootelligence, a focus-enhancing drink that they're marketing in Fairfield and Westport.

Photo Credit: Contributed

The three founders -- Ian O’Connell, Parker Kligerman and Jeff Moss -- all graduated from Staples in 2009. O’Connell and Moss graduated from college last May. In June, O’Connell and Kligerman founded the company, bringing in Moss as a co-founder in July.

“Ian had been talking to our friend Parker, who is a NASCAR driver, and he was really into the idea. And he said he’d help make it happen and put down some money,” Moss said.

The focus shot was the brainchild of O’Connell, who during his years at Boston University looked to find an alternative to Aderall and other performance drugs that some students use to keep up with school work. He started by looking online at focus-enhancing nutrients called nootropics.

Nootelligence Focus is similar to other energy shots, but Moss says the antioxidants, amino acids and other nutrients in the drink are unique and the combination of the nootopics are specific for memory, focus and cognitative enhancement, not just energy.

“They’re in the same drug class as Vitamin C,” said Moss. “So basically by doing his own research and by talking to people, Ian was able to find a combination of nootropics that were really effective.”

The company got its start when O’Connell and Kligerman started talking about it last June. Two weeks later, the friends approached Moss to help in the day-to-day aspects of the company, while Klingerman acted as the public face of the company.

The three friends started to sell their drink only recently, marketing the item mainly in Westport and Fairfield.

“Given that Fairfield University is right around the corner and that we’re all Wesporters, it was kind of a natural first stop,” Moss said.

A total of 15 locations in Fairfield and Westport are selling Nootelligence Focus. In the next year, they hope to expand to areas around 25 colleges in New England, Moss said.

They have also started to work to get contracts with national chains such as CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens.

“I see it really going places, I think we have a new product that there is a demand for,” Moss said.

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