Ken Leaver

Ken Leaver is a global entrepreneur and the founder of Reviv, a cutting-edge wellness brand focused on dental biomechanics. With over 15,000 clients already seeing fast improvements in chronic physical and mental health conditions, Ken’s work is revolutionising the way we think about the link between body mechanics and wellbeing. His career has spanned strategy consulting, startup leadership, and executive roles, including CEO and Head of Product. He’s launched six startups and currently splits his time between Reviv and a venture-backed solar company as Fractional COO and Head of Tech. Known for his ability to scale innovative solutions across industries, Ken brings a rare combination of tech insight, business acumen, and human-first health innovation to everything he does. His latest mission: help people realign their bodies to realign their lives.

What if your body held the key to healing—but no one taught you how to listen?

In this revolutionary episode of Talking with the Experts, Rose Davidson interviews Ken Leaver, founder of Reviv, a direct-to-consumer health brand that’s helping over 15,000 clients uncover the root causes of their chronic physical and mental health issues—through biomechanics.

Ken reveals how dental biomechanics—including jaw alignment and bite mechanics—play a critical role in energy, focus, sleep, emotional regulation, and pain management. The Reviv method bridges science and daily wellness, offering real solutions to people who feel stuck or misdiagnosed.

Drawing from his entrepreneurial journey across six startups, and his current role as both health innovator and fractional COO in the solar tech space, Ken brings grounded wisdom and strategic insight to the wellness conversation. He shares the science, the testimonials, and the daily practices that are helping people reclaim their vitality.

In a world that often looks for solutions outside of ourselves, Ken reminds us to start with structure—our own.

🎧 Tune in now and learn how biomechanics could be the missing piece in your wellness journey.

📌 THREE Key Takeaways:

1. Biomechanics affects more than posture—it shapes your mental and physical health.
2. Chronic issues may stem from misalignment in the body’s structure.
3. Reviv offers a proven method for realigning, recovering, and reclaiming energy.

Ken Leaver’s Background and Business Journey

• Ken has extensive experience across strategy consulting, CEO roles, and leading product teams at high-growth companies.
• Leaver has launched and scaled six startups throughout his career.
• Currently he runs Reviv while simultaneously acting as fractional COO and head of tech for a venture-funded solar startup.

Origin Story of Revive Business

• Reviv began as an unintended business venture when Ken started writing about his health issues on Substack in summer 2024.
• Posts gained traction and a friend suggested he sell mouth guards based on his content about their health benefits.
• Ken sourced basic products from Alibaba with a minimum order quantity of 200-300 units and created a simple Shopify site.
• One semi-viral Substack post led to selling out the initial inventory, prompting Ken to double down on the business opportunity.

Current Business Performance and Growth

• Reviv now sells approximately 400 mouth guards per day across multiple channels.
• Shopify serves as the oldest sales channel while TikTok Shop has shown explosive growth potential.
• Ken estimates TikTok Shop US alone could generate one million dollars monthly in revenue.
• Business has been profitable every month except one since launch.
• Working capital for inventory represents the primary growth constraint rather than customer demand.

Revive Product Description and Health Claims

• Reviv sells two different mouth guard models designed for sleeping, teeth protection, and anti-clenching purposes.
• Products resemble boxing guards but serve different functions than typical mouth guards available on Amazon.
• Ken claims over 20,000 customers have purchased mouth guards with hundreds providing testimonial screenshots.
• Reported health improvements include resolution of OCD, ADHD, dementia symptoms, sleep apnea, and brain fog according to customer feedback.
• Additional benefits include natural teeth straightening and palate expansion as alternatives to braces and aligners.

Ken’s Personal Health Journey and TMJ Experience

• Ken was diagnosed with TMJ in 2013 and initially used a dental splint that he chewed through.
• Vietnamese dentist adjusted his tooth contacts by drilling his back teeth cusps in 2014 when Ken was 37 years old.
• Within one month Ken experienced severe brain fog preventing information retention and requiring job demotion.
• Physical changes included neck and body alterations plus aging appearance equivalent to 10 years in two months.
• Recovery and research process took nearly a decade of self-experimentation to understand the connection between teeth alignment and overall health.

Business Model and Community Structure

• Reviv operates as more than an online shop by including a paid School community with nearly 2000 members at ten dollars monthly.
• Community members share progress stories providing testimonials and data for the business.
• Approximately 1600 people pay for Ken to track their personal journals with weekly review sessions.
• Coaching support helps customers navigate challenges like teeth pain, gum discomfort, and headaches during mouth guard adaptation.

Bootstrapping Strategy and Financial Management

• Ken maintained his fractional COO role to ensure steady income while building Reviv part-time.
• Initial costs included only basic Shopify subscription and inventory expenses without paid advertising.
• Substack provided free marketing channel leading to immediate profitability from the first month.
• Meta advertising campaigns achieved profitability on first orders enabling scalable growth.
• Business expanded to TikTok Shop and Amazon US after reaching Meta advertising plateaus.

Operational Management System and Team Structure

• Ken employs exclusively freelance workers from Pakistan and Philippines rather than traditional employees.
• Everything operates through ClickUp project management system using “everything is a task” methodology.
• All company activities must be assigned as tasks with status updates and worker comments for accountability.
• Ken reviews notifications every one to two hours providing real-time feedback and unblocking workers.
• System eliminates meetings entirely while providing detailed oversight of all work activities.

Management Philosophy and Relationship Approach

• Ken deliberately avoids investing in workplace relationships or company culture based on corporate experience observations.
• Philosophy stems from witnessing office politics emerge from personal relationships between otherwise good employees.
• Belief that politics represent weeds growing on fertile relationship soil drives the no-relationship policy.
• Approach prevents workplace conflicts and political dynamics that Ken observed damaging previous corporate environments.

Comparison with Traditional Management Methods

• Ken manages up to 40 people simultaneously using the task-based system compared to previous meeting-heavy corporate roles.
• Traditional senior positions involved 90% meeting time preventing actual work completion while tasks accumulated.
• Current system provides 100 times more detail about employee activities through mandatory task comments.
• Workers receive immediate feedback and prioritization guidance preventing wasted effort on non-essential activities.
• Ken considers the system superior to any previous management approach he experienced or witnessed.

System Implementation and Scalability

• Ken successfully implemented similar systems in Southeast Asian tech companies as fractional COO for venture-backed startups.
• Implementation worked effectively though not perfectly due to shared authority with existing CEOs.
• System performs optimally when Ken has complete control over company operations and policies.
• Decision to focus on scaling Reviv to 100 million dollars rather than consulting on system implementation to other companies.

Next Steps

• Ken plans to continue scaling Reviv toward a 100 million dollar valuation rather than monetizing his management system through consulting.
• Focus remains on expanding TikTok Shop operations and managing working capital constraints for inventory growth.
• Community engagement through Substack will continue serving as both marketing channel and customer education platform.

• Ken Leaver started Reviv as a passion project after experiencing personal health issues for about 10 years, initially creating a Substack about it before turning it into a business selling mouth guards.
• After a post went viral on Substack, Ken sold out his initial inventory of mouth guards ordered from Alibaba with a minimum order quantity of 200-300 units, which prompted him to design his own product.
• Reviv currently sells approximately 400 mouth guards daily across multiple channels, with TikTok Shop being particularly successful, potentially generating up to one million dollars monthly just from that platform.
• Ken operates Reviv with a freelancer-only model rather than hiring employees, paying contractors only for completed work, which has helped maintain profitability every month except one.
• Reviv sells two different types of mouth guards for sleeping, protecting teeth, and preventing clenching and grinding, but differentiates itself through Ken’s personal story of health recovery after dental work damaged his health.
• Ken’s mouth guards have reportedly helped over 20,000 customers address various health issues beyond dental protection, including brain fog, sleep apnea, OCD, ADHD, and even straightening teeth naturally without braces.
• Beyond being an online shop, Reviv operates as a paid community with approximately 2,000 members paying $10 monthly for access, where Ken personally tracks journals for about 1,600 customers to help them through the adjustment period.
• Ken bootstrapped the business while maintaining his income as a fractional COO, which relieved financial pressure and allowed him to start with minimal costs including just a basic Shopify plan and inventory.
• The business achieved profitability from the first month by leveraging free content distribution through Substack, then expanded to profitable paid advertising on Meta before scaling to TikTok Shop and Amazon.
• Ken implemented a project management system called “everything is a task” using ClickUp, where all work is assigned as tasks with status updates, eliminating meetings and allowing him to track all activities in real-time.
• The task-based management system enables Ken to ensure all paid work is prioritized and creating value, preventing resources from being spent on non-essential activities.
• Ken’s management approach intentionally avoids building team relationships or culture to eliminate workplace politics, which he describes as “a weed that grows on this fertile soil called relationships.”
• The system allows Ken to manage approximately 40 people simultaneously while maintaining work-life balance, which he considers significantly more effective than traditional management approaches.

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