Hi, I’m Kian, and I’m building my first business, SolMate.

I’ve always wanted to create something of my own, and instead of waiting for the perfect time, I decided to start now and learn by doing.

I first came across yerba mate when I was visiting my girlfriend in Oregon. We were travelling along Highway 1, and it became our go-to drink to stay energised throughout the journey. What stood out was how different it felt compared to coffee or energy drinks, no jitters, no crash, just steady energy.

When I came back to the UK, I realised there wasn’t anything like it properly available here. That’s when the idea for SolMate started.

Since then, I’ve been building it from scratch. I’ve developed early versions of the drink, run taste tests, and started selling it in university spaces to see if people will actually buy it, not just say they like it.

This fundraiser will help me take the next step, improving the recipe, producing larger batches, and getting SolMate into more places like gyms and cafés to properly test and grow it.

This is my first real venture, and I’m learning everything as I go. Any support genuinely means a lot and helps me keep building something I believe in.