$300m in year two. The controversy came free, with David Protein’s Peter Rahal

**SPEAKER_1** (0:01)
The very best founders I know are brilliant at building systems. They connect teams, they remove bottlenecks, and they eliminate single points of failure. And yet, when it comes to their own wealth, most are running a disconnected stack. A tax accountant here and a state attorney there, a wealth manager who doesn't talk to either one of them.
Creative Planning was built to fix exactly that.
One integrated team of tax professionals, estate planners, investment specialists, all coordinated by a dedicated wealth manager who sees your full financial picture and keeps every piece working together. Proactive tax efficiency, state strategy, investments all under one roof. Creative Planning, where wealth works together. Learn more at creativeplanning.com/masters of scale.

**SPEAKER_2** (0:53)
Here's something all founders know. Every dollar should be working for you. So why is your biggest monthly expense, your housing payment, just sitting there?
Built is the membership for where you live. Whether you're renting or paying a mortgage, every payment earns you points you can redeem toward flights with United, Lyft rides, amazon.com purchases, or even a down payment on a home. Built members also get access to a neighborhood concierge. It can book restaurants, fitness classes, and find new local hangouts, all while being rewarded at more than 45,000 merchant partners. It's like a personal assistant built into where you live. Join the membership for where you live at joinbuilt.com/scale.
That's joinbilt.com/scale.

**SPEAKER_1** (1:41)
Every founder knows the idea is not the hard part. It's turning that idea into something a team can actually execute at scale. AI and Jira does the invisible work, the status chasing, the duplicate tasks management, the lost context. So your team stays in flow and focused on what moves the needle. Every company wants a game changer. What you actually need is a team changer, project management for the next era of teamwork. Visit atlassian.com/jira.
That's atlassian.com/j-i-r-a.

**Peter Rahal** (2:24)
Anything that's really innovative and new in our culture in the world gets misunderstood. Americans have realized that protein is the most important macronutrient. It's the most expensive. It's the hardest to get. It doesn't always taste good.
So what do people want from a protein bar? Really, you want a protein delivery system.

**Bob Safian** (2:43)
Are there any ways that like controversy like this is good for a new brand?

**Peter Rahal** (2:48)
All things equal, you'd rather have people talking about you than not.

**Bob Safian** (3:00)
That's Peter Rahal, founder and CEO of Protein Bar Company David, one of the hottest new consumer products of the last two years. I first met Peter when he was running RXBars, which he sold to Kellogg for $600 million.
I wanted to talk with him now, not only because of David's phenomenal success out of the gate, but because the company has thrived despite a series of controversies, from multiple lawsuits to an awkward connection to Jeffrey Epstein. Peter talks to me about how innovation can create obstacles but also opportunity. We delve into food science, social media marketing, and his rather contentious assertion that protein itself is masculine. There's a lot unconventional about Peter's approach, so let's get to it. I'm Bob Safian, and this is Rapid Response.
I'm Bob Safian. I'm here with Peter Rahal, CEO of David, the popular protein bar. Peter, welcome to the show.

**Peter Rahal** (4:04)
Great to be here.

**Bob Safian** (4:05)
David has had a tremendous run since launching in 2024 It's on track for more than $300 million in revenue in just your second full year.
I will say that I didn't immediately associate the brand with you. You didn't call it Peter or Rahal. Why David?

**Peter Rahal** (4:25)
Our namesake is Michelangelo's masterpiece, this sculpture of David. The chisel is this really crude tool. It's a nail. It's what Michelangelo has used.
But when you apply discipline and intelligence to it, and you can create a masterpiece, and you can create something beautiful, the values of the brand and what we stand for is around discipline, education, or intelligence, and then beauty.

**Bob Safian** (4:56)
With David, it's part of a new wave of bars with high protein, low fat, few of them though pack the combination that David does. The package says 28 grams of protein, 150 calories, no sugar, which sounds impossible. I guess it would be without the special ingredient called EPG. If I understand it right, EPG is a kind of fat that's hard for the human body to absorb?

**Peter Rahal** (5:25)
Yeah. It's a hard fat, so it's a high milk point fat.
It's a modified triglyceride. Your body has an enzyme called lipase that breaks off the fatty acids from the glycerol backbone, and that's where all the energy gets released. If you prevent lipase from doing that, your body can't digest it. It's really like a biohack. Your mouth reviews it as fat, but then your body isn't able to break it down. Because it's a 104 milk points, a hard fat similar to beef tallow or palm oil, it goes through your body in a solid state.