Dan D'Souza Email & Phone Number

I launched MUUSH with Matt in 2024.MUUSH is a healthy nootropic drink for the sober-curious. It's a drink made from fruits, roots, botanicals and lion's mane - a functional mushroom. It's low sugar, high fibre and has no additives. And the best part is lion's mane is great for concentration, focus and memory.But I'll step back to the beginning for second.After a brief stint studying Maths at Leeds (where Matt and I met), I realised my calling was Marketing. So I made the switch to Sussex university. 3 years studying and a placement at Virgin Holidays later I knew it was the thing for me.Always up for an adventure, and wanting to see the world, I found myself spending a year in NYC working at Citi, and studying international business.Returning to London I stuck to what I knew best, marketing in finance, moving into asset management. After a stint contracting, I found Octopus Investments, a brand I remain a huge advocate of. It was the place I developed myself into a marketeer I am today, specialising in content, strategy, customer comms, and people management during my 5+ years there.But whilst I'd felt hugely aligned with the culture of these household name brands (Virgin and Octopus in particular) I'd always felt I wanted to more. To set up and run something myself.So alongside my role at Octopus, in Jan 2020 Matt and I set up Howling Owl. Initially an events business, side-swiped by COVID, it evolved into a takeaway coffee shop, and ultimately into a bar & cafe. Achieving what we set out to, we both realised that hospitality and events wasn't where we saw longevity or scalability for us. So we set about thinking what next. During my whole adult life I'd been caught in a cycle. Work the week. Live for the weekend. Drinks on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. Hangover and lethargy Saturday and Sunday day time. Rinse, repeat. Pretty much ever since I was 18. I was never at full capacity. Monday to Wednesday I'd feel 50-80%. And then by the time Thursday and Friday came round I'd be drinking again. My body never fully recovered.I don't regret it. Alcohol is part of British culture. And it played an important role in socialising. But I was tired of not performing at my best. And, I wanted more from myself.So I quit the booze. The change was transformational for my health, motivation and more. Matt & I both realised how difficult it was to find non-alcoholic drinks other than beers that weren't full of sugar or additives. So we started MUUSH to give the sober-curious what they desperately needed. Check out the website in bio.