During Moxey's bike rides throughout the Upper Valley area, he found he often finished his electrolyte-rich drink before returning home. Moxey said he decided that carrying tablets to add to water would be a convenient way for cyclists and other athletes to keep hydrated.
"It's designed for people on the go because their need is greatest," Moxey said. "When you're on a bike ride, you're not going to carry a big bag of powder. That's ridiculous."
The product, known as Nuun Active Hydration, is a sugarless, low-carbohydrate and low-calorie tablet that is available in 11 flavors and is packaged in sets of 12 in bottles the size of salt shakers. Since users deposit the tablets in their own water bottles, plastic waste is reduced, according to Moxey.
Nuun is now sold in over 5,000 stores across the United States and is now available in over 30 countries, according to the company's website.
Nuun sponsors the Dartmouth Cycling Club, which uses the product to rehydrate after races, club vice president Kelsey Byrd '13 said.
The tablets offer many of the same benefits as Gatorade and Powerade at a lower cost and without the addition of high-fructose corn syrup, according to Byrd, who said she nonetheless does not like the product because it is carbonated. Other users said they prefer Nuun to its alternatives.
"I definitely prefer it to things like Gatorade because if you drink Gatorade on a long bike ride that lasts four to five hours, it gets really disgusting because you just don't want the sugar anymore," club treasurer Danielle Smith '15 said.
Moxey stepped down as president of Nuun when the company's board decided to appoint an older leader to run the business, Moxey said. While he was initially dissatisfied with the decision, Moxey said that the experience taught him a lesson about conviction and self-trust, and he continues to serve on the company's board under company President Mason Reay.
Following his experience at Nuun, Moxey became the CEO of Blueseventy, a wetsuit and swim-skin company that caters to triathletes. Moxey worked at Blueseventy prior to Nuun and now travels frequently with the company, which operates globally.
Tuck finance professor Kenneth French, who witnessed the evolution of Nuun over time, said that Moxey's creativity and strategic prowess serve him well as an entrepreneur.
"It's the emphasis on teamwork, on organizational issues, on strategy," he said. "I think it's ideal for someone who wants to go out and do entrepreneurial things."
Moxey said his experience at Tuck placed more emphasis on dot-coms companies that do business primarily on the Internet than on marketing skills. Because his time at Tuck did not focus on skills required for alternative business fields, Moxey said he believes students should strive for innovation outside of the classroom.
"Get out there and fail," Moxey said. "You shouldn't be tossed aside because you tried and it didn't work. I think you should just go for what excites you. The probability of success when you're doing something you love is much higher than if you're doing something you hate."
Nuun's two newer product lines, Nuun All Day and Nuun U Natural, come in four flavors and are designed for everyday use rather than high-intensity physical activity, he said.
According to Moxey, the product's success can be attributed to its quality rather than to effective advertising. The company's marketing strategy has included distributing Nuun to potential users capable of inspiring their networks to try the product. Since the company's founding, Nuun has been featured in Bicycling Magazine, Oprah Magazine, Runner's World and Shape Magazine.
