The Hatch Podcast · 2026-07-01 · 9 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
20 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Southern Rooted founders Hannah Keel and Brayden Gibson discuss developing It's Better, a topical pain cream designed to overcome consumer pain points with existing OTC products. Hannah, who lives with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, was inspired to create the product after struggling with musculoskeletal pain while playing college golf and becoming dependent on oral medications like ibuprofen and Tylenol. Their research revealed that over 50% of golfers develop musculoskeletal injuries in their lifetime, with golf swings placing seven to eight times body weight in force on the spine. It's Better addresses key market gaps: legacy brands have strong odors, greasy residue, and poor wearability. Southern Rooted's biomimetic delivery system allows the cream to absorb into skin without leaving residue, enabling daily wear. Both founders recently completed the Hatch Biotech Accelerator in Lower Alabama, which helped them refine their target market and establish crucial community connections. The company is currently in pre-revenue stage, seeking lab partners for stability testing before manufacturing and market launch.
Hannah Keel has Ehlers-Danlos, a musculoskeletal condition that causes frequent muscle strain and joint instability. Her personal experience managing pain while playing college golf directly inspired the creation of It's Better as an alternative to daily oral pain medications.
It's Better uses a biomimetic delivery system that absorbs into skin without leaving greasy residue or strong odor - the two primary complaints consumers have about legacy pain cream brands. The formulation allows it to be worn daily and fit seamlessly into everyday lifestyle.
Golfers are the primary target market, especially given that over 50% of golfers develop musculoskeletal conditions or injuries in their lifetime, and golf swings place 7-8 times body weight force on the spine.
The company is in pre-revenue stage, currently working on finding a lab partner for stability testing, with manufacturing as the next phase before a phase three market launch.
The Hatch Biotech Accelerator, led by mentors like Chris Danik and Keith Glines, helped the founders narrow down their target market, establish crucial community connections, and provided step-by-step guidance on starting and running a business.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode is almost entirely personal narrative and origin story with minimal actionable insight for B2B operators; the only semi-substantive claims are two statistics about golfer injuries and a brief mention of a biomimetic delivery system, with no deeper unpacking of either.
over 50% of golfers develop a musculoskeletal condition in their lifetime
a golf swing is placing seven to eight times the body, your body weight in force on your spine whenever you swing
The episode recycles the most common early-stage founder trope - 'born from personal pain' - and the single piece of advice offered ('nobody can prepare you for the emotional toll') is one of the most repeated clichés in startup content; there is no contrarian or first-principles thinking present.
Southern rooted was born from pain
nobody can prepare you for the emotional toll and the mental toll it takes on you to open a business
Both guests are pre-revenue, early-stage founders with no track record of scaling; Hannah is a recent undergrad and Braden's background is in hospital HR and restaurant training - relevant life experience but not practitioner depth a B2B operator would learn from.
I graduated from the University of South Alabama last summer with my degree in business management
I worked at a hospital, Mobile Infirmary, for a few years in the human resources department
There are two cited statistics about golfer injuries but no sourcing, and the business section offers only vague phase descriptions with zero metrics, customer counts, pricing, or financial data to anchor claims.
over 50% of golfers develop a musculoskeletal condition
we are currently working on finding a lab partner to do some stability testing and then the manufacturing will be the next phase
The host asks exclusively open, descriptive questions ('Tell us about yourself,' 'What sets this apart?') with no follow-up pressure, no challenge to any claim, and no attempt to surface specific numbers or probe the competitive landscape; the conversation functions as a soft promotional segment.
So what sets this product apart?
Where are you guys in the process as far as bringing the product to market?
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
What happens when a personal health challenge sparks a biotech startup? In this episode of Building Biotech in Lower Alabama , Stephanie Glines sits down with Hannah Keel and Brayden Gibson , co-founders of Southern Rooted, to discuss It's Better , an over-the-counter topical pain cream inspired by Hannah's own experience living with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. The conversation explores how the pair transformed a personal need into a growing business, what differentiates their product from traditional pain creams, and how the Hatch Biotech Accelerator helped shape their entrepreneurial journey. Hannah and Brayden also share the realities of launching a healthcare startup, from finding the right market to navigating the emotional challenges of building a company from the ground up.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
Speaker A: One person told us that she cries when she goes to bed because her fingers hurt so bad. But when she put on the cream, it allowed her to go to sleep. And hearing testimonials and stories like this is just like it. It's the reason why we have to keep going, because if we see people are getting help from this, that's all we can do. At the end of the day, that's what we did this for.
Speaker B: Welcome to the Hatch Podcast, where we sit down with the people shaping life across Alabama and the Gulf Coast. From local leaders and artists to. To innovators and neighbors, these are real conversations about the ideas, stories, and communities that make this region thrive.
Speaker C: This is Building Biotech in Lower Alabama, a short series from Hatch, featuring founders working on new ideas in health, science, biotech and innovation. I'm Stephanie Glines, and today I'm joined by Hannah Kiel and Braden Gibson of Southern Rooted, to talk about their new product. Its product, Better OTC Topical Pain Cream. Welcome to the Hatch podcast, ladies.
Speaker A: Thank you.
Speaker D: Great to be here.
Speaker C: So, for those meeting you for the first time, tell us a little bit about yourselves, each one of you. Hannah, you want to go first?
Speaker A: Yes. I graduated from the University of South Alabama last summer with my degree in business management and a concentration in entrepreneurship. We started this business. I would say we've been working on it since last October, and we really have been digging our heels into this and working on this. And, um, I have been an athlete all my life. I played golf at the University of Mobile, and that is kind of whenever I was transferring home from the University of Mobile to south, um, that's when this all came along and this cream actually came to life.
Speaker C: Good deal. Braden, what about you? Tell us about yourself.
Speaker D: Yeah, so I, um, I'm from the area from Daphne, Alabama. Um, grew up here, played softball my whole life. Went to the University of South Alabama, graduated with my undergrad in professional health sciences, healthcare management, and then finished with my Master's of Business Administration with a healthcare leadership concentration. So I have been in the workforce for about five, six years now. Um, I worked at a hospital, Mobile Infirmary, for a few years in the human resources department. Got some great experience there. I've also worked in the corporate office for a restaurant group that was also great. I did their training in marketing, and, uh, now I am working part time, opening up a business with my sister and serving on the side. And I love every second of it.
Speaker C: So let's talk about. It's better. So what sets this product apart? I mean, what problem were you guys looking to solve? Was there any personal connection to how this came about? Tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker A: So Southern rooted was born from pain. Um, my personal journey goes along with why we started this. I live with a musculoskeletal condition called Ehlers Danlos and that causes frequent muscle strain and joint instability. And, um, so I can tell you firsthand, pain truly changes how your body moves and alters your movement throughout the day. Whether you want to apply that to your golf swing. I played golf at the University of Mobile and pain was altering my biomechanics and my swing, ultimately injuring myself even more over time. And I know like I was, I couldn't be alone on this. There's so many people that play golf and live with the condition I have. And we actually found a stat that says over 50% of golfers develop a musculoskeletal condition in their lifetime or an injury over their lifetime. And seeing that, and we also saw a stat that goes hand in hand with that. Uh, 50% of people or golfers develop that musculoskeletal condition. But a golf swing is placing seven to eight times the body, your body weight in force on your spine whenever you swing. So you can only imagine what injuries, you know, how much that's actually injuring yourself if you keep playing over time. I was very dependent when I was playing at the University of Mobile on oral medications like Tylenol and ibuprofen. And the product, the topical product that we have created is the only thing to help me not be as dependent on those now. And I'm not having to take oral medication every day. I can just use, it's better and it helps me get rid of my pain. We ended up passing samples out in the community when we first made this formula and we saw just such unexpected and positive results. One person told us that she cries when she goes to bed because her fingers hurt so bad. But when she put on the cream, it allowed her to go to sleep. And hearing testimonials and stories like this is just like it. It's the reason why we have to keep going. Because if we see people are getting help from this, that's all we can do at the end of the day. That's what we did this for.
Speaker C: Yeah. Improving quality of life. Absolutely. So what sets this apart from your average pain cream that that's sold over the counter?
Speaker D: We are noticing the modern day consumer are they're wanting something different. These legacy brands out there, they're great, they're effective, but a Lot of these, um, reviews that we're finding, the consumers are saying that this, the odor of it, the scent is so strong, it's greasy. It's transferring to their clothes, their bed sheets. And um, they're just wanting something that they can wear every day that fits into their everyday lifestyle. Something that is, uh, I should say a low odor, um, a subtle scent. And that's something that our pain cream offers. Um, the way that it mimics, um, the skin layer is the biomimetic delivery system. Um, it's seeping into the skin and it's not leaving that greasy residue. That's two of the gaps that we're filling. And the effectiveness is there as well.
Speaker C: And so you guys just finished up the Hatch biotech accelerator. Talk a little bit about your experience with that.
Speaker A: The health biotech accelerator has been truly incredible. We have learned so much from so many intelligent people and have been led by some of the greatest leaders, like just in the community and Chris Danik. They have been huge in helping us just take it step by step on how to grow and just start a business and run a business. They have been so, like, so just gracious to us and have really helped us progress with everyday business solutions.
Speaker D: Second, what M. Hannah said, it's been a great opportunity and we're so thankful for the leaders in this industry and the ones who just reached out their hand and were willing to help us along the way just to get us started and give us a boost, um, and just help us to make connections in the community. That's been one of the biggest things is takeaways for us is connect. Connections are everything, you know, and people are willing to help you. They're for you. And I'm just, we feel so grateful for the connections that we've made. And we went into this not even knowing, you know, we were like, pain affects everybody. Who's our target audience? We have no idea, you know, and so that's something that Chris and Keith and everybody has really helped us narrow down. And now that, you know, Hannah played golf in college, we've decided that that hits home for us and golfers is one of our main targets.
Speaker C: So where are you guys in the process as far as bringing the product to market?
Speaker D: Yeah, so we are in the pre revenue stage right now. Um, you know, we are currently working on finding a lab partner to do some stability testing and then the manufacturing will be the next phase, um, and then launch. So some market validation will be in phase two as well. Um, but then launch is phase three and we're at that point going to be ready to get this thing up and rolling.
Speaker C: Looking back, is there any advice that you could give founders or something you wish you had known or someone had told you early on about the process?
Speaker D: One thing I wish we would have known early on, I would say, would be that nobody can prepare you for the emotional toll and the mental toll it takes on you to open a business. You know, there's such great guidance in the business aspect and help in that arena, but nobody warns you that this is like, it takes a toll on you and it's very exciting. Um, but it's also, you got to be strong mentally to get through this. Um, nobody can really prepare you for that.
Speaker C: Well, Braden, Hannah, it was great to have you in studio today. If people want to follow along, um, with It's Better and follow the journey that you guys are on, where can we find you?
Speaker D: Yes, that's been great. Um, talking with you today. So if y' all would like to find us, you can find us online at our Shopify store. It's called called Southern Rooted Care.
Speaker C: We'll link all that in the show notes and people can, uh, check you out.
Speaker D: Yeah, sounds great.
Speaker C: Great to see you guys again. Thank you.
Speaker A: Thank you.
Speaker B: If you enjoyed this episode, please follow or subscribe wherever you listen and share it with a friend. It really helps us grow and keep the conversation going. The Hatch podcast is produced by Tim Scott. Executive producer is Keith Glines. Learn more about Hatch, explore upcoming events like our meetups and accelerators, and sign up for our newsletter@hatchfairhope.com.
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