Mike Hammond of Signal Relief: Inside the Quest to Revolutionize Chronic Pain Management Without Drugs

As part of our interview series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Hammond.

Mike Hammond is the owner and founder of Signal Relief, a drug-free device that is revolutionizing the relief industry. Mike has a BA-Finance from BYU-Idaho and a MBA from the University of Utah, along with an impressive past of door-to-door selling, earning the ranks as one of the top salesmen in the nation in Pest Control from 200–2003. As a self-diagnosed serial entrepreneur, Mike has co-founded several companies, most notably Caliber Smart, BioShield Pest Control, MD Nursery and Landscaping, Oak Haven Dental, and Signal Relief. He lives in Rexburg, Idaho with his wife Jill and their 6 children.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

I believe 100% that it is fate and my ability to have faith in what others can do that got me down this road. God put all sorts of different kinds of people on this planet and we all have different gifts and abilities. Signal Relief is a product that would not be here if it wasn’t for 5 very unique individuals coming together: Rhett and Tony, the inventors of our patented technology, are your typical genius scientists; I’m the risk-taking serial entrepreneur; Daniel is the production and manufacturing expert; and Zach is our CEO that had years of experience dealing with older individuals that suffered from chronic discomfort. It was the five of us coming together that allowed us to create a product that I believe will change the way the world tackles discomfort and inflammation without the use of drugs or narcotics.

This product is a game changer. Rhett and Tony have spent their careers in the radio and antenna world. These are the types of inventors you read about in books or see on TV. A little over ten years ago, Tony and Rhett figured out a way to create a spray-on antenna that worked primarily on electrical fields. That technology was used to create an antenna for the military that was roughly the size of a credit card. Think about that feat. What used to be a 5 foot antenna for our military was now not only the size of a credit card, but it had more range and used less power than its bigger predecessors. If that wasn’t amazing enough, it was discovered through a twist of fate that this technology happened to be able to interact with our bodies’ electrical fields, which resulted in relief from discomfort in a way this world has never seen before. It was this new technology that allowed us to be able to create a device that could interact with the body’s nervous system and help us drastically diminish discomfort in a drug-free way.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

I’m a tech guy not a medical professional, so creating a medical relief patch was a feat in and of itself. It’s important to remember that we didn’t set out to build a relief patch. We stumbled upon it by accident, and after seeing how much it could help people, we couldn’t ignore it. I had to surround myself with experts in the field, and I had to put my trust in their advice and feedback. I basically had to learn the industry from scratch. As a serial entrepreneur, I feel like I am always facing hurdles that at first glance seem difficult, if not insurmountable. A couple of the immediate hurdles we have faced with Signal Relief are being able to operate in a world that was dictated and controlled by the FDA and the FTC — we had to create a patch that was made from materials that were proven to be safe and we had to learn how to market our product legally as a general wellness product not as a solution to any diagnosed disease or problem. At the same time, we have been trying to figure out how to get the product FDA cleared, which is a cumbersome and expensive road. In so many ways we didn’t know the answers or have the solutions. We just moved forward with faith and figured it out. I think that is an ability that most entrepreneurs have, and that is what sets us apart.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

We have seen this product help thousands of people. Right now, we have over 1,500 testimonials that I’m not even allowed to share with people because of regulations, but these people and their stories give me all the motivation in the world to move forward. When you see someone get their life back, this product becomes a mission, not a job. I have seen this product allow individuals who were bed-ridden for years be able to live normal lives again free from the type of discomfort that was taking away their will and ability to live and enjoy life. My childhood best friend was one of those individuals. Signal’s mission is: “We exist to make drug-free relief a reality for every body in need.” This is not just a sentence on our website. It is the reason we come to work. Every day we strive to unlock the infinite possibilities that exist when people are free to live life without discomfort.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

We have spent three years surrounding ourselves with some of the best medical professionals in our country, and we are in the process of publishing some clinical trials that are going to cause our doubters to take a second look. Our product is amazing, it’s life changing, and our clinicals are proving it. The crazy thing is we have not even started any of our main marketing campaigns and in our first year of business we did over 13M in sales. The word is spreading quickly, and our momentum is increasing every day. Despite the amazing results that we are seeing, we have had our fair share of skeptics and challenges. We are told we can’t win in this space 1,000 times by many industry experts. We have been told that Pharma will shut this product down 1,000 times because their goal is to sell more drugs. We have had to raise twice as much capital as originally thought. The reality is we have had 1,000 reasons to pack our bags and walk away, but we are not going to do that. We are dealing with a revolutionary product and despite the challenges we face, we believe in this product so much that we are going to do whatever it takes to bring it across the finish line. Opioids kill thousands of individuals every year. Opioids have been linked to so much heartache, pain, and depression, and we firmly believe Signal is the solution.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

The funniest mistake we made in the beginning is we didn’t have adhesives to secure the patch in place. We knew that the patch was amazing for all sorts of back discomfort and so we told individuals to just tuck the patch in the back of their pants. It didn’t take long for us to receive lots of feedback from numerous people that they all were losing their patches in the toilet bowl! You know the product is effective because anyone I’ve ever talked to has reached in and saved their patch no matter what!

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

We have a 120-day money back guarantee, which basically is saying if it doesn’t work for any reason, send it back and we will give you a full refund. Right now with that guarantee we only have a return rate of 1.8%. The patches don’t come back because they work and, to be honest, they work so well that there is no way that most people would trade the money for the patch.

I am going to share a story with you that I believe perfectly outlines why this patch is so amazing and why working for Signal is a dream for most people. I believe most of us love to help humanity and most of us find more joy helping or seeing someone get their life back than we do winning any type of award. This job became more than a job for me the second I gave a patch to one of my childhood best friends, Matt Silva. I grew up with Matt playing football, wrestling, riding dirt bikes, hiking, etc. We were both very active and always on the go. When we were in our early twenties, Matt was working at a logging company and got his leg sucked into a tree stump grinder. The accident left Matt with one leg and he has had severe phantom discomfort in his leg for over 16 years. As a result, Matt stopped doing all of the outdoor activities that we grew up with because it was all he could do just to get through the day. In 2020, when we were launching this product, I ran into Matt at a little league football game and asked him how he was doing. He looked tired and mentally exhausted. He also had recently had a new pump installed in his stomach that pumped morphine into his spine. That is what got him through every day. It took all the persuasion I could muster to get Matt to come to my office and try one of our patches. Matt was a nurse and had tried everything available, so he thought he was wasting his time. It took me telling him multiple success stories to get him to come and try it on. When I placed the patch on his leg it only took about 10 seconds for Matt’s shoulders to start shaking and then he looked up with tears coming down both cheeks and said simply, “The [discomfort] is gone. I can’t believe this is working. The [discomfort] is gone.” His kids were with us in the room and when I turned around to see their reactions, I was expecting them to be smiling but what struck me to the core is that they were also all in tears. Their dad was without discomfort, and they had never seen that before. It was one of those pivotal moments where this company literally became my lifelong goal at that very moment. I don’t come to work to make money. I come to work to save lives.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

To not burn out, you have to be doing something that you love. If you are only working for money, you will burn out because the hurdles will be not worth dealing with. It’s easy to overcome obstacles if you are pursuing something that you believe in and are excited about. If it’s just money you are in pursuit of, your motivation will not last.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I’ve had multiple people that have helped me find success as I’ve walked my 20-year entrepreneur journey. I am grateful for all of them, and I would not be where I am today without the input that I have received from numerous people, but the influence that my dad has had on me tops them all. My dad loves what I do, believes in me, is proud of me, and his belief in me motivates me to push through all obstacles that I encounter. Everyone needs a cheerleader in life, and my dad is my biggest one.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Money has never been my motivator. I’m definitely not the richest or most successful man around, but I am fulfilled. I would rather be fulfilled than rich, and lucky for me, that is what I have received from my businesses. I believe that what you do with your money is far more important that what you buy with your money, and I’ve lived my life on that belief. Everyone I know tells me that I always give way too much equity away in my companies and that I don’t keep enough, but I see it very differently. I have always prided myself on giving back to my executives and helping them have just as much success as myself. I love watching others around me prosper. We also have an obligation to help those who suffer and go without. There are so many people that need our help, and if we would all give back, we would be living in a far better world. I learned a powerful lesson from a man named Tim Taggart. Tim was telling me a story once of being in Vegas with his family and they pulled up to a gas station to get gas. When they were fueling up, a drunk homeless man came up to him and asked him for money and he reached into his pocket and gave him a $20. His kids asked him why he gave that man more money to buy alcohol as they were told at school to not get deceived by beggars by giving them money. Tim told me that he told them that it wasn’t up to him to decide if the man needed the money or not. He said that it was up to him to be willing to give and what the man did with the money was up to him. He just wanted God to know that if someone needed help, he was willing to give it. That story changed my life and I’ve lived by that principle. I almost always give to those who ask and I don’t care if they deserve it or not. I just want to be the person that is willing to help, and I’ve had many amazing stories that have taken place in my life because I was willing to help even if it didn’t seem like they deserved it.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

• Making money takes time. Impatience and greed are the top two killers for startups. I was a paper millionaire with almost all of my companies and they have never made the money that I originally thought they would. All my companies have taken time to become lucrative for me and it’s important that entrepreneurs leave their money in the company and not take it out, especially in the first few years of business.
• Learn to think big, really big. I learned a huge lesson in a meeting with Charlie Ergen who is one of the wealthiest men in the world. He had bought a 51% stake in one of my companies and I had him come speak to my executives. One of my executives asked him what was the most difficult thing for him in business, and he said that making his first million was the most difficult thing he experienced in business. The employee then asked him if he had any regrets, and he said that his biggest regret is that he didn’t learn to really think big until he was already an old man. If he could go back to being 25 years old again, he would force himself to think big. The employee then asked him what he meant by thinking big and he said, “I would not have thought about making millions. I would have thought about what I needed to do to make billions.” When you start looking at your business in that light, your decisions change. That was a lesson I needed to hear because I never thought about my businesses in that light.
• Surround yourself with high quality individuals because your company will dictate the ceiling of your company. It is very difficult to rise above your weakest link. Who you decide to go into business with makes a world of difference. If you make a poor decision with who you partner with, that decision is very hard to reverse. Make sure your partners bring strengths to the table that you do not have.
• Always look for a Win/Win when negotiating any business deal. Even if you are not getting everything you want, make sure it’s a win for both parties. If you don’t negotiate a win/win then the deal will almost always fall apart. They just don’t last.
• Dare to pursue your dreams. Don’t listen to the naysayers. Pharma may not want a drug-free solution for relief on that market but who cares. The truth is, Pharma may want it. There are always people who gravitate to what can’t be done, but it’s up to you to just not go there. It’s a busy road that weak minds travel on. Don’t make excuses. Excuses kill momentum and stop way too many good things from happening. There are tons and tons of awesome humans that want great products on the market and if you seek them out you will find them. There are always people working against you but that doesn’t mean you give up. I have noticed that even in the government we have a lot of really good people who want to help others out and the support is out there for all good endeavors if you seek it out and find it.

Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?

Bad decisions are usually made when you are either too high or too low. Don’t let emotions dictate decisions.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I believe that influence is leadership. If you want to seek out the best leaders, just look for individuals who have great influence. Under this guise I would like to point out that no man that has ever walked this earth has had greater influence than Jesus Christ. If you are asking me what would I start that would bring the most good to the most people, I have to say that I would help others believe and follow Christ. Following Christ is what will bring the MOST amount of good into others’ lives.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Signal Relief can be found on all major social media platforms @SignalRelief, as well as www.signalrelief.com. Our sister brand, Jovi, can be found @meet_jovi and www.meetjovi.com.

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!