Jesse Hodge
Jesse Hodge is the founder of ModTab, a cold plunge and recovery brand. He appeared as a caller on the NPR How I Built This Advice Line episode seeking guidance from Perry Chen of Kickstarter on growing his business.
Jesse Hodge's Bio
Jesse Hodge is the founder of ModTab, a Dallas-based company that manufactures cold plunge tubs designed for recovery and wellness. He launched the business in February 2022 after discovering cold plunging while refurbishing hot tubs in his garage. What started as a side project quickly grew into a direct-to-consumer brand with a proprietary design patented in the United States.
Before founding ModTab, Hodge and his wife bought a fixer-upper hot tub, and he spent his evenings refurbishing it in their garage. That experience gave him deep knowledge of tub mechanics, pumps, and chillers, which he later applied to building cold plunge units. The company's second version, the ModTub 2.0, is assembled in Tennessee from components sourced across the country, with final assembly completed in Dallas.
ModTab has scaled rapidly, reaching just over five million dollars in revenue and achieving profitability from the cold plunge line alone. Hodge now faces a classic founder's dilemma: whether to keep building, bring in a professional CEO, or sell the company he built from his garage.
Career Timeline
2022 — Founded ModTab
Launched ModTab in Dallas after discovering cold plunging while refurbishing hot tubs in his garage. The company began as a direct-to-consumer brand with a proprietary cold plunge design.
2023 — Patented Cold Plunge Design at ModTab
Secured a United States patent for ModTab's proprietary cold plunge tub design, distinguishing the product in the growing recovery and wellness market.
2024 — Scaled to $5M Revenue at ModTab
Grew ModTab to just over five million dollars in annual revenue, achieving profitability from the cold plunge line alone while keeping assembly in Tennessee and operations in Dallas.
2025 — Featured on NPR How I Built This Advice Line at ModTab
Called into the How I Built This Advice Line with Kickstarter co-founder Perry Chen to discuss whether to sell or scale ModTab, citing imposter syndrome and the weight of building a health and wellness brand.