Last Fri at @sxsw, I joined @pranithapat (@function) and @ScottHickle (@ThroneScience) for a panel moderated by @samok (@paywithflex) at Wellness House by Willpower in Austin. @billmurphy42 was a powerhouse with infectious energy that blew everyone away. Thank you for having me. I’ve been thinking about a few themes from our conversation: 𝟭. 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲. Almost every founder on stage had a personal story – a moment when the system failed them or someone they loved. That kind of experience creates a real founder–product fit and the drive to solve the problem. 𝟮. 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵. People are trusting you with their health and health data and expecting clear, evidence-backed next steps. Early on, I read the first thousands of emails sent to [email protected] – scanning for patterns and often calling customers to learn more. I also personally onboarded the first few hundred micro-influencers from Instagram, working directly with them to interpret their results. Because I cared that much about our customers. Those early unscalable actions shaped how we evolved the product to meet people’s real needs and that’s what builds trust. 𝟯. 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱. Pranitha shared how AI surfaced a recent diagnosis for her son in about 30 minutes, while the traditional process took nearly a full day — a glimpse into how AI can save time for both patients and doctors. Doctors will always be essential, increasingly serving as the expert validator and decision-maker. But AI is only as good as the data behind it. In areas like the gut microbiome, where the science is still evolving, you have to take outputs with a grain of salt. That’s why we’re building our own Tiny AI, trained on proprietary longitudinal microbiome data, not static research papers. 🔥👀Users test multiple times per year, giving us a real-world view of how the gut changes with diet, supplements, and lifestyle. 𝟰. 𝗦𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗸. If you’re not getting high-quality sleep, nothing else really matters. Next comes the basics: community, sunlight – and gut health, where the majority of your immune system lives. Only then does it make sense to layer in supplements, cold plunges, or optimization. 𝟱. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴. 50% of kids and 75% of adults now live with multiple chronic conditions. This should not be the new norm. The hopeful part: I truly believe that the companies the 4 of us are building can dramatically reduce that number over the next decade through better prevention, earlier diagnostics, and timely interventions.