Building a Business in Greece and the Importance of Mindset

In this podcast, we connected with George Hadjigeorgiou, co-founder of Zoe, a health science company that is committed to helping people live to their fullest. George highlights how they started with the science first at Zoe and why thinking from first principles led them to conduct their own research studies instead of relying on existing knowledge about nutrition. Their unconventional approach included going to hospitals before going to market and building the largest-ever community-based science project during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, George talks about how they're using data from wearable devices such as CGMs to better understand how foods impact people's health and how their team is continuously working on adding better insights and advice for people from these data points. Lastly, George shares unique insights into how they're treating their culture as a product at Zoe and how founders can test for cultural fit traits during interviews. More about ZOE X.com -- More about TERRA More Podcasts X.com -- 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - Pre-history of Zoe and George's background 08:35 - Finding his co-founder 09:31 - Build the science first 14:29 - The clinical research studies behind Zoe 18:55 - First principles approach - not relying on past knowledge 21:06 - Deciding on the initial product 24:15 - How people learned about Zoe and COVID's role in the early growth 30:33 - How Zoe is using data from wearable devices 33:25 - Fundraising strategies 37:17 - Building the team and culture at Zoe 40:57 - How to test for cultural-fit during interviews 47:14 - Favorite books and how they've shaped George 48:43 - Startup ecosystem in Greece