OPERATORS E097: Scientist to Entrepreneur
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Feb 19, 2025 Evan Zhao, a former academic turned entrepreneur, discusses his journey from science to business. He shares insights on launching a science-backed beauty brand and the importance of data-driven decision making. Evan dives into challenges faced while transitioning to subscription models and the innovative allergy solutions he’s developing for pets. He humorously recounts personal experiences with pet allergies and highlights the role of AI in accelerating research and development, illustrating the future of science-backed products.
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Creatine Inspiration
- Evan's banker friends, obsessed with fitness, encouraged him to find a better creatine.
- This led Evan to apply AI-driven molecule discovery, originally used for antibiotics, to beauty products.
Antibiotic Resistance
- Antibiotic resistance demonstrates rapid bacterial evolution, rendering current antibiotics ineffective within decades.
- AI can screen billions of molecules, potentially finding new antibiotics faster than bacteria evolve resistance.
Beauty Brand Inspiration
- Evan's wife, a biologist, inspired him to start a beauty brand after spending $300 on a serum with questionable efficacy.
- Using AI, they discovered new molecules and launched a hair serum brand, Ravella, targeting female hair loss.