$100M founder predicts what will be big in 5 years

Key Concepts

Human Health Trends Applied to Pets: Applying health trends popular in humans to pet products, particularly focusing on diet and environmental factors.
Transparency in the Food Supply Chain: The need for greater transparency regarding toxins and contaminants in food products, driven by consumer demand.
Biomarker Optimization: Using blood tests and other data to understand and optimize individual health markers, leading to personalized health interventions.
Home Health: Recognizing the impact of the home environment on health and creating services to assess and improve home health factors.
Gut-Skin Connection: The relationship between gut health and skin health, suggesting that improving gut health can improve skin health.
Nutrient Density vs. Food Tribalism: Prioritizing nutrient-dense foods, even if they are traditionally considered unhealthy, over conventionally produced "healthy" foods.

Pet Health Trends

Lagging Human Trends: Health trends for pets typically lag behind those for humans by a few years.
Rising Cancer Rates in Dogs: Cancer rates in dogs are increasing, mirroring the chronic disease crisis in humans.
Kibble as a Problem: Kibble is considered a low-quality food source that contributes to health problems in dogs.
Market Opportunity: There's a significant market opportunity in applying human health principles to pet products, such as fresh food delivery, water filtration, supplements, and natural materials for kennels.
Dog Aging Research: Research on dog aging, including the use of rapamycin, is seen as a potential stepping stone to human longevity interventions.
Example: Farmer's Dog, a fresh dog food delivery company, has reached over $100-200 million in revenue.
Statistic: One in four dogs are expected to get cancer.
Quote: "Kibble is total trash and it is literally making dogs sick."

Light Labs: Transparency in Food Testing

Problem: Many toxins and contaminants in the food supply chain are not visible to consumers.
Solution: Light Labs is a toxin testing company for consumer brands, providing comprehensive lab testing and transparent reporting of results.
Testing Scope: Light Labs tests for nutrition facts, heavy metals, phthalates, PFAS, glyphosate, and pesticides.
Transparency: Test results are made available on the brand's website or via QR codes on retail products.
Incentive for Change: Transparency creates an incentive for brands to clean up their supply chains and improve food quality.
Business Model: Consumer brands pay Light Labs to test their products and provide transparent results.
Market Opportunity: Light Labs aims to become a competitor to Eurofins, a large lab testing company, and build consumer awareness of toxins in food.
Eurofins: The largest lab business, with an $11-12 billion market cap.
Quote: "Once you bring transparency then there's energy to try and clean up and improve the food system behind that."

Function Health and Biomarker Optimization

Concept: Function Health and similar companies provide access to comprehensive blood testing and telemedicine consultations for an annual membership fee.
Testing Scope: Over 190 markers, including PFAS exposure, heavy metals, testosterone, and insulin markers.
Value Proposition: Lowering the friction for individuals to understand their health through biomarker analysis.
Market Growth: Function Health is experiencing rapid growth, indicating a high demand for personalized health information.
Actionable Insights: Understanding biomarkers allows individuals to take targeted steps to optimize their health.
Future Trends: Expect to see more products and services that cater to individuals seeking to optimize specific biomarkers, such as APOB, LDL, and thyroid markers.
Example: Function Health is reportedly one of the fastest-growing companies in the Andreessen Horowitz portfolio, reaching nine figures in revenue within a few years.
Quote: "For the first time I think you are going to see millions and millions of people being onboarded and understanding like what is going on in their blood what's going on in their bodies and then taking steps to optimize or improve that thing."

Home Health Assessment

Concept: Recognizing the impact of the home environment on health, including factors like lighting, EMFs, water toxicity, and VOCs.
Lightwork: A company that provides home health assessments to identify potential sources of disease or stress.
Assessment Scope: Air quality, water quality, VOCs, EMF exposure, and other factors.
Market Opportunity: A significant opportunity exists for companies that can help individuals assess and improve their home health.
Technology Solution: Potential for AI-powered tools that allow individuals to conduct self-assessments of their home health.
Example: Lightwork tested a billionaire's home and found that it rated poorly across various health factors.
Cost: Lightwork's services range from $5,000 to $10,000 depending on the house size.
Quote: "People are not looking at the home through the lens of of health and chronic disease and when you start to there's like a ton of changes that you want to make."

Skin Gut Health Connection

Concept: The relationship between gut health and skin health, suggesting that improving gut health can improve skin health.
Skepticism towards Skincare: Most skincare products are considered a waste of money or marginally effective, with the exception of certain peptides and retinol.
Sunscreen Concerns: Many sunscreens contain carcinogenic ingredients like oxybenzone.
Business Opportunity: A cosmetics company that combines effective topical skincare with gut-based interventions, such as specialized probiotics and dietary changes.
Proposed Regimen: A combination of specialized probiotics, a 30-60 day detox diet, bone broth, and effective topical skincare.
Quote: "Skincare is mostly a scam."

Controversial Stances and Additional Points

Fruit and Sugar: Experimenting with a diet that includes fruit and honey before noon, challenging the demonization of sugar in these forms.
Nutrient Density over Food Tribalism: Prioritizing nutrient-dense foods, even if they are traditionally considered unhealthy, over conventionally produced "healthy" foods.
Polyester Clothing: Avoiding polyester clothing due to microplastic shedding and potential negative impacts on sperm count.
Vaccine Schedule: Concerns about the current vaccine schedule, suggesting that fewer shots and more spacing may be better for chronic disease prevention.
Quote: "I feel pretty confident that like our current vaccine schedule is very much not good from a chronic disease standpoint."

Conclusion

The discussion covers a range of health and wellness topics, from pet health to home health, emphasizing the importance of transparency, personalized approaches, and challenging conventional wisdom. The speaker highlights several business opportunities in these areas, driven by increasing consumer awareness and demand for better health solutions. The conversation also touches on controversial topics, such as sunscreen, vaccines, and the role of sugar in a healthy diet, reflecting a willingness to question established norms and explore alternative perspectives.