Meet Max Marchione,
Co-founder of Superpower
Max is not your typical healthcare founder. After dropping out of Australia’s top law school to study mathematics and statistics, he began his serial-entrepreneurial journey while working in venture, and now spends his time in SF thinking about culture, speed, storytelling, creating an A+ team and reimagining healthcare.
His passion spurred from a decade of first-hand misdiagnoses and ineffective treatments, prescribed over 30 doctors and told he’d need medication for life. This experience fueled a relentless curiosity and a belief that conventional healthcare is fundamentally broken.
In 2023, Max founded Superpower.
What is Superpower?
Superpower is a data-driven, holistic, and accessible preventative all-in-one healthcare platform designed to give users truly meaningful insights into their health while helping them easily improve. I got a glimpse of the platform’s beautiful design as Max walked me through its features:
Understanding your body
Members undergo 100+ lab tests (at-home or at-partner clinics) and upload past medical records to create a comprehensive health profile. Results are visualized through an intuitive interface and boiled down to a simple "Superpower Score”.
Pinpointing root causes
Using state-of-the-art data analysis, Superpower identifies potential health issues and provides actionable insights.
Making it simple to take action
From customized recommendations to a healthcare marketplace with suggested products consumer can buy direct, Superpower simplifies the journey to better health.
Membership costs $499 annually, making it an accessible alternative to traditional healthcare models.
A Broken System, a Bold Solution
Max is unapologetically critical of the current healthcare system.
“Healthcare doesn’t test enough, doesn’t use the latest research, and doesn’t get to the root cause of issues. There’s a huge gap in what the ultra rich pay for when it comes to preventative health and what’s available to mainstream consumers”
Given today’s focus on longevity, I was pretty surprised that we as a society haven’t found a solution yet and we explored why it hasn’t been done successfully. “Nobody has tried to create a holistic, preventative solution while looking and feeling like a modern consumer brand. We were told playful youth branding won’t work in healthcare. That’s just not true. Healthcare doesn’t have to be sterile and blue.”
Drawing from the likes of Apple and Nike as inspiration, Superpower’s vibrant branding and user-centric experience are deliberate choices designed to attract the new generation of healthcare consumers.
Max envisions a future where healthcare is seamless, personalized, and data-driven. "In ten years, doctors as we know them won’t exist. AI and algorithms will be better at diagnosing and managing care.” Superpower is building toward that reality.
From 0 to 140,000 Waitlist Members
Superpower’s journey began three years ago, with Max and his team dedicating significant time into research and perfecting the brand and message. Now Superpower has a waitlist of over 140,000 members, grown organically through LinkedIn, Twitter, early adopters, and investors. “We invested heavily in our domain, visual identity, and simple messaging,” Max says. “It’s not just about the product—it’s really about the story you tell”
Challenges, Rewards, and Surprises
Building Superpower hasn’t been without its challenges. “Ignoring the dogma of healthcare experts was tough, but necessary. Experts can tell you why it won’t work and our role as a founder is to ignore them—ignoring dogma as constraints, spending resources wisely to get clarity and building a team that is hyper-focused on speed.”
The most rewarding part? Seeing how much users love the experience. “Hearing people say, ‘This is what healthcare should be like,’ is the ultimate validation.”
And the biggest surprise? “The importance of having a simple message—it’s harder than it looks but absolutely essential.”
On Founder Success
Max attributes founder success to a mix of deep thinking, analytical rigor, grit, and strong networks. "The right idea counts for a lot—and they’re often contrarian.” (You can read his contrarian beliefs here).
As a leader, Max makes decisions based on a mix of analysis and following his gut. “Intuition brings you to the mountain and data helps you climb it”.
Max also emphasizes the importance of building a strong team and investing in brand clarity early on. "People matter more than ideas. And in the early days, you can’t overinvest in brand—it’s the fastest way to create momentum."
He also suggests investing in resources to understand the economy, statistics, psychology... i.e. how the world works — giving a shout out to Charlie Munger’s Poor Charlie’s Almanack, as well as Dune for shaping his mindset to live authentically.
Meet Millie Blumka,
co-founder of STAKT
A D2C fitness brand shaking up the wellness market with its innovative, foldable yoga mats
Millie's background was in sales and partnerships but like many entrepreneurs, always had an itch to create something herself. She worked at a few SaaS tech startups before deciding to pursue STAKT full-time with her co-founder and college friend from Tulane, Taylor Borenstein.
The idea emerged during the pandemic, as Millie and Taylor’s home workouts expanded from yoga to include Pilates, sculpting, and HIIT. Realizing their mats lacked versatility and having to fold their mats for more support, they thought, “Why isn’t there a better solution?” In 2021, STAKT was born.
Neither Millie nor Taylor had any product or experience in starting a business, but with courage, passion, and a lot of networking, they took an idea and put pen to paper, found an industrial designer, manufacture, and have now scaled their business to reach over 75,000 customers, completely bootstrapped.
"Everything was a slow burn, we took things step by step," Millie explains. They launched their proof of concept with 500 units, which sold out immediately. Since then, they’ve hit several key milestones, from a viral TikTok in March 2022 to an appearance on Shark Tank, where they pitched STAKT to Mark Cuban and Mr. Wonderful.
Millie and Taylor's vision for STAKT is to be a holistic wellness brand focused on functional and versatile products that inspire movement. Expanding beyond yoga mats, they recently launched adjustable hand weights that have already received a ton of attention and amazing feedback.
We also talked about the challenges they've faced. Millie admitted "like any business, there have definitely been low points, like getting entire batches of defective inventory that have to be donated, but having an incredible co-founder who helps you bounce back is how we keep moving forward. I really believe now that everything happens for a reason."
Her advice? Celebrate the small wins. “It’s easy to get caught up in big milestones or compare yourself to other founders, but don’t overlook what you’ve accomplished. Those little steps add up to the big picture.” She also highlights the importance of networking which she calls her biggest blessing: “Never be afraid to start a conversation; you never know where it will lead.”
Meet Alice Zhang,
founder of Anise Health
culturally responsive mental health care
Alice is a passionate entrepreneur whose journey into mental health care was shaped by her upbringing in a Chinese-Canadian immigrant family.
In high school, Alice watched a close friend struggle with bipolar disorder—largely due to the stigma surrounding mental health in the Asian community. This experience left a deep mark on her, inspiring her to make a difference. After a successful career in management consulting, healthcare private equity, earning her MBA, and then pivoting into the digital mental health space, Alice’s focus on mental health led her to launch Anise Health with classmates at HBS.
Anise Health is a culturally-responsive mental health platform for underserved communities, with a focus on Asian Americans. What sets Anise apart from other platforms is its holistic approach—addressing the cultural nuances that often get overlooked in mental health care and navigating unique cultural challenges like the "model minority" myth, bicultural stress, intergenerational conflict, guilt, and shame, starting conversations that have long been needed. Anise Health incorporates culture into every step of one's wellness journey in several ways:
Integrating therapy, coaching, and digital resources into a blended care model
Using culturally-informed assessments to better support clients
Training providers to become experts in culturally-responsive care
Hosting thoughtful community events to foster a sense of connection and belonging
Since its launch in 2022, Anise has grown steadily, launching in five states (California, New York, Washington, Florida, and Massachusetts), and securing partnerships with >8 health insurance partners such as Aetna. The team of >70 staff and providers is focused on growing their user base and partnering with insurance providers. Looking ahead, Alice and her team plan to expand services to include couples and family therapy, medication management, and eventually aim to serve Medicaid and adolescent populations, all while continuing to provide culturally informed care.
When we were reflecting on her journey, Alice emphasized the importance of believing in herself and trusting her instincts, especially in the face of early rejection during fundraising. When asked who her role models or most impactful resources are, she didn't name high-profile entrepreneurs, rather she credits the support of early mentors, other startup founders, and angel investors who understood the vision from the start and always inspired her to keep going.
Meet Joe Rotondo, inventor of Frozen Cottage Cheese "FroCo" and founder of Smearcase
disrupting the ice cream industry with unique protein-packed cottage cheese ice cream
Background and inspiration: Joe has always been an entrepreneur at heart eager to learn through building and experience, noting school was just not for him, which turned him to entrepreneurship. His co-founder Drew's academic background lies in finance, corporate strategy, and sustainability, but they both had a shared passion for fashion, running clothing brands before meeting in 2020 in New York.
Joe's journey to Smearcase was driven by a personal craving and a gap in the market. A year ago, after a long run during his marathon training, he was craving a protein-rich ice cream but couldn't find any on the shelves. He went home and ate cottage cheese instead, but it just wasn't as "fun". Disappointed but inspired, he questioned, "Why isn't anyone making a protein ice cream?" The very next day, he ordered an ice cream machine from Amazon, and the rest, as they say, is history :)
Growing up in a family passionate about food, Joe and his sister often experimented in the kitchen. Joe recalls how family meals, from grandma's spaghetti Sundays to helping his dad cook, taught him the value of connection and creativity in the kitchen. With these memories, Joe set out to create an ice cream that wasn't just high in protein but also creamy and delicious, without the icy texture of typical low-fat options.
Building Smearcase and getting on shelves in <6 months: His criteria for success at onset were clear - the product must be disruptive, consumable, and scalable, with a clear path to market dominance.
Over the past year, Joe focused on building the Smearcase brand, conducting market research, and getting feedback from early testers. By November 2023, Drew officially joined, and by June, Smearcase launched as the first cottage cheese ice cream to hit the market.
Joe credits Smearcase's rapid launch to their dedication, intuition, and the ability to adapt quickly. “I had six different projects going on and dropped everything for this,” Joe shares. Their approach was agile, allowing them to fine-tune their product formula in just 3 iterations. Joe believes “there’s always a V2 .. you just gotta put something out there."
Future growth plans, and competitors: In the next six months, the duo aims to be in 300-500 stores along the East Coast, with sights set on expanding to California and then nationwide. When it comes to competitors entering the space, Joe welcomes them with open arms. "You come at the king, you best not miss," he says jokingly (or not). For Joe, every challenge is an opportunity to prove Smearcase's worth.
A scary moment shaping his approach to being a founder: Joe’s journey as a founder has been a test of resilience and self-discovery. His biggest lesson? "Get comfortable being uncomfortable." He believes in pushing personal boundaries, whether through long runs, sauna sessions, or ice baths. "Going through hard situations forces you to dig deep … being ironclad in your personal life then translates to how you approach your business". For Joe, alignment with one’s values is paramount. A year ago, he took the time to reflect on his own values after a life-threatening accident where he was hit by a car. For him, it's health, family, leadership, and personal growth—and these have guided every decision since.
Joe’s a fan of Gary Vaynerchuk’s infectious energy, Tony Robbins' motivational teachings in "Awaken the Giant Within," and the philosophical perspectives of Virgil Abloh. Joe resonates with Abloh’s belief in embracing imperfection: “If I waited for something to be perfect, Smearcase wouldn’t have launched."
Meet Louis Long,
founder of Conquer
Transforming the pickup sports experience
Conquer is an app that lets you play, organize, or find the perfect venue for sports around you. Users can host or join pickup games, matches, or tournaments every week across the city.
Founder Louis Long, a North Jersey native has always had a passion for soccer. He played growing up and into college at Tulane. In 2020, during the pandemic, he moved to NYC to enter the corporate world, but quickly began to miss playing the sport he loved. Alongside his co-founder Matt, a childhood soccer companion, they decided to create a platform to easily facilitate pick-up games in NYC. Despite not knowing how to code, they teamed up with software developer Tanner, and Conquer was launched in January 2022.
While Louis and Matt were itching to play soccer in NYC, they began looking for underutilized fields in NYC, starting off in Chinatown. They struck deals with local establishments: bringing people to their spaces and splitting the profits. This initiative quickly grew into weekly events, revealing a significant demand for organized sports spaces in the city. Eventually, after many reps, they developed a playbook to engage schools, focusing on building community and infrastructure rather than profit, transforming underutilized areas into bustling sports venues.
They decided to build an app to scale this idea. They spent the first year testing their MVP platform to understand what worked and what didn’t, aiming at competitive athletes and high-level sports play. Last summer, they raised capital through Techstars Sports, providing the necessary catalyst for growth. While soccer and pickleball games have been their bread and butter, they're starting to expand into other sports like basketball, volleyball, yoga and more.
Conquer recently underwent a rebrand and is launching Conquer 2.0, a more cohesive and community-driven app with recurring revenue through memberships. They are planning to introduce a subscription model similar to ClassPass, offering credits for memberships towards wellness events.
Retention was a major challenge for Conquer, which pushed them to explore ways to get users to commit upfront, such as monthly game commitments and membership models. Weather-related cancellations, especially for large events, have also been problematic, prompting the exploration of indoor and outdoor venue options. Additionally, the platform requires a critical mass of participants for events to happen, leading to the development of a host program and partnerships with organizations already running games.
One of the most important lessons learned is the importance of focus. It’s easy to have a grand vision, but execution takes time. Initially targeting multiple age groups and offering numerous services proved challenging. Now, they target a specific niche and focus on perfecting one aspect before expanding. "It's something I still struggle with, I've had to learn to say 'No' a lot", Louis admits.
High-quality, committed hosts are crucial to their operating model. Conquer is seeking community leaders to help bring people together. Check out their app today and join a pickup game near you.
Meet Jessie Urvater,
founder of Club Pillar
a dating app for sober people
Club Pillar is the first-of-its-kind referral and membership-based dating app dedicated to redefining sober dating. It caters to individuals embracing various forms of sobriety, from sober curious to entirely abstinent. Unlike the 1,500 dating apps out there today, Club Pillar focuses on meaningful connections for sober-forward individuals and aims to rebrand sobriety through luxury branding, exclusive partnerships, referral-based membership, and in-person bi-monthly events.
Born and raised on the Upper East Side, Jessie started her career young, working in PR and brand strategy with high-profile brands like Christian Dior, Victoria's Secret, and La Mer. Deciding to transition her marketing skills to tech, she later excelled in sales roles at Astronomer and Olation before becoming an account executive at Appen. Her career is marked by relentless hustle and strategic outreach, leading to the founding of Club Pillar.
Jessie's passion for Club Pillar is driven by her personal journey of sobriety, being 5 years in recovery. Having to navigate the dating world's default "let's get a drink", she found herself having the same grueling conversations and series of follow-up questions about why she doesn't drink over and over again.
"The conversation never gets easier. I still haven't found the right combination of words that gets out the necessary information without evoking a flood of pity or a trick of morbid curiosity. This inevitable exchange always casts a momentary pall over what should be small talk. Five years later, the problem remains the same- those for whom sobriety is important to have been forced to assimilate into traditional dating platforms dominated by the non sober."
She also recognized a growing trend, noting that 1 in 3 Gen Zers are cutting back on drinking, with a 7% increase in 2023, further validating the opportunity.
Being a founder, Jessie highlights the importance of resilience, adaptability, and constantly iterating strategies as things always take longer than expected, from fundraising to app launch. Networking, user feedback, and solving unforeseen problems are crucial. Key advice she's received is protecting your time, building repeatable processes, engaging with the right people, trusting your gut, and seeking guidance from advisors.
Meet Kenza Rkaibi and Malak Raihani, founders of Muse
a data-driven approach to hormonal health
Muse offers personalized care for women’s hormonal health. The journey starts with an at home test. Customers receive an in depth hormonal health assessment identifying the root cause for any of their symptoms. Muse then offers a personalized treatment plan leveraging the pillars of functional medicine including supplements, nutrition, and lifestyle changes. This is continuously adapted based on symptoms and evolving needs.
Kenza and Malak joined forces over a year ago in February and bring a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences.
Kenza, with a background in biomedical and biomechanical engineering from Imperial College London and Columbia University, spent five years delving into data science at Oscar Health, focusing on health outcomes and value-based care.
Malak hails from the creative hub of USC, where she combined business studies with cinema arts. Her journey led her through startups like Bird in LA, then across the pond to Europe, launching services in Amsterdam before diving into consumer startups like JOKR Delivery Service and Blank Street.
The 'why' behind their product was due to personal struggles—Kenza battled hormonal issues including PCOS and sought more integrative approaches to health, which laid the foundation for Muse. They recognized a gap in understanding hormonal health and set out with a mission to educate and empower others in the space.
"Our goal with Muse is not just to offer solutions but also to educate people about hormonal health, a topic many are unfamiliar with" - Kenza.
For these ladies, the greatest lesson learned as founders is the importance of user engagement. "Talking to users uncovers so much," says Malak. Understanding customer pain points and needs has been instrumental in refining Muse's offerings, which now has a waitlist for customers.
Kenza and Malak are looking to connect with healthcare professionals, especially medical and functional doctors, to gain insights and refine Muse's approach. Their goal is to collaborate with those who share their passion for improving hormonal health outcomes.