[ExI] Robin Williams's Son Zak Battled Depression Too. Now His Mental Health Startup Has a New Product and $1 Million

[John Grigg]

An inspirational story for anyone who has ever struggled with depression
and/or wanted to create a business start-up...

"Zak Williams had long dealt with anxiety. Then, in 2014, his father, the
actor Robin Williams
<https://www.inc.com/fiscal-times/positive-lessons-robin-williams-death.html>,
died by suicide, and Zak began battling extreme depressive episodes.
Self-medicating with alcohol and cannabis
<https://www.inc.com/magazine/201811/hannah-wallace/cannabis-business-growth-future.html>
made him feel only more anxious. Prescription drugs, on the other hand,
made him "feel numb and not like myself," he says.

He finally found healing when he discovered two things: the power of
community service--he taught financial literacy to inmates at a California
prison--and supplements
<https://www.inc.com/graham-winfrey/supplements-help-brain-cognitive-performance.html>
containing L-theanine, an amino acid found in tea, and Gamma-aminobutyric
acid (GABA), a substance the body produces from the amino acid glutamate.
"It was like a weight lifted for me," Zak says. "It allowed me to go about
my day feeling like my self, clear-headed, and with a sense of focus and
presence."

At the time, Zak says, it wasn't easy to find high-quality amino acid
supplements, so he and his now-wife, Olivia June, saw a business
opportunity. They spent a year of developing their own "mood chew," working
with Lena Kwak, a food scientist and the former head of research and
development at the famed French Laundry restaurant, and testing it on
friends and family. The couple raised $1 million from angel investors to
launch their company, PYM <https://youcanpym.com/>. Pym is Zak's middle
name and he's fashioned it into an acronym for the startup's tagline,
"Prepare Your Mind." The product became available for sale in September,
and the company officially launched on October 22. A three pack of the
20-piece tins costs $30 or $27 with a subscription."
https://www.inc.com/lindsay-blakely/zak-williams-pym-mental-health-wellness-startup.html
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/extropy-chat/attachments/20201029/6fcfa516/attachment.htm>