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Hello Constance,

(I hope you don't mind me calling you by your other name - I think it sounds refreshing lol)

Hmm. Where do I begin...?

Yes! A basic search on fermentation & gut health took me down the 'internet rabbit-hole': fermentation recipes -> Harvard Reviews -> what Stanford U had to say on it -> Lisa Kim's interview with a Hannah C. Wastyk -> who is Hannah C. Wastyk -> curiosity about Ms. Wastyk's findings -> Oh, my! She has a blog -> Even better, she can amuse herself (and others too); and, last but not least, she manages a start-up.

Oh. Did I mention her last blog-post was in Feb 2023? [Attending a gathering of Gut Superheroes’', I presume] :)

Constance, I have a list of questions after reading your blog but I will ask a few in this first message.

Get ready.... they are coming at you faster than a wishing star...

--- In your blog [title: Longevity and the Possible Utopic and Dystopic Futures of a World Without Old Age], you write "understanding who and what is most important is always going to require intentionality, no matter how long we engineer our future health-span to be".

Question: What is most important to you with your research (the fundamental goal)?

--- I read somewhere about blood samples from lab participants during the weeks long research on fermentation & gut health. The participants, they said, continued living normal lives (unrestricted choice in dietary choices) during the course of this data sampling.

Question: What were the conclusions from the blood samples: Were they better? If yes, how? If not, please explain. :)

--- In your blog post [title: The Weight of Intersectional Identities as a Queer Woman of Color and CEO of a Biotech Company in Silicon Valley], you write "but now finding myself in the middle of the venture capital world and Silicon Valley, I was overwhelmingly surrounded by white men whose sole job was to judge me on the validity of my ideas and ability to make them money."

Correct me if I am wrong; but, perhaps, I would be right to assume the challenges for validity in your ideas go as far back as your childhood in Pennsylvania. I refer to the possibility of one developing an identity confusion that follows when others fail to acknowledge you have independent thoughts, even as a child. Later, growing up and to feel that you have not had the opportunity to explore and solidify your identity. A feeling (unconscious, perhaps) that you had to constantly hide aspects of your personality to fit in/gain acceptability. Even now, you may find that you are having difficulty deciding the direction of careers: the next inventor of a dietary medium that intersects lifespan & health-span; a voice for adoptees, or simply an example for young girls who may be in the same position you found yourself 20 years ago.

Question: Judging from the above statement, would you say that your "ideas" have finally gained recognition now that you are a Co-founder in Silicon Valley - and you no longer struggle to "make them money"?

It was a pleasure writing this and I am eagerly anticipating your response.

Cheers!

Franklin (in Toronto, Canada)

P.S. I am starting to feel like a journalist lol. [Hey! I did not forget Fermentation & Gut health... I am making my way there... slowly, perhaps. lol]

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