Why I'm Building a New Type of Healthcare System

the real story behind Superpower

"You Are Going to Die"

The words didn’t feel real when I first heard them.

They hung in the air for a moment, as if suspended between two worlds—between the sterile reality I was trapped in and the surreal possibility that this could actually be it.

“Your intestines are so swollen, you are going to die from organ failure.”

The sentence came from a calm, collected physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, one of the most prestigious hospitals in America—doing over $7.3 billion in annual revenue.

The doctor said it as casually as you’d report the weather.

And speaking of weather, the ICU ward was freezing—unbearably cold, despite the three thin hospital blankets I was wrapped up in.

Time stood still for a moment, and all I could hear was the hum of fluorescent ceiling lights playing in the background in the background while an orchestra of LEDs blinked on monitors to my left.

Each screen told a story my body no longer could. Blood pressure. Oxygen. The EKG beside me beeped like a metronome that didn’t care if I died or lived.

The air reeked of disinfectant and despondency.

I hadn’t seen the sun in days. It was month three of a hospital stay that had slowly taken everything: my strength, my sleep, my sense of autonomy – and soon, almost my life.

And the most brutal part?

I was still trying to run a company from the hospital bed.

The silent sacrifice

Just months earlier, I was the model of startup success. My first company, Commsor, had recently raised $70 million in funding and our community software platform was growing exponentially.

We had just announced the launch of my new incubator, Launch House – backed by A16z.

And I was only 25.

Everything appeared to be up and to the right—except, unbeknownst to me, things were trending in the wrong direction subcutaneously.

The signs were there, but it was hard to pinpoint that something was truly going wrong.

A bloated stomach after nearly every meal.
Persistent brain fog that some days made it hard to think straight.
Random waves of fatigue.

It's easy to ignore these things for a while—rationalizing, like many ambitious and entrepreneurial people do, that it was probably the stress we signed up for. Doctors agreed. Going to the annual physical that's covered by insurance (which only 12% of Americans reliably do) One said it was hemorrhoids. Another thought it was IBS. One even told me, casually, “Just take a probiotic and drink more water. Unable to even recommend which brand when I asked (there as thousands of brands – with varying degrees of safety and legitimacy.

They were wrong.

Symptoms aren't random. It's usually systemic. A slow-burning storm, years in the making, until things reach a breaking point.

This is the last thing on the mind. I had no idea what was about to happen was going to permanently alter the trajectory of my life.

Building a company is a task of herculean proportions.

“You Are Going to Die of Organ Failure”

The words didn’t feel real when I first heard them.
They hung in the air for a moment, as if suspended between worlds—between the sterile reality I was trapped in and the surreal possibility that this could actually be it.

“You are going to die of organ failure.”

That sentence didn’t come from some doomsday prepper or fringe healer.
It came from a calm, collected physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, one of the wealthiest and most prestigious hospitals in America—with over $7.3 billion in annual revenue.

An elite institution.
A modern temple of Western medicine.

The doctor said it as casually as you’d report a delayed flight.