#199: 🎙️The End of Hangovers? | Zack Abbot from ZBiotics

This week I sat down with Zack Abbott, Founder & CEO of ZBiotics, maker of the world's first genetically engineered probiotic to go to market.

We get into why hangovers were never really about dehydration, the culprit is acetaldehyde, a toxin your gut produces while you drink, and how ZBiotics engineered a bacteria that breaks it down right where it forms. We talk about why every bottle proudly says "GMO," the two-hour rule for drinking and sleep, and their second product: a probiotic that builds fiber from the sugar you're already eating, in a country where 95% of us don't get enough. Plus the radiation-recovery pitch that started it all, surviving COVID after their manufacturer walked away, and the Silicon Valley investors who doubted hangovers exist.

Watch & listen to the whole episode on 🔴YouTube 🟢 Spotify, 🟣 Apple Podcasts, 🟠 Substack Podcasts

Timestamps

* 00:00 Introduction

* 00:59 Champagne moments: the world's first GMO probiotic launch

* 05:16 Vinegar moments: COVID, canceled occasions, and losing the manufacturer

* 11:12 Why "proudly GMO" is printed on every bottle

* 18:47 Why you take it before you drink — not after

* 22:50 Alcohol and sleep: the two-hour rule

* 26:44 The radiation-recovery pitch that came before ZBiotics

* 33:06 Pitching VCs who asked if hangovers were real