23andJustMe

Sup? 

How are you? I've missed you. It's been a while since I wrote one of these, so go easy on me.... I'm also adding a jobs section below if you're hunting for a new gig... ok here we go... 

As humans, we’re constantly seeking ways to 'profile' ourselves.

The ancients (and your grandma) used horoscopes. In the modern era, we’re obsessed with personality assessments like the Myers-Briggs or Enneagram.

What's next? Your DNA.

eThrough services like 23andMe and Color, we’re learning more and more about where we came from, why we hate the taste of certain food and our connections to famous relatives (reply with the coolest connection you have). Over a quarter of American adults have reported taking a genetic test of some sort.

Like any personal information, genetic information in the wrong hands is very bad.

Imagine, as an example, a company like Cambridge Analytica got their hands on your genomic data. Or better yet, what if an Equifax-level breach happened with DNA?

I’m generally not a paranoid person myself, but here are some possible worst-case scenarios to make you shit your pants:

-A future employer denies you a job because you’re predisposed to a specific medical condition

-You think trolling is bad now? Wait til a troll can identify all genetic relatives of an individual they're targeting

-Maury would probably get canceled

So today's idea is about how to securely manage your genetic data. We're calling it 23and'Just'Me. (DAAADDDDJOOOKES).

Genetic Testing is exploding

Genetic testing services have exploded over the past few years. According to a study by the American Society of Oncology, nearly 70 percent of Americans intend to get genetic testing at some point to determine their risk of cancer.

As genetic data becomes more available, the use cases grow by the day. For instance:

-Startups OME and Habit aim to personalize nutrition based on your genes

-Nutratracker and Promethease allow users to upload their DNA and customize their Nootropic stacks

-Nestle has partnered with 23andMe to help customers make healthier eating decisions

-23andMe partnered with local law enforcement to find the ‘Golden State Killer’

With everyone from cops to chocolate companies seeking your DNA, shouldn’t we as consumers have control of who accesses it?

23andJustMe

Today's idea is simple. Make consumers the central decisionmaker of who owns their genetic data.

Here’s how it would work. As a consumer, you have the ability to download your genetic data from 23andMe (and other testing services) into a raw txt file. Simple enough. (If you want to do it yourself, here's the link).

You'd then upload your record to our new service, 23andJustMe. The app would leverage an open-source library (like SNPedia, which can interpret your DNA for free) to give you some context about your genetic profile, so that you're not just staring at a text file. An example report is below.

Now, let’s say you want to share it with an oncologist. You'd be able to select specific genes related to heart conditions and forward it to them (rather than sending the whole file, which I've been told is the current status quo). The file would be encrypted to minimize the risk of a breach. Once your doctor is done with the file, you could revoke access via the app. The same goes for working with researchers, nutritionists, etc. Give them access for what they need it for, then revoke it when you're done.

In the future, would you want your data locked down? LMK. Peace.

(PS - We actually worked on a prototype to do this by leveraging Virtru, an encryption platform. Only took a week or so to spin up - lmk if you want to check it out)

Jobs

• A hotel software company we work with is seeking a director of product to help them scale their team and platform. They are based in DC, but flexible on location.
• We are seeking a freelance UX designer for a number of projects coming up in the Fall.