Ara Katz
Co-Founder, Co-CEO
Born in small Rhode Island, Dave seeks to expand his boundaries perpetually across the world.
In Virginia, he studied the intersections of business, anthropology, and design at the University of Richmond (and again later at the University of Cincinnati).
In Hong Kong, he witnessed first-hand how living as a minority inside a foreign culture can, in turn, teach you a lot about yourself.
In Cincinnati and Boston, he catalyzed growth for 20 of P&G’s billion-dollar brands, specializing in brand turnarounds, new brand/category creation, and team reorganizations; Gillette’s transformation in a Dollar Shave Club world was the most fun.
In Zimbabwe, he accepted his fate as an entrepreneur and founded a travel service named after the ever-relatable Robinson Crusoe.
In Los Angeles, he is committed to growth-obsessed relationships with his other halves: his microbiome and his fiancé, Kyle. His current country count is 27, and next on the list seems to be the Galápagos, Peru, Spain, Benelux, Vietnam, and Cambodia. And Jordan. And New Zealand.
In conversation with Dave:
Six word story of your life. From smallest state to biggest world.
What was your first brush with science? In junior high, I studied birth order’s effects on the brain, then the Mozart Effect. I’m still looking for new frameworks to understand how and why the brain functions.
Why do you think bacteria are important? The bacteria inside us decode and express our own human genes. Since there are 300x more bacteria in one human body as there are stars in a galaxy, perhaps we are the new life forms we’ve been searching for.
How do you define science? Humans’ structured attempt to understand life.
How do you define health? The state in which we can be happiest longest.
What are you currently reading / listening / watching? Reading: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, listening: Science Vs., watching: Survivor—yes, still.
Favorite microbiome-nurturing food? Plain yogurt
Scientist, dead or alive, you’d like to eat lunch with? Leonardo da Vinci—talk about a guy who used both sides of his brain.
Microbiome perturbation you’re trying to give up. Soda. I’d say “donuts” but they bring so much joy.
One fact most people don’t know about you: I was attacked by monkeys during my first trip abroad, but am still the largest advocate for travel.
Favorite science joke or best mindgasm fact? The optimist sees the glass half full. The pessimist sees the glass half empty. The scientist see the glass completely full of liquid and gas.