Human 3 with Brom and Sam

Today’s guest is Raad Seraj, Raad is a technologist, angel investor, artist, and advocate for emerging mental health therapies including psychedelics.   Raad recently launched his podcast, Minority Trip Report (MTR), to discuss under-represented views and life journeys with mental health, psychedelics, and consciousness.   

Learn more about Raad on his website: https://raadseraj.com/about-me

Listen to his podcast: https://www.minoritytrip.com/

Today’s guest is Samantha Tabone.  Sam is a Partner at Focalpoint where she leads in-depth technical and scientific due diligence on Empath’s psychedelic biotech investments.  Sam is here to help break down the due diligence process Empath uses when evaluating potential investments in psychedelic biotech companies.  Empath's Due Diligence process is broken down into 4 pillars:  Team, Intellectual Property, Scientific Foundations and Operations / Strategy.  

Prior to Focalpoint, Sam served as the VP of R&D for PurMinds, a neuromedicine startup developing novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.  As an independent consultant she’s led projects for leading psychedelic companies including Beckley Psytech, advised family offices on Life Science investment strategies, and worked as a temporary strategic director at several biotech startups.  Sam has been fascinated with neuroscience and psychedelics (especially DMT) since she was in her teens.  She’s most excited about funding psychedelic startups working towards solutions for complex neurological disorders.  She holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Toronto and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Pharmaceutical Sciences Master’s program.  

Lack of authentic human connection is one of the biggest problems facing society.  Can psychedelics deepen our relationships, strengthen our communities and help us have better sex?  Dr Molly thinks that the answer just might be "Yes".   

In this episode: 

- battling the stigmas around sex and drugs 

- how psychedelics can improve your sex life 

- the risks of falling in love with an AI boy/girl friend    

Follow Dr Molly at https://drmolly.co/ 

Check out Brom's VC fund at https://www.empath.vc

Make sure to subscribe to the show!

Schedule35 sells psilocybin mushrooms online in the US and Canada (yep, you heard that right).  Their branding is amazing and they advertise on mainstream podcasts like Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson - where I first heard of them.

Leon, the founder of Schedule35 joins Brom today to tell us:

- how he got into microdosing and started Schedule35 

- what it takes to run an online psilocybin business in the current regulatory environment 

- his views on pharma / medicalized psychedelics VS recreational psychedelics 

Make sure to subscribe to the show! 

Check out Schedule35 at schedule35.co

Check out Brom's VC fund at empath.vc

The Brom Podcast covers the emerging psychedelics industry from a business, investing and social impact perspective.    

Episodes feature Empath Ventures' Founder, Brom Rector interviewing psychedelic CEOs, scientists, investors, and other change-makers operating in the weird, wonderful world of psychedelic medicine.  

The Brom Podcast is available on all platforms!

Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): 

https://uppbeat.io/t/sky-toes/desert-flower

License code: JIRV6GGWC28YEPJH

Rebecca Nicholson is the CEO of 5D World and Founding partner of 5D Ventures.  Unlike other psychedelic VCs that focus on biotech, 5D’s “Progression of Consciousness Fund” is the only psychedelic fund focused on investing in psychedelic retreats.  Rebecca joins the Brom podcast to discuss:   

- her views on investing in retreats 

- the difference between retreats and clinics 

- her own experience at some of these retreats - including tripping with Amanda Feilding 

- the importance of the feminine perspective in the psychedelic industry.

Make sure to subscribe to the show!  

Check out 5d world at: https://www.5dworld.com/

Follow Brom on Twitter:  https://www.twitter.com/therealbrom

Brom's Venture Fund:  https://www.empath.vc

Zach Haigney is the author of The Trip Report, a newsIetter that covers the emerging psychedelic science, medicine, and policy landscape.  In this conversation, Zach and Brom discuss emerging trends, questions and hot topics in the psychedelics industry including:  

We also discuss The Trip Report's recent acquisition by Beckley Waves.  

You can check out The Trip Report here:  https://thetripreport.substack.com/ 

Follow Zach on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zach_haigney

Follow Brom on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/therealbrom 

Make sure to subscribe to the show!

Sam Banister is a medicinal chemist and co-founder of Psylo.  Psylo is an Australian psychedelic biotech company using machine learning assisted drug design techniques to developing novel psychedelic medicines to treat mental illness.   

Sam is here to help us understand how new chemical entities are reshaping the psychedelic field; how novel psychedelic molecules are made,  and how new chemical entities are going to play a dominant role in the future of psychedelic medicine.  

Make sure to subscribe to the show!  

Follow Brom on twitter: https://twitter.com/therealbrom

Follow Sam on twitter: https://twitter.com/samuel_b_phd

Brom's VC Fund:  https://www.empath.vc

Highlighted Timestamps:  

06:12 - Are next generation psychedelics taking over in 10 years?  

16:10 - What is the process like for creating a new chemical entities?  

50:39 - Psychedelics vs Cannabis: New drug discoveries

Patrick Moher is the President of Microdose.buzz, the leading psychedelic industry website.  He joins Brom today to discuss his personal history with psychedelics, his views on the future of the industry, what it was like talking about psychedelics at Davos, and gives us a preview of what's to come at Wonderland Miami 2022.      

Tickets for Wonderland Miami 2022 are on sale now:  https://tickets.microdose.buzz/attendance/event/index/41737/EN

Mendel Kaelen is the CEO of Wavepaths.  Prior to founding Wavepaths, Mendel Kaelen worked as a PhD and postdoctoral neuroscientist at Imperial College London since 2012, where his research was the one of the first to demonstrate music’s central role in psychedelic therapies.  Wavepaths is a software platform that generates personalized, optimal music for psychedelic therapy.    

0:00 - Why work on music and psychedelics? 

3:30 - Highlights of Mendel’s academic career. 

7:30 - Is there a universal “best” music for psychedelic therapy?  How to design a psychedelic therapy playlist. 

11:30 - What does the importance of music personalization mean for group psychedelic sessions?  

16:00 - Should music for psychedelics be “familiar” to the patient, or novel? 

20:00 - Vocals vs no vocals?  It’s not that simple.  

23:00 - Directive vs non-directive and concrete vs fluid music. 

25:00 - Is the “right” music for psychedelics consistent across different drugs?  

28:00 - How did Mendel switch from academia to startup founder. 

30:30 - What is Wavepaths?  

35:30 - Who is Wavepaths for?  

37:00 - How do you sell music for psychedelic therapy?  

39:00 - Surprising insights from Wavepaths customers?  

43:30 - How does Wavepaths use biofeedback?  

46:00 - Wavepaths direct to consumer.  

49:45 - Startup life vs academia. 

51:00 - Virtual reality and psychedelic therapy.