First Builders

Sober, Solo, and Scaling: Koby Conrad on Building Sunflower from the Ground Up

15 Jul 2025

Audio

Description

What happens when a high-growth operator turns founder—and builds a company rooted in personal mission? Koby Conrad, solo founder and CEO of Sunflower, joins First Builders to share his journey from Rupa Health’s go-to-market lead to creating a digital recovery platform for the 1.2 billion people affected by addiction.A former zero-to-one standout at Rupa Health, Koby helped scale the company from a $22M valuation to a life-changing acquisition. Now he’s bringing those lessons—and his own seven years of sobriety—into building Sunflower, a mobile-first addiction recovery app grounded in emotional resonance, habit loops, and community design.In this episode, Koby unpacks:– The early signals he trusted to launch Sunflower– What he learned about growth, management, and mindset at Rupa– How he raised capital pre-launch and built in public– Why being a solo, non-technical founder didn’t stop himIt’s a story about identity, scale, sobriety—and how the best builders are the ones who stay close to the problem.Follow Koby ConradLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kobychaseconradTwitter: https://twitter.com/kobychaseCompany: https://www.joinsunflower.comBook: https://channelsofgrowth.comMake sure you follow us on all our social channels below and watch full episodes on YouTube! Subscribe to our newsletter to get new episode drops in your inbox.Your HostsAmber & RachelInstagram: @thecouncilcapitalTwitter/X: @first_builders_LinkedIn: The CouncilTikTok: @firstbuilderspodShow NotesKoby’s path from Rupa Health to solo founder of SunflowerLessons on startup growth, hiring, and building high-slope teamsInside Sunflower: AI-powered habit tracking, CBT prompts, and community-driven recoveryVulnerability and leadership: staying grounded while scalingBook Mentioned: The Mom Test by Rob FitzpatrickKoby’s book: Channels of GrowthVisit: https://www.joinsunflower.com

Transcription

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Help us prioritize this episode for transcription by upvoting it.

0 upvotes

🗳️ Sign in to Upvote

Popular episodes get transcribed faster

Other recent transcribed episodes

Transcribed and ready to explore now

3ª PARTE | 17 DIC 2025 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

01 Jan 1970

El Partidazo de COPE

13:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

12:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

10:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

13:00H | 20 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

12:00H | 20 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

01 Jan 1970

Fin de Semana

Comments

There are no comments yet.

Please log in to write the first comment.

Report any issue

First Builders

Sober, Solo, and Scaling: Koby Conrad on Building Sunflower from the Ground Up

This episode hasn't been transcribed yet

Other recent transcribed episodes

3ª PARTE | 17 DIC 2025 | EL PARTIDAZO DE COPE

13:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

12:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

10:00H | 21 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

13:00H | 20 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

12:00H | 20 DIC 2025 | Fin de Semana

Sign in to Audioscrape

Share this moment