Late last month, Goldman Sachs hosted their second annual Builders + Innovators Summit bringing together some of the most dynamic entrepreneurs of the day to discuss what they’ve learned to make their companies successful.
As part of that conference, Goldman named 23andMe’s CEO Anne Wojcicki as one of its 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs. Those business leaders on the list were also featured in videos in which they share their insights and stories.
Check out Anne’s video below and take a look at <a href="http://www.goldmansachs.com/our-thinking/our-conferences/builders-and-innovators-2013/index.html">the other entrepreneurs who were named to the list</a>.
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23andMe Blog

23andMe Blog Team

Builders + Innovators

If you haven’t seen it already, tune into CBS This Morning’s interview with 23andMe’s CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-19715" alt="Most Daring CEO" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Most-Daring-CEO-300x174.jpg" width="300" height="174" />
Sitting down with hosts Charlie Rose, Norah O’Donnell and Gayle King, Anne spoke about how taking the test changed her own life and her goals for 23andMe.
Testing can offer people “a roadmap” for what they could do to potentially stay healthy. As more people test and with enough data, Anne said there is potential to change health care. Her goal is to for people to be empowered with information about their health so that they can be “healthy at 100.”   The goal of having all that information is to better predict health outcomes for people and personalize medicine.
&#8220;A million people walking around with their genomes, I believe, is going to be disruptive to the health care system,&#8221; she said.
Check out “the most daring CEO in America” in action.
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23andMe’s Daring CEO On CBS

Today in San Francisco,<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-19537" alt="Anne Cover Shot" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-282x300.jpg" width="282" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-282x300.jpg 282w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-768x817.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-963x1024.jpg 963w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-827x880.jpg 827w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-1109x1180.jpg 1109w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot.jpg 1648w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px" />
Of course 23andMe is there. Our very own co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki, recently named by the magazine as the<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3018598/for-99-this-ceo-can-tell-you-what-might-kill-you-inside-23andme-founder-anne-wojcickis-dna-r"> “Most Daring CEO In America,”</a> will talk about her vision for the company. &nbsp; 23andMe was founded in part to empower people by giving them access to their own genetic information and involving them in their own health in ways that will also accelerating research and lead to a new era of personalized medicine. Along with talking about 23andMe&#8217;s core values, Anne will explain the benefits of getting tested.
With a welcome from San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, the conference will include such luminaries as Ben Silbermann, the CEO of Pinterest and Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger and a long list of others.
23andMe will be tweeting out of the meeting most of the day today. You can find us<a href="https://twitter.com/23andMe"> here</a>. Check it out.

23andMe And Innovation

Most 23andMe customers are interested in knowing what their genetics says about potential health risks.
They’re interested in exploring their own genetic information because knowing gives them the power to take action.
<div id="attachment_19583" style="width: 550px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-19583" class="wp-image-19583 size-large" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Fast-Company-Graphic-540x1024.jpg" alt="Here's a graphic from the Fast Company article showing a snapshot of some of our customer data." width="540" height="1024" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Fast-Company-Graphic-540x1024.jpg 540w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Fast-Company-Graphic-158x300.jpg 158w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Fast-Company-Graphic-768x1457.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Fast-Company-Graphic-464x880.jpg 464w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Fast-Company-Graphic-622x1180.jpg 622w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Fast-Company-Graphic-scaled.jpg 1349w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px" />Here&#8217;s a graphic from the Fast Company article showing a snapshot of some of our customer data.</div>
Knowing allows them to take preventative measures or prepare and mitigate for the things that can’t be changed. They also understand that an identified genetic risk for a condition isn’t the whole picture. Your genetics is important, but your health is influenced by many factors – your diet, whether you exercise, the amount of stress in your life along with what’s in your DNA. Knowing about a risk gives you the power to make changes to either prevent what you can or mitigate what you can’t.
But not everyone sees things in that way. Some people don’t want to know.
Among the many interesting angles in the recent<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3018598/for-99-this-ceo-can-tell-you-what-might-kill-you-inside-23andme-founder-anne-wojcickis-dna-r"> Fast Company article</a> about 23andMe and our CEO Anne Wojcicki, the story identified the challenge of marketing direct-to- consumer genetic testing to the<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3019942/the-marketing-challenge-of-99-dna-testing-company-23andme"> right audience</a>.
Ultimately we think that all individuals will find value in genetic testing, but for now many of our customers choose 23andMe because they want to know.
“Our marketing team’s job is to find people who aren’t afraid to manage their health, who aren’t afraid to know,” said Andy Page, 23andMe President.
It is interesting to look a little deeper at this notion of why some people want to know and some others don’t. If you talk to someone who has tested, they’re often baffled as to why someone wouldn’t want to know. Conversely, if you talk to someone who doesn’t want to get tested, he or she seem incredulous that anyone would want to find out they had a genetic risk for any disease. It’s actually a central paradox in the Fast Company article as the writer considers her next steps after learning that her young adopted daughter has a genetic risk for getting Alzheimer’s late in life.
What’s with the stark contrast between these two camps of people? A lot, apparently.
Recently,<a href="http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/07/10/0956797613478616.abstract"> a study</a> by researchers at the<a href="http://www.psych.ufl.edu/"> University of Florida</a> looked specifically at why some people avoided learning about their health risks, even when knowing those risks might help prevent them from ever developing the disease.
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The researchers learned that a person’s receptiveness to this kind of information has everything to do with how the information is presented and who is presenting it. In one group of individuals, the researchers found that people were more likely to opt-in to finding out about their risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease if they were asked to talk about why they might not want to see the information. It also helped if they were given information about how they could reduce their risk, and whether or not 
the condition was treatable.
And although some individuals said they would avoid finding out about a risk because they might be distressed by it, <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/useful-genetics/">several studies</a> indicate that people don’t experience inordinate stress. Learning of these risks can also trigger positive actions, like talking to a doctor and preventative treatment.
23andMe gives people the choice to take this information and inform how they manage their own health. We&#8217;ve included a short video from a PBS station in San Francisco asking people whether they&#8217;d want to know. Check it out.
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A couple of producers for &#8220;On The Media&#8221; a show that airs regularly on NPR stations discuss the reasons they&#8217;ve decided to do 23andMe and then spit together. Have <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/radio/#/ondemand/325920" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a listen</a>.
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To Know Or Not To Know

You don’t need an excuse to read the always-interesting magazine<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/"> Fast Company</a>, but if you did, here it is:
This week’s cover story,  “The Most Daring CEO in America,” features 23andMe’s CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-19537" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-282x300.jpg" alt="Anne Cover Shot" width="282" height="300" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-282x300.jpg 282w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-768x817.jpg 768w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-963x1024.jpg 963w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-827x880.jpg 827w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot-1109x1180.jpg 1109w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Anne-Cover-Shot.jpg 1648w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px" />
Writer Elizabeth Murphy gets to the core of what 23andMe is trying to accomplish: what we’re doing is new, our service offers incredible potential to change how people approach their health and wellness, and that our research model offers new opportunities for scientific discoveries.
But to get there, 23andMe also has to clear some hurdles outlined in Murphy’s story. One of those is simply a matter of explaining the complicated science behind genetics. Another is reaching the people we’ve identified as <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3019323/to-know-you-is-to-really-know-you" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">our core audience</a>: those who see value in having access to their genetic information because of the power that knowledge brings them in managing their own health.
Or as Neil Rothstein, 23andMe’s vice president of marketing, says in the piece, “We’re not really focused on a specific age group or gender or fitness level. It’s people who have this control mind-set.”
Murphy mentions 23andMe’s first-ever<a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3018619/getting-the-message-out"> TV ad campaign</a>, which also happens to be the first time any personal genetics company has aired this kind of health-focused commercial on television.
While 23andMe is focused on providing valuable health and ancestry information to consumers, 23andMe President Andy Page emphasized that as our customer base grows it will power the research to make important genetic discoveries in the future.
As Anne says in the article 23andMe’s mission as a company isn’t just about return on investment, but “revolutionizing healthcare.”
Check it out here.

A Look At 23andMe’s DNA Revolution

For many of us, every day is “Coffee Day.” 
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-full wp-image-19423" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Genetically-Wired-Infographic-e1380214166475.jpg" alt="Genetically Wired Infographic" width="282" height="643" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Genetically-Wired-Infographic-e1380214166475.jpg 282w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Genetically-Wired-Infographic-e1380214166475-132x300.jpg 132w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 282px) 100vw, 282px" /> 
We need no excuse to celebrate a steaming cuppa joe. But someone out there made it official several years ago, so in the spirit of International Coffee Day – September 29th—23andMe broke down the genetics behind why some of us are always <a href="https://www.23andme.com/topics/wellness/caffeine-consumption/">jonesing for java</a>.
People are simply genetically wired to react differently to their morning coffee. Genetics affect how you metabolize coffee and are associated with how much you consume. Genetic differences can explain why some people can chug a Venti without problem, while a few sips are enough to perk up someone else all day long.
There are health implications, but those are pretty hotly debated. Some studies show that coffee can lower risks for type 2 diabetes and some cancers. And it appears that caffeine rather than coffee may help protect against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
23andMe looks at a variant that affects how quickly a person metabolizes caffeine.
Research shows that slow caffeine metabolizers who also drank at least two to three cups of coffee per day had a significantly increased risk of a non-fatal heart attack. In contrast, other studies show that fast metabolizers could actually reduce their heart attack risk by drinking coffee.
Take a look at our “Genetically Wired” infographic to learn a little more about why people respond differently. If you’re a 23andMe customer, find out what your genetics say about whether you’re a fast or slow caffeine metablolizer.
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<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-12163" style="float: left; margin-right: 15px;" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/JRBgdIBXKIeVIdETJrxYIw_ttam_logo.jpg" alt="" width="24" height="40" /> Learn more about your health in your 23andMe account.
Not yet a customer? Visit our <a href="https://www.23andme.com/store/cart/">store</a> or <a href="https://www.23andme.com/ancestry" data-wplink-edit="true">learn more</a>.
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Coffee, Tea And 23andMe

By Matthew Cook, PhD 
Udacity Instructor
Get excited! After months of planning and production, Udacity and 23andMe are launching a new genetics course, Tales from the Genome, that will be ready and open to the world on Monday, September 30th.
The rapid pace of technological development makes genetics more clinically and personally useful. Understanding our own genetics gives us each an opportunity to make the most of this new age of personalized medicine.
Genetics is about the stories our genomes can tell—all the biological secrets wound up and efficiently packaged into information storage units called chromosomes. Together, we will uncover some of those secrets in Tales from the Genome.
The course will provide an essential foundation for genetics in a fun and engaging way. Instructors will talk to experts in the field and individuals with different traits, all in an effort to explain the sometimes complex science of genetics. Students will be grounded in the basics of DNA, the building blocks of life.
Here’s a look at some of the questions you will be able to answer by the end of the course: 
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<a id="docs-internal-guid-6d2d9966-29af-0b2f-39dd-95494f93d1f0" href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0068853" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Research shows</a> that genetics students with access to personal genetic information perform better on academic assessments. Therefore, we are excited to announce that 23andMe is sponsoring a sweepstakes in which a free personal genetics kit (a $99 value) will be given away to 50 eligible Tales from the Genome students.
Tales from the Genome is unlike any other course you will find online or in person. It will be open to the world starting on Monday, September 30th. For a glimpse of what you’ll experience in the class, check out our mini-lesson that shows you how to extract DNA from strawberries in your kitchen.
Good science to you all, and see you in class!
Mathew Cook earned his PhD at Duke University and trained as a post-doctoral scholar at UCSF. He joined the content development team at Udacity to share his passion for biology with the world.

Matthew Cook

Introducing Tales from the Genome on Udacity

Back in June we told you about an awesome new exhibit at the Smithsonian <a href="http://unlockinglifescode.org/">“Genome: Unlocking Life’s Code.”</a>  Maybe you didn’t want to take our word on it, but how about <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/arts/design/genome-unlocking-lifes-code-at-the-smithsonian.html?_r=4&amp;" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times.</a>
Last week the paper of record had a nice overview of the exhibit,  which goes a long way to up visitors genetic literacy and gives them a quick overview of how the genetic revolution continues to change our lives our health and our understanding of the human story.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-17048 size-full" src="http://35.88.189.111/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/istock_000002166527xsmall.jpeg" alt="" width="406" height="296" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/istock_000002166527xsmall.jpeg 406w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/istock_000002166527xsmall-300x219.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 406px) 100vw, 406px" />
“(T)he cumulative effect is to inspire amazement about how much has happened in the last decade, how matter of factly we now seem to take it, and how much more is yet to come,” the writer Edward Rothstein said in the article.
As we mentioned back in June, the exhibit is presented in collaboration with the National Human Genome Research Institute. It also includes the contributions of other private foundations and companies including 23andMe. Included in the exhibit is collection of stories from 23andMe customers, who shared their experience of using DNA testing to learn more about themselves, their health and their ancestry.
“I’m pleased as punch,” said Neil Schwartzman, who found his biological sister, mother, father and half brother using 23andMe. “I just wish my adoptive parents were alive so that they could come and see it.”
<a href="https://www.23andme.com/stories/2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Neil’s story</a> –as well as the stories of eight other 23andMe customers – is included in a portion of the exhibit that looks at how individuals have used DNA to discover something new about their health or their ancestry. And what those discoveries have meant to their sense of self and their place in the world.
Check out the Times article and the exhibit if you get a chance.

Smithsonian Exhibit In The News

<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-18816" src="https://blog-api.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Google-Doodle-300x200.jpg" alt="Google Doodle" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Google-Doodle-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blogcms.23andme.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Google-Doodle.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />Francis Crick and James Watson might not have been able to describe the iconic double helix structure of DNA more than 60 years ago, if it hadn’t been for <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Tech-Culture/2013/0725/Google-Doodle-How-Rosalind-Franklin-photographed-DNA">Rosalind Franklin</a>, who was honored today in a <a href="https://www.google.com/">Google Doodle.</a>
Franklin, who would have turned 93 today, took an x-ray image that helped Watson and Crick as they were working on what became a seminal paper in Nature. She died just five years later. Crick, Watson and a co-worker of Franklin’s, Maurice Wilkins, were awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962.

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