START: Koby Conrad, Founder & CEO, Sunflower Sober: “The #1 AI Companion for sobriety"

START: Koby Conrad, Founder & CEO, Sunflower Sober: “The #1 AI Companion for sobriety"

July 10, 2026 · 10 min · Episode 90

About this episode

Koby Conrad discusses how AI can revolutionize addiction recovery through his company Sunflower.

1.2 billion people struggle with addiction. There will never be enough clinicians to treat them. Koby Conrad believes AI changes that equation. His own story starts much smaller. High 24/7 from 19 to 24. He got sober. Taught himself to code. Built a side project called Sunflower. Years later, that side project became a VC-backed company with a much bigger ambition. Today, Sunflower has: → 500,000+ users and counting → Grown from 200 to 100,000 monthly active users in under 6 months → Reached a $1M run rate in about 10 months → Tracked 109 years of sobriety every single day → Expanded to users in almost every country, across 5 languages The product combines consumer software with clinical care. A consumer app featuring: An AI sponsor for addiction recovery Visual sobriety progression tracking A social network built for recovery CBT journaling and educational content across major addiction types Alongside a tele-therapy clinic: - Talk therapy in California and Texas, expanding nationwide with MAT - World-class doctors building the most effective protocols for addiction The mission began with one billion sober days. The team realized they'd reach that goal sooner than expected. So…

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Guest: Koby Conrad

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Organizations: Sunflower, California, Texas

Books & works: Channels of Growth

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