Ari Tulla built, pivoted, exited, and is now using AI to rewire preventative health.

Ari Tulla is a Finnish-born, SF-based tech entrepreneur who started in gaming and Nokia’s early app ecosystem, founded doctor-finder startup BetterDoctor (later rolled into a 500-person PE platform), and now leads Elo Health, a nutrition company turning biometrics + AI into real-world outcomes. He shares the gritty founder path: consumer → API pivot, exit, then the hard jump from software to atoms (supply chains, tariffs, fulfillment).

This conversation gets unusually candid about what actually scales in healthtech: why “prevention” needs business-model innovation, where AI beats human pattern-recognition, and why even die-hard remote founders end up craving one room for speed and trust. We also roam from wearables and privacy to CRISPR, cloning ethics, and what he teaches his kids about building in an AI world.🧊 Finland roots ➜ Nokia’s app era ➜ Silicon Valley leap.🎮 From MUDs to mobile: early internet, world-building, and dev culture.🏢 Nokia lessons: platform bets, Symbian/MeeGo, and timing risk.🔁 Startup pivots: BetterDoctor—consumer → API/SaaS → PE roll-up.🧪 Elo’s thesis: AI + biomarkers + nutrition as preventative medicine.🤖 AI vs. doctors: pattern recognition, triage, and the “QB” model.💤 Sleep, stress, movement: building real-time feedback loops with wearables.🧬 Bio/ethics: cloning, CRISPR, and data rights in health.🏗️ Why you shouldn’t “recreate Silicon Valley.”🧑‍🍳 Team dynamics: remote reality vs. “one room” excellence.

Connect with the Guest

Ari Tulla — LinkedIn: Company (Elo):

Learn more about NZVC & Hosts

NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz

Mark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/

Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/

00:00 Intro

01:50 Ari — Finland & early internet

07:00 Gaming (MUDs) & early dev connections

12:20 Nokia / Ovi Store & mobile apps

36:40 Entrepreneurship → BetterDoctor (growth & pivot)

44:10 Sale to PE & running bigger company

48:40 Elo.Health origin — nutrition & prevention52:00 Product experiments: blood tests, wearables, supplements

57:00 Sleep, stress & health-span discussion

01:17:00 Future plans & wrap-up.

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