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

First Builders

The First Builders Podcast from The Council dives into the stories of those who go first—founders, funders, and early operators who helped build category-defining companies before they were household names. Hosted by General Partner Amber Illig and Partner Rachel Tsui, each episode brings a candid, practical conversation with someone who has helped shape companies before there was a playbook.

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First Builders

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

July 15, 2025 • The Council • Season 1 • Episode 6

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 him

It’s a story about identity, scale, sobriety—and how the best builders are the ones who stay close to the problem.

Follow Koby Conrad

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kobychaseconrad

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kobychase

Company: https://www.joinsunflower.com

Book: https://channelsofgrowth.com

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