Zak Williams, Son Of The Late Robin Williams, Is Willing To Get Personal For The Sake Of Public Mental Health
Source: Entrepreneur, Kenny Herzog
Photo: PYM
The entrepreneur and investor talks in-depth about his new stress and anxiety-reducing chew, PYM, and his mission to improve everyone’s well-being
There’s no perfect time to launch a new product. Zak Williams knows this better than most. The 37-year-old serial investor, entrepreneur, mental-health advocate and son of the late, legendary Robin Williams has helped fund or advise numerous startups in the lfestyle and AI space over the past several years. But with PYM (aka Prepare Your Mind), the purportedly stress- and anxiety-reducing dietary-supplement chew he helped innovate and is bringing to retail this August (the website will start taking preorders today), the stakes are different. Williams is the face and name both behind PYM and up front in its marketing and presentation. The product is an extension of his own, personal journey toward self-healing and sobriety in the wake of his father’s passing in 2014. And his goal is to get PYM chews directly to as many consumers as possible to help counter a national epidemic of mood disorders and addiction.
Unfortunately, he and his team ran head-on into a worldwide pandemic that continues to vex scientific and economic experts and do incredible damage to the psyches of countless individuals. That last consequence only lends more urgency to Williams’ mission, and in a wide-ranging conversation — with Williams phoning in from his home in Los Agneles — we discussed the tradeoffs of public scrutiny, separating PYM from its category pack and surmounting skepticism in an effort to provide a healty, commercially viable path to simply feeling better.