Dan Tang

I build things that help people live better.

I grew up in a family with longevity genes. At my grandmother’s 90th birthday party, 22 relatives in their 90s were there to celebrate.

But my father died of lung cancer at 60. He had been a heavy drinker and smoker when he was young.

Before he died, I asked him: “If you could live once again, would you do anything differently?”

He replied: “I would take better care of my health.”

It was the best gift he ever gave me. I became obsessed with one question:

How do you build a life worth living?

Starting with taking care of my health.

At 26, I became vegan, quit alcohol, and got deeply into yoga, longevity, and Zen practice. I spent years experimenting with how I ate, worked, thought, and lived.

Then I started building companies.

First, I built Curie London, a consumer hardware startup making fresh skincare without all the plastic packaging. We built a prototype, raised funding from Techstars, and learned many lessons as first-time founders.

Then I co-founded Radiant.

We began by making plant-based meat with no weird ingredients. Eventually, we moved into growing steaks from lion’s mane mycelium. We got our products into supermarkets such as Selfridges and into Michelin-starred restaurants, and built a subscription business that generated $250,000 in revenue.

We spent years trying to help people eat healthier.

Ironically, we sometimes worked so hard doing it that we became less healthy ourselves.

That contradiction stayed with me.

It made me realize that health is important, but it is only the foundation.

You can have a healthy body and still be anxious.

You can build a successful company and still feel empty.

You can chase freedom so hard that you become a slave to your own ambition.

These days, I’m interested in a slightly bigger problem:

How do we help ourselves live long, live healthy, and actually live well?

I’m currently building around longevity and experimenting with Pure, an Instinct-like AI assistant hyper-focused on your lifestyle.

I’m especially interested in health, longevity, consumer products, AI, Zen, and philosophy. I’m obsessed with figuring out how technology can make ordinary life meaningfully better.

I’m still figuring most of it out.

But the direction is pretty simple:

Live long. Live healthy. Live well. Build useful things.

Books of my life

The story begins.

I met my two best friends. We became friends for life. One now lives in New York City; the other in Chengdu, China.

I moved to Germany to study without speaking German.

I fell into the abyss.

I found my way back.

I lost my papa. I met my partner, Satya.

I lost my grandpa and began practicing Zen. I made a vow: to do my best to treat everyone as I would want to be treated.

I founded my first company, Curie London, and raised funding from Techstars.

I co-founded Radiant with Satya.

I wrote down 100 things I appreciate about my mother and sent them to her in a letter. She cried when she read it.

I took a gap year and devoted 18 months to volunteer service around the world.

I moved to San Francisco.

Books I love

01

Old Path White Clouds

The Buddha’s example represents one of the highest expressions of the human spirit—a north star that has guided people for 2,500 years. This book helped me understand that the only journey is the journey within.

After reading it, I stopped eating meat and drinking alcohol. I wrote letters apologizing to people I had hurt. Then I flew home and cooked for my mother and grandmother every day for a month.

My relationship with my family has been transformed ever since.

02

The Bhagavad Gita

You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work.

Never act for your own profit, but for the welfare of the world.

I wanted to understand what it meant to work without selfish desire—to act for the welfare of others. So I spent my savings on 18 months of volunteer service around the world.

That journey took me through Christchurch, Golden Bay, Montreal, Tokyo, Kyoto, London, Prague, and San Francisco.

It taught me something I still believe: the secret of a joyful life is to devote yourself to serving the world.

03

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

This is a book I revisit every year. Its principles have become lifelong practices:

  1. Everything passes through your worldview, like light through colored glasses. Opinions are subjective truths. Stay humble, judge less, and do not let yourself be swept away by other people’s opinions.
  2. Keep your attention on your Circle of Influence. Let go of the Circle of Concern.
  3. Make time for what is important—especially when it is not yet urgent. Ignore the noise around everything else.

04

A Compass to Fulfilment

This book has been a guide through my journey as a founder. Whatever we build, we are also building ourselves.

Why do we come into this world? To build our character, refine our souls, and elevate others.

One day, when I leave this world, I hope I can tell myself: You did a good job. You became a little better, a little purer, than when you arrived.

Contact

I’m still figuring most of it out. If you’re thinking about longevity, health, AI, Zen, or technology that makes everyday life better, let’s chat.

tangdan1991.cn@gmail.com