Sami Inkinen

Sami Inkinen (@samiinkinen) is a Finnish-born, Stanford-trained entrepreneur and the founder and CEO/president of Trulia and Virta Health. Virta is on a mission to reverse metabolic disease in one billion people using technology, AI, and nutrition. A world-class endurance athlete, Sami is a triathlon age-group world champion and an 8-hour, 24-minute Ironman finisher, having completed the Hawaii Ironman World Championship seven times. This episode is brought to you by: Eight Sleep Pod Cover 5 sleeping solution for dynamic cooling and heating: EightSleep.com/Tim AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: DrinkAG1.com/Tim Wealthfront high-yield cash account: Wealthfront.com/Tim Wealthfront disclaimer: New clients get 3.30% base APY from program banks + additional 0.75% boost for 3 months on your uninvested cash (max $150k balance). Terms and conditions apply. The Cash Account offered by Wealthfront Brokerage LLC (“WFB”) member FINRA/SIPC, not a bank. The base APY as of 1/30/26 is representative, can change, and requires no minimum. Tim Ferriss, a non-client, receives compensation from WFB for advertising and holds a non-controlling equity interest in the corporate parent of WFB, which creates a conflict of interest. Individual experiences and outcomes will differ. Instant withdrawals may be limited by your receiving firm and other factors. Investment advisory services provided by Wealthfront Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities investments: not bank deposits, not bank-guaranteed or FDIC-insured, and may lose value. DISCLAIMER: The content of this episode is for informational purposes only. Neither Sami Inkinen nor Tim Ferriss is a medical professional, and nothing discussed here should be taken as medical advice or a substitute for consultation with a qualified healthcare provider. Timestamps: [00:00] Start. [01:45] How Sami uses 15 minutes every Sunday to outrun the universe. [03:37] Virta: at a thousand employees and counting. [04:15] The 5 a.m. boot-up: cold lake, core work, and emptying the dishwasher. [06:45] Why mood follows movement before the brain even boots up. [11:54] Saying no to 99% of what “normal people” do. [19:29] The weekly architecture. [20:29] Two direct reports: the case for radical subtraction. [21:09] 553 CEO letters and the case for one scalable habit. [32:36] The text-file life plan. [33:32] The 15-year personal plan Sami stumbled into by accident. [34:30] The four-pillar formula for not cracking in 26 years of founder life. [38:20] What “white Japanese people” and beer steins in saunas have in common. [45:55] Smoke saunas, löyly, and the one Finnish word worth knowing. [48:37] The lean, ten-percent-body-fat triathlete who was quietly going prediabetic. [53:07] Why 93% of American adults are metabolically unhealthy. [56:05] Reversing type 2 diabetes the way Virta actually does it. [1:00:17] Most surprising interventions. [1:03:32] The pancreatic cancer trial that bought patients 35% more time. [1:07:02] The McDonald’s protocol: how to reverse diabetes from the drive-thru. [1:16:00] Why GLP-1 adherence collapses and Virta’s doesn’t. [1:21:10] Vegans, tofu, and the hardest macronutrient to get right. [1:25:27] The dose-response curve that lets perfect stop being the enemy of progress. [1:29:32] VO2 max blocks: how Sami trains an 80+ engine without burning out. [1:41:56] Hacking 10% off your running speed in four weeks. [1:46:09] Progressive overload, specificity, and the case against the long ride. [1:50:07] 45 days, three hours, and a contract to keep a marriage afloat. [1:55:27] The lightning strike in the middle of the Pacific that started a family. [2:01:15] The 36-year-old who bought his first car only because his wife made him. [2:05:40] The book recommendation no one saw coming: Trejo. [2:07:51] The PSA: chronic, progressive, and irreversible — three words Sami refuses. [2:11:40] Parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. Follow Tim: Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sami Inkinen

Co-Founder & CEO

Virta Health

Sami Inkinen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Virta Health, the company reversing type 2 diabetes. Before Virta, Sami was the Co-Founder of Trulia, steering the company to a successful IPO and its eventual sale to Zillow Group. Outside of the boardroom, he launched Fat Chance Row, a daring venture to row 2,750 miles across the Pacific, unsupported with his wife, rowing 18 hours straight per day. In Today's Episode with Sami Inkinen: 1. From Farm in Finland to IPO Founder: Relationship to Money How did Sami's humble upbringing on a farm in Finland impact his early mindset and ambition? How does Sami analyze his relationship to money today? How has it changed over time? Why was the two weeks following Trulia's IPO the worst two weeks of his life? 2. The Secret to Marriage: Rowing 2,750 Miles Together: What are some of the biggest lessons on marriage Sami has from spending 45 days rowing the Pacific with only his wife for company? What was their single biggest argument over the 45 days? What did Sami learn from it? Sami worked with his wife, what are the biggest pros and cons of working with your spouse? Would Sami recommend it? What does Sami believe are the core fundamentals that underpin the best marriages? 3. The Secret to Parenting: The Regret of Delegation: What is Sami's biggest regret when it comes to parenting? How does Sami think about what it means to be a great father today? How has that changed? How did Sami's relationship with his wife change when they had kids? 4. Relationship to Identity: Why does Sami believe tieing your identity to the company, as a founder, is so dangerous? How does Sami advise on creating multiple personas to prevent this? Why does Sami believe that all the best founders are addicts to some extent?

Sami Inkinen

Co-Founder & CEO

Virta Health

Sami Inkinen is the Founder & CEO @ Virta Health, the startup on a mission to reverse type 2 diabetes for 100m people by 2025. They have raised over $35m in funding from the likes of Max Levchin, Ev William's Obvious Ventures, Paypal, Ray Tonsing @ Caffeinated Capital and previous 20VC guest, Bob Kocher @ Venrock. Previously, Sami was a co-founder, COO and President of Trulia until it's IPO and eventual sale for $3.6B. Sami, an avid athlete, is a triathlon world champion in his age group, and recently rowed across the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii unsupported with his wife at a record speed to raise awareness about healthy nutrition. In Today's Episode You Will Learn: 1.) How Sami made his way into the world of startups, came to co-found Trulia and then realized his mission to reverse type 2 diabetes with Virta? 2.) Why does Sami disagree with conventional wisdom and say you learn "more from success than you do from failure"? What are the educational benefits of success that you do not get from failure? What did Sami learn from his Trulia journey? 3.) Why does Sami believe that CEOs should read less and listen less? What are the benefits to not empathizing extensively with the problems of the team? What operational structure must be in place for this level of management to occur? 4.) How does Sami compare VC funding to real estate mortgages? Why does Sami believe that it is always better to raise little? What is the one thing time, money and shelf-space all have in common? 5.) What does Sami mean when he says "CEOs must look after themselves like athletes"? What are Sami's top health and nutrition tips for founders and operators with hugely busy lives? Items Mentioned In Today's Show: Sami's Fave Book: Unbroken As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Sami on Twitter here! Likewise, you can follow Harry on Snapchat here for mojito madness and all things 20VC. If you are an early stage startup, the right infrastructure and support systems are critical, that is where First Republic is so good. First Republic's resources network and expertise allow entrepreneurs to customise a solid foundation for their business. Why First Republic, well you get to leverage their incredible network of VC firms to prepare you for future fundraising events, you get to count on a single point of contact that will be there for you and your employees, you get access to exclusive events and networking opportunities. Their clients include the likes of Instacart, eShares and Wish just to name a few. Check it out by heading over to innovation.firstrepublic.com Segment allows you to collect data from every platform (mobile, web, server, cloud apps) and load it into Segment. Segment then sends the customer data to your tools and destinations where it can be used most effectively, destinations include email, analytics, warehouses, helpdesks and more. With over 200 sources and destinations on the Segment platform that can empower your team, Segment really is the last integration you will ever do and that is why the world's best companies use segment to drive growth and revenue including Atlassian, New Relic and Crate & Barrel. Simply head over to segment.com to find out more.

Sami Inkinen

Co-Founder & CEO

Virta Health