In 2012, Sam Altman sold Loopt to Green Dot for $43.4 million.
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, recently talked about a personal experience he had in the beginning of his career. He recalled how, while working tirelessly on his first startup, Loopt, with his then-boyfriend Nick Sivo, he unintentionally ignored his health to the point that he was diagnosed with scurvy, a condition brought on by a severe vitamin C deficiency. General weakness, anaemia, gum problems, and skin haemorrhages are a few of the symptoms of scurvy.
In an interview with New York Magazine, Mr Altman said that at that time, he and Mr Sivo were devoted to developing Loopt, a software designed to track the locations of friends, after they secured a $6,000 investment from a founders program. This grant allowed him to stay in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a few months, working alongside fellow tech enthusiasts.
However, Mr Altman’s focus on creating Loopt caused him to overlook his nutritional requirements to the point where he suffered from scurvy as a result of eating insufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables. As he admitted in his interview with New York Magazine, despite his best efforts, Loopt did not become as well-known as he had hoped. Nevertheless, he was reminded by this experience to put a higher priority on maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
As a result, he made the decision to sell Loopt, take a year off, and spend his spare time reading, travelling, and playing video games, according to the outlet. He even travelled to an ashram, which he said had a big impact on how mentally well he was. Altman sold the compnay to Green Dot for $43.4 million in 2012.
The ChatGPT founder told New York Magazine, “It had a profound impact on me. While I acknowledge that I may still go through periods of stress and anxiety in different areas of my life, overall I feel very relaxed, happy.”