What if you could clean your teeth, reduce gum inflammation, and remineralize enamel — all by chewing gum?
In this high-energy episode of The Startup Vagabond, Grant Watkins interviews Vishar Yaghoubian, founder of Toothpod — a science-backed, dentist-approved smart gum designed to revolutionize how we think about dental care.
We explore:
How Vishar went from cold-emailing 600 professors to conducting research at Harvard Dental School
How Toothpod grew from her kitchen to a production run of 216,000 units
What Toronto’s startup ecosystem gets right (and what the U.S. does faster)
Why too many founders get stuck in the "pitch competition trap"
Her refreshingly honest take on accelerators, product-market fit, and building with intention