Interview: Suzanne Khan

Photo: Bien

I sat down to interview Suzanne Khan one humid summer morning a few weeks ago. Khan is the co-founder and CEO of Bien—a psylocibin microdosing company. Having experienced the benefits of psilocybin personally for their respective ADHD and depression, she and her co-founder, Alice Policand, changed career tracks and set up sourcing legally produced mushrooms that arrive pre-dosed to your post box. As sunlight streamed into her Paris apartment, Khan chatted about starting a company with your friend, tackling misconceptions, and the idea of a post-anxiety generation.

YOU WANT TO DO SOMETHING IN MENTAL HEALTH, THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR YOU, AND THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT AND IT'S HAPPENING NOW.

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POST-PANDEMIC, THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE DEPRESSED. BUT THE WAY WE ARE TACKLING MENTAL HEALTH—ESPECIALLY IN FRANCE—IS STILL A ONE SIZE FITS ALL. WHEN YOU HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON, WE ARE GOING TO GIVE YOU AN SSRI. WE ARE JUST GOING TO ADDRESS THE SYMPTOM, BUT NOT THE ROOT CAUSE OF IT. AND YOU HAVE A HUGE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHO ARE TAKING SSRIS. I'M NOT SAYING THAT SSRIS ARE WRONG FOR EVERYONE, I'M JUST SAYING THAT IT'S NOT FOR EVERYONE AND FOR EVERY USE CASE.