The Healthy Lifespan Institute

According to this article:
http://www.xconomy.c...le-live-longer/

Westphal will be starting a non-profit group to:

The institute is being formed to research non-pharmaceutical measures that people can take to live longer and healthier lives and to educate people about the aging process.

here is more:

the new nonprofit group will be focused on educating people about the aging process and conducting human clinical studies into whether such interventions as reducing caloric intake or taking supplements like resveratrol will prolong healthy living. While the plant-derived resveratrol could be considered a pharmaceutical, depending on how it’s defined, a key to the potential life-extending measures of interest to the institute is that they are not traditional FDA-regulated therapeutics. The institute, which is due to officially launch within six months, is expected to be a separate entity from Sirtris. Though the nonprofit group will certainly be tapping the expertise of people affiliated with Sirtris to advance knowledge of the human aging process.

Sounds to me like they are planning a supplement based research, and raise funds by possibly selling supplements along with knowledge from experts regarding calorie restriction. Sounds to me like this is something we can do now, with imminst.org ...

<beginning rant...>

After all we have all the tools and expertise to make this happen, however this may not be something Imminst leadership wants to consider.

Seriously, why haven't you tried at least google advertising to get more membership, since it's free for non-profits?

I understand the ultimate goal here, but you need the masses to help with the heavy lifting. Without the masses gaining a visible benefit (even if it's only an expert like Michael talking about CR benefits, providing services to companies, or subscription based testing similar to "Consumer Labs") even acting a little like LEF with supplements maybe beneficial... there are enormous opportunities here to raise money for Imminst to fund the science that needs to be done. No disrespect, but sometimes I get the impression that Imminst is working off the same fund generating principals as the average beggar near the entrance of a highway... and it really bugs me when I feel that way about this non-profit group.

<ok, that's the end of my rant...>

I just hope Aubrey get's his foot in the door on Westphals non-profit...

A

When I see groups like this Westphal springing up, I think to myself, damn it, I wish we had some more active people around here willing to be on the ball for a variety of stuff, like this, to go out and work to wrangle them in here. Entice people like that, to do stuff like that here. "We" would do that, but there are only a few of us we that are active around here. That number is growing, but there is still only so much that we can do. You are we. Help us do this. If you dont have time to do this directly, then look for somebody who can and convince them to.

Get this all together, and propose it in the project ideas section. The recorders team is built to go through this stuff most every week. One of the main requirements or jump starters to get a project moving, when we look at it is, does it have a project leader? If that person who is doing that Westphal is willing to do it through a section here, then propose it. Tell them about this place using the name ARUL rather than Immortality Institute so you dont scare them away. Tell them about some incentives for collaboration.

Many of us have long thought that the supplements section should get more going. The people that are in there and care the most about it should band together and do more stuff like Westphal. Things like that, and the supplements wiki page with organized info, the members supplements mix, etc.. I think its a great idea for Westphal, or something like it, to be proposed and looked in to for here.

Also, google ads are free for non profits?!#@!?!!! Are you sure? If thats true, then please do propose that we get on that asap in a topic in the project ideas section too. One of the things Im thinking about proposing when a few more things are ready is to buy some imminst google ads, but if they are free then we should get on that yesterday. Ive got about 400,000 things Im working on around here right now myself other wise I would do it.

Seriously, why haven't you tried at least google advertising to get more membership, since it's free for non-profits?

We can only get a google grant for ad words if we do not use google adsense or derive any other revenue from advertising on our website. We make over $1,600 per month from ads. Also, Google checkout used to be free for non-profits until March of this year, now it is about the same as paypal.

I know that it seems to move slow around here sometimes and new ideas flounder around and might never get acted upon, but we don't have a lot of people to get things done, we barely have enough people to keep the ship and current initiatives running as is right now. Unfortunately it is common for directors to go MIA after being elected (going to change the Board's role a bit before the end of this year). About making money and selling supplements, the members (who are the shareholders here) have never felt completely comfortable getting into the business, even though it has been suggested several times. Some don't even want the supps forums here. Besides, LEF has got that market cornered pretty well. It would take a lot of time and effort to make sure it is a success (time and effort that we don't have - see above). If we had as many people volunteering time as offering ideas, we would be huge by now.

That being said, Imminst, despite the radical name, has some impressive staying power. Since incorporation (2002), I have seen a lot of non-profits, groups, websites, what-not explode onto the scene and then dramatically fade, or never really get off the ground. Not only has Imminst stuck around, it has seen steady growth year over year with 2009 being our most successful thus far. In the present day we are so used to seeing dramatic technological progress that we expect it to happen everywhere. Unfortunately, people still make the gears turn here at Imminst and we have a pretty thin staff.

Don't worry, we are still working every day to move things forward and grow and new energetic people come by once and a while. Selling supplements or other fundraising ideas are never off the table, but they do have to be vetted and voted upon.

Thanks for the rant Anthony! I hope it drives some good discussion.

Hi Mind,

thanks for the clarification on the google adwords issue. I did not know of the limitations. However, now that I do, I will propose an idea... because $10,000 a month in google advertising is nothing to sneeze at...

I propose a second non-profit be created for the sole purpose of grant writing (say... to the NIH) for longevity related research (which would include equipment and expenses) and fund raising for non-profits such as ... you guessed it, imminst.org

I know you all are busy, and a staff maybe needed to interface, write a grant, maybe even simply answer emails, or phones. Yes, making it simple with a minimum board of directors would be key. I maybe able to temporarily hire someone (out of my own pocket) I know to write a request for an NIH grant to do a clinical study (ohh... say on a few supplements), after all her husband reviews NSF grant requests and they are very similar. So we may have a decent chance of winning a grant. The idea is that the grant would serve a few purposes... 1- it pays for the time of professionals to conduct the study, 2- it pays for equipment that can be used for future studies, 3- for temp lab location, etc...

But lets get back to the initial idea, a second non-profit. The initial website for it can get the google adwords advertisement, and it would have links to this website, and maybe to others non-profits, projects, or items that we would like to fund. Folks visiting the website, would be re-edirected to the imminst forums for discussions and the consideration of new projects and news. The fact is that the content and discussions generated by imminst members is (imo) priceless, and the most valuable part of this non-profit.

From the last couple of posts here, it seems that we may need 1-2 full time persons to be hired, along with some college interns to run it while it gets off the ground, since no one here can easily volunteer.

Yes, it's certainly possible I can take this project and lead it as the founder of a new non-profit, however I would feel awkward walking off and making it happen without talking to the leadership here.

Let me know yor thoughts on this idea, as I am "that close" to getting the ball rolling after reading that article about Westphal...

Cheers
A

Edited by Anthony_Loera, 01 October 2009 - 12:42 AM.

I am going to move this to the Action forum so your ideas can be analyzed more closely and garner more attention.

You are thinking like me - as far as hiring a couple people. I have argued for 1 or 2 new part time paid positions to be created here at Imminst. We don't have enough money for full time positions, even my position is considered part time.

One website we have been eying as an extra life extension portal is longecity. Perhaps that could be the site/org that goes for the Google grants - which is a competitive process, last I heard, so no guarantee we can get it. It won't happen overnight because of paperwork. Non profit status has to be applied for, with articles, initial directors, physical address and such things. It would be good to start thinking about who and where.

According to this article:
http://www.xconomy.c...le-live-longer/

Westphal will be starting a non-profit group to:

The institute is being formed to research non-pharmaceutical measures that people can take to live longer and healthier lives and to educate people about the aging process.

...
<beginning rant...>

... there are enormous opportunities here to raise money for Imminst to fund the science that needs to be done.
<ok, that's the end of my rant...>

I just hope Aubrey get's his foot in the door on Westphals non-profit...

Anthony, you're a legend mate. Rant on, rant on.


I hope the directors here are listening to you.

even acting a little like LEF with supplements maybe beneficial

I'm curious to know if you made this comment after seeing the post where I mentioned doing exactly this (I even mentioned structuring a future model on LEF's).

To date, not a single director has got back to me on this point. I've mentioned before about other ways of monetarily exploiting what the imminst has here.

You are completely right. We have an excellent message, some excellent minds here and the cause is untouchable in its potential benefit for society. To get this message out, we need weight, financial and population wise. Though saying that, this effort should be monitored closely at all times to ensure that it is being done morally and scrupulously and in a way that at no point has the potential to tarnish our reputation.


Things I have suggested to make this happen:

1. Fact sheets that come to members upon purchase of a membership (fees to be increased. Similar to what smartskincare does with their factsheets).

2. That we structure the site similar to LEF, develop the brand, and use to market supplements.


Though our efforts we managed recently to contribute $5000 to anti-aging efforts. The response around here was very positive at the news that we had won the 3banana competition. Imagine what we could donate if we were to follow the above two business models.

We need to get serious about anti-aging. We need to start something now that we can work on and grow, because after all, we're all in it for the very long haul.


< end of my own rant >

Edited by Michael, 29 October 2009 - 10:50 AM.
Trim quotes

Firstly, a word about rants: The internet is rant heaven, there is a lot of empty chatter and very little action. There are plenty of rants about that very issue at imminst. Thats why we set up this sub-forum. This has been around for a few months now and has been widely advertised. If you have a specific suggestion or initiative, post it here, preferably not in the form of a rant but in the for of a concrete, actionable proposal.
Thats not to say that rants aren't fun and sometimes really helpful, but please don't be disappointed if no-one reacts if you post that rant anywhere else than here.

So, thanks for the proposal in your rant, Anthony:

raise funds by possibly selling supplements

This is not the first time this has come up, but because it is you who is suggesting it, it makes it a more interesting proposal.
However, the following considerations apply:

1) ImmInst is partnering with many different supplement sellers and hopes to reach out to as many reputable companies as possible in this sector. Could we still do that if we were perceived as a competitor?
2) Historically, 'anti-aging' is thoroughly tainted with the label of snakeoil. Do we risk loosing standing in the scientific community if we get stuck in the supplements field more than we already are?
3) Many 'supplement' have waxed and waned in popularity over the years. Would we not loose our status as a neutral discussion platform as soon as we enter that space as a player?
4) Selling supplements necessitates new staff, new accounting procedures, and a complete realignment of management structure. Would we risk loosing our focus and sense of purpose?
5) Supplements are sensitive products. One single adverse reaction, misspelling of the label, incorrect filing, careless comment on the forums, contamination event etc could lead to all kinds of legal difficulties.
6) Your company is making good money selling supplements, so are many many others. Would it not be easier for us to convince you and your competitors to plough some of your profits back into relevant cutting edge science and gras roots activism rather than become a me too provider?

For all of those reasons, the current thinking of leadership is that we don't want to sell supplements.
However, there are many ways in which we would love to partner with initiatives such as yours. Mind has been asked to lead this negotiations and I assume you have already had time to discuss some options.
We'd also love to get further input from yourself and other members, the more imaginative and the more specific the better.
They can even be rants.

Thank Caliban,


1) ImmInst is partnering with many different supplement sellers and hopes to reach out to as many reputable companies as possible in this sector. Could we still do that if we were perceived as a competitor?

If by partnering, you mean selling banner space... then that is fine. A new non-profit may give you the room to continue, while providing fund to your cause. On the other hand you need to ask yourself... what is more important, raising $15,000 (or much much more) a month for my cause or selling banner space for a $1,500 in revenue from partners? The answer to that will probably lead you to consider how you raise funds.

2) Historically, 'anti-aging' is thoroughly tainted with the label of snakeoil. Do we risk loosing standing in the scientific community if we get stuck in the supplements field more than we already are?

Sell solid, no BS supplements, that have a solid history of being good to take. No weird over the top nootropics, or the latest fad in supplements, just stuff that Michael would be proud of. The scientific community are people after all, and probably take some vitamins and supplements as long as good solid evidence supports it.

3) Many 'supplement' have waxed and waned in popularity over the years. Would we not loose our status as a neutral discussion platform as soon as we enter that space as a player?

As a player, people would look to imminst for guidance and you can simply suggest safety over popularity, until reasonable evidence appears. Staying neutral, does not mean you need to sell the latest fad. In your case staying neutral would mean, being conservative regarding new things.

4) Selling supplements necessitates new staff, new accounting procedures, and a complete realignment of management structure. Would we risk loosing our focus and sense of purpose?

Have the supplement folks be merely an arm of Imminst, for the purpose of raising funds. Keep the core people involved in the projects at hand. Again, a new non-profit could be used to raise money for longevity purposes, while imminst directs funds to the best of these projects.

5) Supplements are sensitive products. One single adverse reaction, misspelling of the label, incorrect filing, careless comment on the forums, contamination event etc could lead to all kinds of legal difficulties.

Insurance exists for these things, however (and more importantly) if you have and test all batches, you will likely never need the insurance. As for labeling, and careless forum comments... FDA labeling is not hard to follow, and forum comments are made and forgotten... typically if you only sell supplements with a solid history, this should not be an issue.

6) Your company is making good money selling supplements, so are many many others. Would it not be easier for us to convince you and your competitors to plough some of your profits back into relevant cutting edge science and gras roots activism rather than become a me too provider?

Probably not... when you are forced to rely on the charity of others, instead of raising your own funds from the general public through a tangible item, you are limiting yourself dramatically. You can raise funds selling anything, so why not something that is relevant to the mission? (heck do remember selling chocolate bars at school? Now that was uncomfortable... but you did it anyway.)

Caliban, I used to do some part-time work for the Lighthouse here in Miami. This is a non-profit for the blind, where kids would come in and learn on braille assisted computers, play music, and try to learn the things needed to land a job, etc. There was a person in charge of organizing luncheons, and parties with the Mayor, and wealthy folks. They spent lots of money on fund raisers and the like. Having a group of blind children always available for the events was interesting, and focused people on the issue. They did a lot of work, called numerous people, and were very suave about the interactions with everyone. Did I mention that they did a lot of work? They definitely did. They continue to raise money for these kids, because that is their mission. The mission is relevant, not the parties, the wine tasting events, the restaurant events, the silly pictures of the children making faces, or the poetry, interesting music, or the outdoor indie movies behind a restaurant... these things bring people in to consider the mission, even if they initially never realized that some of the events where to help raise money for the blind.

So what honey pot do you guys have for the average Joe who thinks lipofuscin is something a plastic surgeon does?

If you suddenly rolled your eyes when you read my last sentence... then it's possible that I may simply be to "low brow", and can consider all my ideas silly.... I will find no issues with that at all.


(After all, I can just concentrate on my own supplement business... instead of 'trying' to teach folks how to fish...)

A

sorry, I had to ad the word 'trying' in that last comment...

Edited by Anthony_Loera, 03 October 2009 - 02:36 AM.

FYI Guys:

Dr. David Sinclair has opened his resveratrol forum: http://www.resforum.org/ and states that folks should wait to get pure res from....

the healthy lifespan institute.... of course.


I got to say, these guys are coming. I hope Imminst does not sit on the sidelines.

A

FYI Guys:

Dr. David Sinclair has opened his resveratrol forum: http://www.resforum.org/ and states that folks should wait to get pure res from....

the healthy lifespan institute.... of course.


I got to say, these guys are coming. I hope Imminst does not sit on the sidelines.

A

I am aways skeptical when Sinclair and Westphal open their mouths or do something like this. On the other hand, I think they are signaling that Resveratrol is a force to be reckoned with...even in the pharma space.

Sinclair says the healthy lifespan institute will offer pure resveratrol - as opposed to plant derived "crude" formulations. How are they going to do this?

Synthetic from outside of the country...

I believe I may already know their source. I believe the bigger news is that, they will provide it through a non-profit group...

We will see what happens.

A

I wonder what would happen if some of us started posting in their forum and pointed out that pure resveratrol is already available, and has been for some time now, at various sites on the internet. What if we directed people to the resveratrol forum at ImmInst? I wonder if such posts would stay up? I have a sense that Sinclair is really pissed off about the resveratrol scammers that are all over the internet. Maybe he's not really trying to corner the resveratrol market. They are working as a nonprofit, though that doesn't preclude a seven-figure salary for the head guys, or does it?

As far as Im concerned, there isnt much competition in the "premium Resveratrol" market. There is one company that people "in the know" use. After all the scams and false advertising promoting inferior product the logical progression does seem to be that the leading researcher would affiliate himself with a specific source of product. This, by no means, will "corner the market" it will provide those with little knowledge of supplementation that have bought into scams of inferior product a vendor that they can have faith in. We need to realize that not everyone reads here at this forum or even understands differences in Resveratrol product or the integrity of vendors.

I wonder what would happen if some of us started posting in their forum and pointed out that pure resveratrol is already available, and has been for some time now, at various sites on the internet. What if we directed people to the resveratrol forum at ImmInst? I wonder if such posts would stay up? I have a sense that Sinclair is really pissed off about the resveratrol scammers that are all over the internet. Maybe he's not really trying to corner the resveratrol market. They are working as a nonprofit, though that doesn't preclude a seven-figure salary for the head guys, or does it?

I posted there before realizing there was an association. I did mention Imminst and Revgen, upon further reading I noticed someone else had mentioned Revgen and one of their products. All those posts are still there. For what its worth, there are very few posts at all, which makes me wonder about the Resveratrol niche. Has it declined in popularity?

One website we have been eying as an extra life extension portal is longecity. Perhaps that could be the site/org that goes for the Google grants - which is a competitive process, last I heard, so no guarantee we can get it. It won't happen overnight because of paperwork. Non profit status has to be applied for, with articles, initial directors, physical address and such things. It would be good to start thinking about who and where.

Tadaa!! Longecity is up!!!

See http://www.imminst.o...showtopic=38203

One website we have been eying as an extra life extension portal is longecity. Perhaps that could be the site/org that goes for the Google grants - which is a competitive process, last I heard, so no guarantee we can get it. It won't happen overnight because of paperwork. Non profit status has to be applied for, with articles, initial directors, physical address and such things. It would be good to start thinking about who and where.

hey, we are back here!

Edited by AgeVivo, 07 August 2010 - 12:55 AM.