Our Team
A small, scrappy team reimagining sexual health for the real world—building fast, using AI to scale smartly, and solving hard problems with fewer people (and better snacks).
Core Team
Austin Harshberger
Founder & CEO
ENFJ-T • ProtagonistAustin founded status.health after one too many visits to STRUT in the Castro—pants down, clipboard in hand, wondering why getting tested still felt like filing taxes. The shot in the butt? Necessary. The admin headache? Fixable. So, he fixed it.
A lifelong builder, Austin got his start modding World of Warcraft to run on Linux just to hang with friends in Ironforge. That curiosity snowballed into engineering roles at GitHub and Coinbase, leadership at Aleo and Succinct, and co-authoring the patent behind status.health. He also helped launch the Pioneers Prize to fund zero-knowledge tech—because privacy shouldn’t be a luxury feature.
Today, Austin lives in San Francisco, identifies as delightfully homosexual, and believes tech should be as respectful as it is powerful. He builds like he writes: sparingly, a little sarcastically, and usually after coffee. You can find startup therapy, STI charts, and the occasional existential spiral on his blog.
“It started with STIs. Now we’re here.”
Favorite Beverage
Champagne–because every crisis averted deserves a toast, and code deployments count as crises.
Board
Dr. Dakota Rochelle
INTP-A • LogicianFirst Investor & Founding Board Member
Dakota is a General Dentist who graduated from UCSF with a background in biochemistry, a gamer’s reflexes, and the kind of craving for sweets that makes you wonder how he still has perfect teeth.
Aside from his involvement with status.health, he actively diagnoses and treats oral health conditions while holding multiple hats within his job in an efficient, effective, and aesthetic manner. He was the first person to invest in status.health, and from day one has helped shape the product—with sharp questions, strong opinions, and the occasional (gentle) hmpf.
Dakota disagrees often, but always thoughtfully. He pushes for practicality over hype, impact over fluff, and isn’t afraid to tell you when something sounds smarter than it is. He also genuinely cares—about people, public health, and making systems that don’t suck.
“If it isn't easy to understand, you've already lost everyone. Zug-zug.”
Favorite Beverage
Diet Dr. Pepper with Gin–an unexpected combination that's surprisingly effective, much like his approach to Heroes of the Storm skirmishes.
Kori Higgins
ENFJ-T • ProtagonistStrategic Advisor & Founding Board Member
Kori thinks faster than any computer on Earth—and possibly a few off of it. She’s been a steady influence on status.health since its earliest whiteboard sketches, offering the kind of insight that turns half-formed thoughts into fully buildable systems. Curious, caffeinated, and allergic to BS, she brings alignment where most people bring opinions.
She helped launch the Polkadot Pioneers Prize with Austin, and previously led high-pressure ecosystem and community efforts at Parity and the Web3 Foundation. Now running ops at Musubi Labs, she clears roadblocks, connects the dots, and thrives in ambiguity like it’s a well-paid hobby.
When she’s not untangling systems, she’s probably poolside with a book, reading astrology charts with disturbing accuracy, or dreaming about winter in a stone castle. Kori doesn’t just ask smart questions—she asks the kind that shift the conversation. She's also one of the few people who can keep pace when Austin hits idea number 100 before noon.
“Like any good Woolf reader, she knows that the right question can rearrange a room—and occasionally, a roadmap.”
Favorite Beverage
Sidecar–balanced, sophisticated, and with just enough bite to keep you on your toes (like her feedback).
