We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Skye Lam. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Skye below.

Alright, Skye thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Our founding story is deeply personal. A close friend of ours overdosed on laced drugs. There was no warning, no way for her to know. That moment changed everything and became our call to action to make sure that no one has to experience the preventable loss of a loved one ever again.

Today, more than 109,000 individuals lose their lives every year after overdosing on laced drugs — that’s one life lost every five minutes. While existing fentanyl test strips have saved countless lives, they simply do not go far enough. Newer and deadlier lacing agents like xylazine and benzodiazepine have entered the drug supply, leaving people vulnerable and unaware of the dangers they face.

At MabLab, we set out to fill that critical gap in user safety. Our team has built the first multi-target test strip capable of detecting the five deadliest and most common lacing agents in laced drugs and spiked drinks. It’s a significant leap forward in overdose prevention, especially in moments when even a single second can mean the difference between life and death.

Skye, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Skye Lam, and I am the Co-Founder of MabLab. We are on a mission to end all overdoses from laced drugs and spiked drinks by making testing fast, accessible, and comprehensive. Our rapid test empowers individuals to protect themselves and their loved ones by detecting multiple lacing agents with a single strip. Backed by $100K+ in sales and features from CBS News and TechCrunch for our commitment to impact, MabLab is setting a new standard for accessible, life-saving overdose prevention.

What sets us apart is our focus on real-world accessibility. We partner directly with university health systems, substance use centers, and government agencies who purchase our tests in bulk and fully subsidize them for end users. MabLab’s approach ensures that cost is never a barrier to safety and that our solution gets into the hands of those who need it most.

As a founder, I bring a results-driven leadership style shaped by my time at Harvard University, where I generated more than $1M in sales revenue for the largest student-run business in the world. My professional journey is underpinned by extensive research experience at NASA, where I was honored as a Grand Award Winner at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and received the NASA Robert H. Goddard Honor Award.

Every test distributed, every life saved, and every tragedy prevented is the most powerful motivator that keeps us moving forward.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

We were really intentional about how we raised our initial capital. Alongside my Co-Founder, Vienna Sparks, our goal from day one was to secure non-dilutive awards and grants so we could keep ownership of our vision while building early momentum.

The biggest lesson? Get out there and tell your story. When you are building something with real purpose, people want to support you. But first, they need to hear about it.

Every article, every competition, and every conference became a gateway to more exposure. We won 1st Place at the SXSW Pitch Competition, were recognized as a Top 5 Startup at TechCrunch Disrupt, and named a $25K Winner in the Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge. All of these awards gave us the global platform to share our work with thousands of people and sparked hundreds of meaningful conversations. From there, a powerful network effect began to take shape. Supporters who believed in our mission began sharing it within their own communities, setting off a ripple effect of encouragement and lasting mentorship.

What started as a deeply personal mission is now a growing movement because we kept showing up and telling the world why MabLab matters.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Listening.

From day one, we committed to building a solution that people would actually use in their daily lives. That meant putting our users at the center of everything we do and spending time on customer discovery. After all, no matter how groundbreaking a solution is, a product can only make an impact if people use it in the moments that matter.

To better understand the value we deliver, MabLab successfully conducted over three hundred user interviews through the NSF I-Corps Program. These conversations immediately highlighted that the main limitation with fentanyl test strips was inefficiency. Users had to test separately for each lacing agent, which made the process slow, time-consuming, and overwhelming.

That insight changed our entire approach. It inspired us to reimagine the experience from the ground up, starting with the user’s perspective. The result? MabLab’s rapid tests screen for multiple threats simultaneously, simplifying the testing process and saving lives. It’s a clear example of how listening to real-world feedback can lead to smarter design.

Today, when we speak to key stakeholders in the global overdose crisis, we are coming to the table with deep knowledge of what everyday people are experiencing and a solution that’s built around their needs. MabLab is grounded in their lived experiences, and that user-centered approach has built trust and credibility in the field. It’s why we have earned our positive reputation — and why we keep listening and learning from our customers every single day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mablab.tech
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mablabtests
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mablabtests