I have always been obsessed with performance. Athletic performance, business performance, and now sleep performance.

An athlete from a young age - I was a competitive ski racer in my native Italy, and I played tennis and raced cars on the European stage - I have always been focused on winning, and on winning in record time. That drive to succeed propelled me from sports podiums to the top tier of the international legal world and to starting two clean-tech companies on two continents, all before age 30. Not surprisingly, sleepless nights were a way of life.

It was my quest for more restorative sleep, in fact, that led me to quit my previous life and launch Eight Sleep, a New York-based company dedicated to fueling human potential through optimal sleep, and to turning the bed into a seamless wellness platform for improved health, performance, and longevity. The path I took to becoming CEO of Eight Sleep, however, is as circuitous as the tracks I raced in my youth.