Y Combinator’s Garry Tan Goes to the MatRead more

Photo by Brian McConkey. Art by Clark Miller.
Photo by Brian McConkey. Art by Clark Miller.

The Haunting of Andy Dunn

The co-founder and former CEO of Bonobos spent decades denying a bipolar diagnosis—until an act of manic violence changed everything. For the first time, he’s sharing the story of his “ghost” with the world.

Photo by Brian McConkey. Art by Clark Miller.
May 6, 2022 9:00 AM PDT

On Andy Dunn’s left ring finger, framing his thick silver wedding band, is a scar. It is the smallest of blemishes, hardly noticeable to anyone but Dunn himself. But for him it is a reminder of a terrifying secret and the darkest moment of his life.

Dunn has other scars as well—invisible, internal ones, existing in different forms. Marks of insomnia and fatigue, extroversion and reclusiveness, friendship and betrayal, shame and heartbreak. Burns from flying too close to the sun. These scars run deeper.

Dunn was once a golden boy—the poster child for the direct-to-consumer startup boom of the late 2000s. He was lionized in the press, mingling with Silicon Valley’s most powerful and wooing its smartest and wealthiest as investors and friends. Like many people in his position, Dunn has kept his scars well hidden—until now. Through his new memoir and via emotional conversations with The Information, Dunn and his closest friends and family members have agreed to talk publicly about a reality they have long wrestled with in private.

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