Rami's Universe

⌨️ Z Fellows application - v1

6 min read

What is the project that you are currently working on or would like to pursue? Why? (Max: 500 characters - about 100 words)

For over a year, I’ve been working on using technology to reduce the barrier to human connection. I started off with building an app called Exo that helps people have better conversations with anyone but specifically with their partners and friends. But then eight months ago, I have moved to working on another app that aims to fight loneliness in university. I have spent over 700 hours in the IDE building these two apps and dozens of hours on researching, designing, validating, etc…

What problem are you solving? (Max: 500 characters - about 100 words)

As previously mentioned, my main mission for the past year has been removing the barrier to human connection because I believe that it is one of the core needs of humans to be able to live a fulfilling life. While in the past decade or so, technology has in someway increased the barrier to real human connection, I believe that we can fix that given our latest technologies (like AIs and LLMs).

What expertise do you have to execute on the work that you want to do? (Max: 500 characters - about 100 words)

I am a recovering socially anxious/awkward person who struggled to value themselves. This mindset impacted every area of my life. I struggled to trust people and deeply bond with them. Thankfully, through learning about why I do things and how to change, how to become the person that I want to be, I learned so much about human nature and what it takes to connect with people. Now I want to share that wisdom with the world through content like YouTube videos and tech like apps. 700+hrs/yr in IDE

Who are your competitors and what do you understand about your idea that they don’t? (Max: 500 characters - about 100 words)

My competitors on a high level are dating and meet up apps, like tinder, bumble, and bumble for friends. Swiping through people is the most unnatural way of finding the right friend or partner and doesn’t align with how humans truly connect. What if we had an AI that deeply understands who you are as a person and everyone else around you? It’s like that friend who knows everyone and wants to connect you with the right people you wouldn’t otherwise meet.

What have you worked on in the past? (Max: 500 characters - about 100 words)

I’m slowly realizing that all the work I did several years ago indirectly revolves around my current purpose. This includes saving people time and helping people focus on what truly matters to them (AI Agents💯), and helping people realize/reach their full potential. In more technical terms, I am passionate about reducing the barrier to living a fulfilling life. I’ve built several products, like SnipTube, Journal Genius, Stop It, and other internal (for now) tools that align with that mission

What’s the nerdiest thing about you? (Max: 250 characters - about 50 words)

Journaling and rating my day out of 10 every day based on these categories: Mindfulness,Discipline,Engagement,Focus,Courage,Authenticity,Purpose,Energy,Communication,Uniqueness,Overall

Using Data Science & stock analysis to find ways to improve my life

What drives you? (Max: 250 characters - about 50 words)

Adding to what I already talked about regarding my purpose: By me striving to reach my fullest potential, I inspire to bring out the best in the people around me. Which in turn will attract the right people in my life (mentors, partners, or friends)

What non-traditional things were you doing growing up?

Two things. Watching people and investigating. I generally love watching people and how they act in different contexts. I love learning about what makes people tick or not tick. To this day, I like analyzing people and their actions, intentions, and motivations. I also love the word “investigating”. It excites me. Especially when it’s related to psychology and sociology and how it impacts us in our day-to-day.

Tell us about a risk youʼve taken or a challenge you’ve faced. Tell us whether you failed or succeeded, how you behaved, and how you think this reflects your character. (Max: 500 characters - about 100 words)

The biggest challenge I have faced in life was overcoming porn addiction while also feeling lonely. So of course, I am now on a mission to help others break free from anything that controls them. The risk I took was sharing everything that I learned from that experience despite people advising me not to. I can’t stay quiet about something that is aligned with my purpose of helping people reach their full potential. The Kobe quote in your latest newsletter perfectly aligns with my ambitions.

portfolio: https://rami-maalouf.tech journal (get to know me inside out): https://notes.rami-maalouf.tech YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ramimaalouf LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rami-m Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/psycho.baller/ Resume: https://rami-maalouf.tech/resume

Orbit: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getorbitapp Exo: https://getexo.vercel.app/ SnipTube: https://sniptube.vercel.app/ Journal Genius: https://github.com/psycho-baller/journal-genius Stop It: https://github.com/psycho-baller/stop-it

Please list or describe any achievements and prizes

  • A few Hackathon wins like CalHacks 2024. You can find all of them in my Devpost: https://devpost.com/ramim66809
  • Got funding of $3.5k to spend 2 months learning about Entrepreneurship & Startups in TU Berlin. More info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rami-m/details/education/
  • $10k University Scholarship & awards. More info: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rami-m/details/honors/
  • I strongly believe that I would have received many more awards and prizes if I was more aware of them, but I’m too busy to look for them.
    • I like doing the work, not so much talking to people about my work. But that is how you get people to notice you, especially in this current day and age. So that’s something that I’m starting to do more of (applying to become a Z Fellow)

Please include a 1 minute video of yourself with a short introduction on your background, something impressive about yourself (i.e. brag :)), and what project you’re working on today. (Optional)

Who would you co-found a company with if you could pick anyone in your network? In other words, who is someone un-recruitable you would want to hire regardless?

Optional: What’s 1 thing you need help with? (Max: 500 characters - about 100 words)

  • If I had to pick one. It would be helping me find mentorship and people who deeply think of the problems that I am trying to solve (e.g. lonliness).
    • Exchange knowledge, learnings, wisdom, perspectives.
    • I know I am not the only person who deeply thinks of these things. I wanna find these people so we can work together to make real change in this world.
  • If my idea doesn’t align with your current vision, I’d appreciate any recommendations for communities where I might find the right support.

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