Participated · Seed · Mar 2023

Ghost is a group messaging app that lets users post a variety of anonymous message types (Anon Crushes, hidden messages, Guess Who) inside small groups capped at 50 members. The app uses a client-side “Ghost Protocol” based on zero-knowledge proofs so the company does not learn group membership while still enforcing access. Ghost includes moderation guardrails: messages are auto-deleted after two reports and anonymous identities can be restricted across groups after repeat reports. The product also integrates ChatGPT (using the ChatGPT-3.5-turbo model) as a context-aware, multi-player assistant inside group chats under the feature name Ghost Question. The startup is shipping additional features (Anon Crushes expected imminently) and is prioritizing further ChatGPT access. The app launched from a waitlist of over 50,000, has about 30,000 installs post-launch, and is roughly No. 50 in the U.S. App Store social category.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2023

OneRoof is a hyperlocal social network app that helps people living in the same apartment building connect around shared interests, organize in-person events, and exchange goods and information. The free, pre-revenue product relies on volunteer “Super Neighbors” to seed and moderate building communities and offers features including improved user profiles, a neighbor directory, event hosting, and a “grow” tool for creating communities. Since 2021 OneRoof expanded from 400 buildings to over 1,300 buildings with more than 40,000 active neighbors across New York City and Miami, and it has done a soft launch in Dallas. Engagement metrics show strong retention in Super Neighbor buildings—over 78% at 12 weeks and over 65% at 24 weeks—and a 20% month-over-month user increase, plus three times more in-person events in Q4 versus the prior quarter. The company has been scaling its team (adding four hires and recruiting two more) while remaining pre-revenue and plans to invest new capital into app development, software, sponsorships and marketing. CEO Selin Sonmez and co-founder Nikos Georgantas are focused on growing product adoption to reach more urban neighbors and build more resilient local communities. OneRoof builds a social network focused on residents of individual multi-unit buildings, offering Slack-like messaging hubs and topic-based sub-communities to help neighbors communicate and organize. The app emphasizes smaller, tighter-knit building communities rather than ZIP-code or neighborhood-level networks. It relies on volunteer "super neighbors" for onboarding and uses proprietary join codes, fliers and door hangers to enroll residents. OneRoof is live in around 400 buildings in New York City and plans to expand to Boston, Miami and Los Angeles. The company deliberately avoids deep partnerships with building management, citing past failures of manager-moderated groups. It raised a $1.25M seed to carry out this vision.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2021

Playbyte’s iOS app provides tools to make and share simple games on mobile and a vertically scrollable, full-screen feed where users play games created by others. Games are assembled from simple building blocks, emoji, and images from the camera roll, and are limited to five scenes to encourage concise formats. The product runs on a lightweight 2D game engine built on web frameworks to enable fast loading on slow connections and older devices. Creators can reuse and share assets so more experienced users can build components others drop into their games. At launch the app maxed out TestFlight’s 10,000-user cap, is finding traction with younger teenagers, and is available as a free download on the App Store. Playbyte plans to monetize via brand advertising (including sponsored assets) and later patronage models such as subscriptions or NFTs; the company is backed by $4M in pre-seed and seed funding.

Led · Seed · Aug 2021

Popcorn provides a short-form video messaging app for work that lets users record up to 60-second videos (“pops”) or audio-only messages and share them via a URL or a user “popcode.” The app supports playback-speed adjustments and offers a Slack integration so teams can send pops directly in existing workflows; it is available as a free download on iPhone, iPad and Mac. The company was developed under the legal entity Snack Break, Inc., with founders Justin Spraggins and Ben Hochberg beginning work on the product in 2020 after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Popcorn’s roadmap includes adding AR frames to enhance short videos and feature work to showcase personality. The team acknowledges product risks to solve before scale, including enhanced security, spam limits, reporting flows and eventually finding a viable revenue model. Financially, Popcorn has completed an early pre-seed raise and is planning a seed round in the fall to fund hires, including for AR work.

Participated · Seed · May 2021

Somewhere Good is a mobile app that connects users in solely group-based “worlds” where members can post content, cite sources and have real-time audio conversations. The product intentionally omits profiles, ads, friending, following and a feed to prioritize community-driven discovery and intimacy. Less than a year after launching, the startup has a nine-person team and a roughly 5,000-person waitlist for an invite-only beta that will include 50–75 vetted communities. The company launched a SHIFT $50,000 year-long fellowship to bring contributors onto the team and create a product feedback loop. Monetization is described as being in the early innings; the founder says the team will focus on monetization when the app reaches scale. The new funding is earmarked for continued product innovation and team expansion.