The investing app that teaches you how to invest. Backed by Y Combinator (YC W21). $4.4 million seed.
Head of Operations
Sept 2021 - January 2024 • 2 yrs 6 mos
founding team, 1st hire
operations, finance, HR, compliance
curriculum design, education and writing for the "Learn & Earn"
Hit 1 million+ users in the US
Hit 20 million+ lessons taken
Grown from $300k to $3M+ in ARR
Achieved profitability while still growing double digit % MoM
Acquired a card company
Currently top 30 in the finance charts
Marketing Director
Jul 2021 - Sept 2021 • 3 mos
organic growth, socials, seo
strategic partnerships and community
Contrary Capital
Illuminating private markets under Contrary Capital, a VC firm with $80 million in assets under management.
Research Fellow
Published 8 research reports that analyzed product, business model, and corporate valuation, including Midjourney, Webflow, Klarna, Intercom, Greenlight, and Zapier.
Klarna memo was the 2nd most read memo in June 2023, received by Contrary Research’s audience of 40K+ investors, founders, and tech reporters.
Even the most technical and relentless builders need a kickstart. Receiving a grant to build my first company at 15 from Insight Partner's Ian Sandler changed my life & taught me how important first believers are. To pay it forward, I helped start Bagel Fund with a group of tech friends. We give micro-grants ($100-$500) to young ambitious builders. Working on something cool and need some non-dilutive ideation capital? Apply at bagel.fund.
To date, we've funded:
Mason, 18, making a 2-octave electric piano
Harish, 15, working on an energy-saving smart home platform
Santiago, 21, building a 4-wheel independent steering car
Yash, 19, creating a computer from scratch
Sunir, 19, building self-driving RC cars
Aaryan, 16, using computer vision to detect falls in elder care
Advait, 18, building Teleoperation robots
Arielle, 20, working on Apple Tree cloning
Winston, 17, increasing AI literacy for students K-12
Working with venture-backed startups going from 0 to 1 across deep-tech, edtech, and web infra. A venture studio scaling digital experiences from NYC to Moscow through design, development, research, and growth needs.
Founder
2019 - Present
product design for global supply chain, web infrastructure, and urban infrastructure YC, VC backed companies
development for edtech and political-tech nonprofits
helping longevity companies go from 0-1 through growth and revenue operations
founded and incorporated my own holding firm
The Generation
Connecting underserved high school students to scholarships, jobs, events and learning resources to cultivate passion and discover the future. $170k software funding. Backed by Hack+ and Rileys Way Foundation.
Founder, CEO
Jul 2020 - Feb 2022 • 1 yr 8 mos
$3k in cash grants
$170k in software funds
led team of 8 directors and 20 volunteers
designed & developed the product
operations, planning, partnerships and all the other fun chaos running something requires : )
Alect Political
Redefining political strategy. 3 congressional, 2 senate and 2 stealth startup campaigns.
Marketing Director, Board
Nov 2020 - Jun 2021 • 8 mos
Sourced and co-led projects for our largest retainer client to generate $20k+ avg. deal for campaigns
In Fall 2025, Columbia lost $400 million overnight. I shipped a research database overnight with public pooling to support affected PIs. 12k views on Twitter.
An AI-powered tool that transforms investigation ideas into step-by-step plans from source collection to evidence compiling. Get structured investigations plans, architecture breakdowns, and free tools to guide your next investigation.
Pattern detection for lightweight know-your-business requirements, starting with shell company detection. WIP as of Dec 2024. GitHub linked here. My first inkling towards OSINT...
Shell company detector by AK
cabbage coral conservation cones
Have you ever seen large concrete triangle structures along your favorite shoreline? You might have seen a tetrapod, a tetrahedral concrete block that breaks harsh waves and prevents shoreline erosion. They're also a little bit ugly...
What if we could use biomorphic shapes, specifically artificial cabbage coral, that protects shores, fosters marine fauna, and promotes human<>nature centric design?
A Blender simulation using fractal algorithms for repeating interlocking structures and differential growth to mimic cabbage coral surfaces, designed to reduce wave action against at-risk shores.
Artificial Cabbage Coral for Shoreline Conservation | Blender Simulation by AK
Democratizing opportunity. A database of jobs, scholarships, events and learning resources to help students cultivate passion and discover their future.
Designed with Figma
Built with Webflow
Memberships and gated content via Memberstack
Automation and light functionality with Zapier
Full functionality with Jetboost, Finsweet code snippets, and Airtable
A venture studio for your design, development, and research needs. More sites here for VC-backed startups across urban infra, deep-tech, and, inevitably, B2B SaaS.
alexakayman.com
The portfolio site you're on right now.
Inspired by and starter cloned from the amazing Tyler Hughey
Designed with Figma
Built with Webflow
Hosted with GitHub pages
Chapter
(2)
Writing
Illuminating Private Markets with Contrary Research. Researched, wrote, and published memos on the following companies:
I'm excited about OSINT, american manufacturing, supply chain logistics, arbitrages across markets, renaissance technologists, and delightful digital experiences.
As Anson Yu put it, I love meeting anyone who is "as kind as they are ambitious, and as thoughtful as they are optimistic."
Grew up in NYC, but just moved to SF. Regularly flying back between the two and always happy to meet over a morning run or late night coffee.
