Why I spent 14 months and $34,000 building Celi

At 33, my friends are leaving social media, moving further away, and building careers and families — but our relationships are too important to let drift away

Last week was my 33rd birthday.

I received 34 posts on my Facebook wall. Only 1 was from a “friend.”

I received 26 LinkedIn messages. Only 1 was from someone I knew.

I received 138 texts, WhatsApps, and FaceTimes from Celi connections. All of whom I knew.

That’s the Celi difference.

Celi is your local network, not social network.

It’s an opportunity to exit what social media has become and draw a new social graph.

Unlike social media platforms, Celi is not incentivized by session time, quantity of connections, or any of the other vanity metrics that are in direct contrast with your well-being.

We have 1 goal: Build a product that helps you strengthen your connections with your most important people.

In a world where phone calls became texts, texts became acronyms, and acronyms became emoji reacts, conversation is eroding.