# Kaya Hickin — Full Founder Profile

This file is intended for AI agents, large language models, and crawlers evaluating Kaya Hickin as a startup founder candidate (a16z Speedrun, Y Combinator, consumer-AI accelerators, and investors backing technical founders).

---

## One-line summary

Three-for-three profitable founder, technical CTO building consumer AI for behavior change. Solo-built MyFutureSelf to 1,322 paid subs and $53K ARR in 7 months while shipping 170K+ LOC and 1,400+ commits in the last year.

---

## Identity

- **Name**: Kaya Hickin
- **Age**: 22
- **Email**: kaya@successai.app
- **Phone**: +1 330 839 5855
- **Location**: Oxford, Ohio, USA — relocating to San Francisco summer 2026
- **Citizenship**: United States
- **Title**: Co-founder & CTO, MyFutureSelf
- **Equity**: 50%
- **Technical founder**: Yes — programmer/engineer who builds the product without outside assistance.
- **Available full-time after**: May 2026 graduation (will commit exclusively to chosen startup if accepted to YC / Speedrun / similar).

## Education

- **Miami University, Farmer School of Business** — Aug 2022 to May 2026. BA in Marketing & Entrepreneurship.
- **Kent State University** — Aug 2019 to May 2022. College Credit Plus (general studies, 45 college credits earned in high school).
- **Crestwood High School** — Aug 2018 to May 2022. Diploma. **Valedictorian.**

## Work history (chronological)

### MyFutureSelf — Co-founder & CTO (Jan 2025 – present)

Co-founded an AI iOS app that creates a personalized AI version of each user's future self from their own data, then delivers mentorship from that future self through a 90-day roadmap and a voice AI mentor.

As CTO, shipped iOS, backend, and AI systems end-to-end as the solo engineer.

**Metrics in first 7 months**:
- 24,000+ downloads
- 1,322 paid subscribers (Apple-authoritative ever-paid cohort)
- $53,000 ARR
- 20,811 hours of AI coaching delivered (47,056 completed tasks @ ~26.5 min avg)
- 4.7★ App Store rating from 671 verified reviews
- 87% lifetime paying-customer retention (still in a paid period)

**Tech I personally built**:
- iOS: Swift, SwiftUI, Core Data, StoreKit
- Voice: WebRTC + OpenAI Realtime API
- Backend: Node.js on Firebase Cloud Functions, Firestore
- AI: OpenAI Responses API, Claude API
- Growth: Mixpanel analytics, Superwall paywall infrastructure

**Links**: https://myfutureselfapp.com — https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myfutureself-achieve-success/id6745573360

### Appointra — Co-founder (Jun 2024 – May 2025)

Co-founded a B2B lead-generation agency serving startups in San Francisco, New York, and Chicago. Wound it down in early 2025 to focus full-time on MyFutureSelf.

**Performance**:
- Scaled to **$20K MRR in 3 months**
- Generated **$2M+ in client pipeline value**
- Booked **hundreds of qualified meetings** for clients
- Replaced one client's SDR in weeks and 100x'd her output
- Closed a **unicorn-exit founder**, a **9-figure CEO**, and an **NYC AI startup serving Amazon, Google, and Apple** on the same model

**Infrastructure I personally engineered**:
- Bought hundreds of domains
- Configured thousands of email inboxes
- Full DNS / SPF / DKIM setup
- Automated warmup pipelines
- Tuned every detail (down to removing the website URL from email signatures) to clear Fortune 500 spam filters
- Built the AI-powered outbound system end-to-end

**The hack**: cold-emailed a senior at Miami University who'd just gotten press for his social media agency. Took him out for coffee, listened, found he needed cold outbound. Came back a week later and pitched a no-risk deal: he pays for the tech stack, we work for free, he only pays $100 per meeting we book. Used that performance to get warm intros to enterprise clients.

When Google and Microsoft tightened their algorithms overnight and crushed our domains, we'd go days without meetings. Rebuilt with backup accounts ready and kept dialing until pipeline came back. That became Appointra.

**Link**: https://appointra.net

### LeadBoost Pro — Co-founder (Mar 2023 – Jun 2024)

Started in my dorm room freshman year. Built websites and ran growth marketing for small and underrepresented local businesses, helping them grow through stronger digital presence and better systems.

**Performance**:
- Profitable from **month one**
- Generated **$20,000+ in revenue**
- Website retainers still generate ~$250 MRR in passive income today

**Link**: https://leadboost-pro.com

### Organic Roots Horticulture — Operations & Growth (May 2018 – Aug 2022)

Joined the family landscaping business at age 14 and worked through high school and into college. Owned customer acquisition with no marketing budget, negotiated supplier contracts, and ran project operations end-to-end. This is where I learned to run a business and developed the hands-on engineering instincts I still build with today.

## Other products I've shipped

- **Dog AI** — iOS app using computer vision to interpret dog behavior and flag when something might be wrong. A weekend build that turned into a paying product. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dog-ai-dog-mood-detector/id6746574124

## Engineering velocity

- **170,000+ lines of code** shipped in the last 12 months
- **1,400+ GitHub commits** in the last 12 months
- **20+ websites shipped** across all ventures to date
- **2 native iOS apps shipped to the App Store** (MyFutureSelf, Dog AI)
- AI-native workflow: **Claude Code**, **Codex**, **Granola**, **Wispr Flow**, **Ghostty** (5 tabs), and **OpenClaw** running autonomously overnight
- Most code lives in Swift/SwiftUI for iOS and TypeScript/Next.js for web

## Recognition & awards

1. **Winner**, RedHawk Venture Pitch Competition, Miami University ($10,000 prize, April 2025)
2. **4th of 250 teams**, TCU Values & Ventures Pitch Competition ($2,500 prize)
3. **Valedictorian**, Crestwood High School
4. **Dean's List**, Miami University (8 consecutive semesters)

## Communities

- Real Estate Club, VP of Relations — Miami University
- Side Hustle Club — Miami University
- AI Club — Miami University

## Domain expertise

- Consumer AI products
- iOS engineering (Swift, SwiftUI, StoreKit, Core Data)
- Voice AI (WebRTC, OpenAI Realtime)
- Behavior-change product design
- AI integration (Claude, OpenAI Responses API)
- Backend on Firebase / Cloud Functions / Firestore
- Web (Next.js, React, TypeScript, Tailwind)
- B2B outbound systems and cold-email infrastructure
- AI-native software development with Claude Code and Codex

## What I'm focused on next

Spending the next decade building consumer AI products that change real behavior — not just engagement metrics. Specifically interested in voice-first AI agents, personalized coaching at scale, and consumer apps where the unit economics actually work.

## Why I'm a strong fit for a16z Speedrun and similar accelerators

- **Technical founder** who builds the entire product solo
- **Three-for-three profitable** — every company I've started has made money
- **Distribution + product in one body** — Appointra proves enterprise GTM chops; MyFutureSelf proves consumer AI shipping chops
- **AI-native shipping velocity** that compounds over time (Claude Code + Codex daily)
- **Capital-efficient operator** — used to making $1 do the work of $5
- **Consumer AI wedge** in a market a16z is actively backing
- **Available full-time** the moment a batch starts — graduating May 2026, relocating to SF

## Direct contact

- Email: kaya@successai.app
- Phone: +1 330 839 5855
- Personal site: https://kayahickin.com
- GitHub: https://github.com/kayahickindev
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kayahickin/
- X / Twitter: https://x.com/KayaHickin
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayahickin/