We were calling it Loop, at least for now.
The prototype was still a Google Doc full of prompts. Find direct connections with a specific expertise. Find people who could help with a need. Identify the best person to make an introduction. Draft the email. Recommend relationships worth maintaining.
The instructions were very specific about not making people up, which felt important for a product built around real humans.
Caroline and I had been working through the product and market together under the name RelateAI. The basic idea was that most people have a much better network than they know how to use. The information is scattered across LinkedIn, email, calendars, phones, and their own memory. A useful product would help make sense of those relationships without turning every friend into a row in a sales CRM.
We split the early product into a few simple jobs: discovery, activation, expansion, and cultivation. Who do I already know? Who could help? Who could introduce me? Who have I neglected even though the relationship matters?
There was also a Relationship Digest experiment. I completed mine and immediately wanted to know how it was being sent, whether we could track opens and clicks, and what the response rate looked like. Very cool indeed, but also: how are we measuring this thing?
The bigger vision document was getting a new name. Loop was supposed to help people unlock the power of their professional network with purpose. The distinction from LinkedIn mattered. Collecting more connections was not the goal. Helping people do something thoughtful with the relationships they already had was much more interesting.
Caroline brought in Gabe to start turning the ideas into an actual product experience. She introduced me as someone who had been collaborating on the overall product and market and would be working more with the team.
The kickoff was scheduled for Monday at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I was going to be out of town and wanted to participate anyway. My proposed solution was simple: FaceTime me through a phone and point virtual me at a whiteboard.
It was not a company announcement. It was a prompt document, a digest, a design kickoff, and enough work to make Monday real.