There seems to be a lot of talk these days about AI. And I know, as soon as those two letters are mentioned, the energy in the room seems to change. It makes sense though, doesn't this all feel like stuff of science fiction?
Collectively, we are witnessing the infancy stages of this powerful technology. Something that seems to mirror the original curiosity, concern, and eventual adoption of the internet, AI looks to be the next grand frontier of tech. And here at the Beach House, we have some of our very own AI pioneers traversing this wild west landscape with their company, Rosebud.
Recently I had the pleasure of talking with some of their co-founders Chrys Bader and Sean Dadashi on not only how they came to know each other, but how the twisting path of life led them to Rosebud.
What is Rosebud?
Are we really talking science fiction here? Well, in some ways yes, but in other ways no. But if we all stop to think of it, aren’t we all living in a little bit of science fiction already? And if we are already in a little bit of science fiction, shouldn’t we have a little bit of science fiction that helps us be a little bit better? That’s the idea of Rosebud, making this crazy ‘out of this world’ technology work with us, not just for us.
Main Street Santa Monica bustled and bloomed around us, pop songs and moving trucks, full mouthed children and dogs on shiny leashes. “Like having a conversation with a mentor,” Sean described to me as we circled the flower lined sidewalk, avoiding the cars while crossing the street. Chrys on his zoom call and Sean on the street both mirrored each other in explaining Rosebud as something of a therapist in your pocket, a friend giving advice, or like having a mentor.
There are a million and a half journalling methods out there, so many that I don’t think I could get anywhere near counting them all. And often, for people new to journalling and self reflection, these millions of avenues and blank pages mean that nothing really gets written. Those frustrating thoughts or concerns or hopes or that thing that just seems to keep following you to bed at night, find a million and a half reasons to never get looked at. Creatures of habit perhaps? But this kind of stuff is hard, despite trying to build new habits. So maybe this kind of personal growth would do well with a helping hand?
Chrys and Sean thought the same thing. Traveling back to 2017, Sean started this journey simply looking for something that he could use of his own. Starting therapy, attending men’s groups, journaling, working on himself, Sean found that he wanted even more support. As we walked along the sunny sidewalks of the Beach House neighborhoods, Sean laughed at how he had asked his therapist back then for a 5 hour session. “I wish I had something that was in between all the things I was doing at the time,” motorcycle rumbling past us, “something of a personal growth companion to me.”
So the seed was planted, but back then utilizing AI looked much different than it does now. And for a while, Sean knew he would have to wait on developing something like this. Back then he thought he was just waiting for the technology to catch up, but little did he know he was also waiting for Chrys to enter the equation.
Meeting in a men’s group, Chrys and Sean grew to know each other outside of any professional endeavors. Funny enough, they actually did not find out they were even in the same industry until years later when Sean was looking for a place to stay, they reconnected. Chrys offering his spare room, the two were back to chatting after years apart from their men’s group. And despite having met years prior, it was then that they realized how much they had in common in computer engineering and tech. As you can imagine, it wasn’t long before they took a crack at their first endeavor together.
Through different variations of social wellbeing apps, the magic of trial and error, of the maybes and the could be’s, eventually their efforts grew into Rosebud - journalling reimagined.
Focusing on making journaling easy, Rosebud aims at making personal growth accessible. A long way from 2017, the Rosebud team now tucks themselves into their office just behind the lobby and spend their days crafting new ways to utilize AI. Blend into the role of advisor, mentor, or “a personal growth companion” as Sean would call it, the Rosebud team is introducing the power of AI to the wellness world in a whole new way, one journal entry at a time. Check them out for yourself at rosebud.app!
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