If you’ve heard about Rabbit and Humane then this should be interesting to you, why?
Because more than just being another Ai you can ask questions, Hole Systems, working on Tap, is building a wearable companion that is aimed at learning who you truly are to become a genuinely useful companion/buddy.
Think all those software tools you use to organize your daily life bundled into one Ai buddy that you simply talk to.
Tap is aimed to be to you what Jarvis was to Tony Stark in the Ironman movies.
I had a chat with Max Jacob the founder, to find out why they built this.
Hi Max, what’s your background and what has been your career? (how did you end up in tech?)
Growing up, my family was completely business-oriented; my parents both ran their own businesses.
I’m completely self-taught, I started affiliate marketing when I was young, and taught myself frontend design and development.
First product I launched in the tech space was in 2021 called melink: digital contact cards, still a fully operational product.
I was also part of a testing group for GPT2 and was always very interested in transformers and using them for voice-based interfaces. Another interesting thing that I’m usually proud of and don’t really mention a lot is that I figured out RAG infrastructure for LLMs with an iOS shortcut before I saw it being mentioned anywhere else.
You could have built anything else, why this product specifically?
That’s the interesting part: we were building something else.
“Hole Systems” was a pivot from our previous product. We were building Bara an AI documentation tool for students.
We realized that the framework which we now call LCR for Bara was so incredible and could be used on a much larger and deeper scale if only we could reformat it to work in a companion format.
While doing that, we understood from day one that the make or break for this would be the interface rate, meaning it would have to be closer to you than your phone and, thus, a wearable.
I believe there is a very real need in the market for an AI companion that isn’t so serious, that you can just laugh with, have fun with, get some small tasks done easily and in a very novel way! AI companion shouldn’t be so serious in responses, they should act as your best friend, and align themselves, molding into someone you know and love.
I believe companies like humane also missed the mark on the wearable aspect of these devices, and the fact that premium materials in hand are not so when wearing something. Check out this video where I explain more on this premise.
I believe this will be world’s first ever AI companion you’ll want to talk to, it’ll be the first AI companion your friends will ask “Are you bringing tap, love that guy!”
How are you building it? (tools and resources used, a team or solo)
We have built up a small team, along with having help from consultants and a few other contributors.
How are you getting the word out to get users?
As a bootstrapped startup, we don’t have funds to compete with the likes of humane and rabbit in the keyword space, so we have to take a more active approach.
For example, on April Fools, we launched Moji, a handheld device that emotes for you, meaning you don’t have to smile or be upset; the device would do it for you. This being a light-hearted joke at our competition rabbit, while giving people a laugh on the landing page, we, of course, directed people to our real launch.
I Just recently had an announcement post on Twitter get over 1.5 million views just by posting at the right time.
It’s a matter of understanding the space in which you’re seeing patterns and using them to your advantage.
What are some challenges that you have faced and how did you overcome them?
A challenge I faced recently was actually from that announcement post that got over 1.5 million views.
In the discussion that it sparked people found our device manufacturer, and decided that we are “drop shippers” while yes the device is market ready, we are working on a software-first approach – for now.
The breaking point for a wearable companion is facilitating the natural language interface (making it something you actually want to talk to, truly your buddy). Think of that as the multi-touch on your smartphone. Frankly, it’s quite silly to commit to hardware at such an early stage. With V1, we’re focusing on working with users’ feedback and building a better product based on your experience with it.
Financially/user acquisition wise how is the product doing?
With V1, as it’s such a limited run, we are mostly keen on people who have a high interest in this space, we are relying solely on outreach and word of mouth.
What are some mistakes you have made while working on the product?
Not sharing more and sooner!
A lot of times, I look back at a video I made with the product or some test we did and wish I had put it out.
What are some of your future plans?
I Just shared a thread on this, I think this answered the question perfectly! Do check it out for more on what’s coming next.
Is there anything you would do differently if the chance was presented?
More outreach, more sharing, more content people can look back on and see the work that went into making the product.
Where can people go to know more about you and your work?
Cool Finds:
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