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- 2024-04-16- EB-6: The Glow Up Guru
2024-04-16- EB-6: The Glow Up Guru
Ate A Pi
April 15, 2024
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Here’s today at a glance:
🎙️ EB-6: The Glow Up Guru
Who
Blake Anderson is the 23-year-old founder and CEO of UMAX, a rapidly growing AI-powered app for male self-improvement focusing on looks maximization. He previously co-founded PlugAI, an AI dating assistant app, achieving profitability with both ventures.
What
Umax is an app utilizing AI to analyze users' facial features, providing ratings and personalized recommendations for improving attractiveness.
The app grew from Blake’s focus on the community of "looksmaxing", a male self-improvement culture, emphasizing focus on maximizing one's physical appearance through various methods.
When
March 26, 2024
Highlights
On the success of the app: “We hit $6 million annual recurring revenue  in just 3.5 months."
On Umax “It’s a facial scanning application that allows young men to take pictures of their face and get ratings and recommendations on how to become more attractive.”
On what is looksmaxxing, “It’s male beautification or trying to maximize your looks."
On the tech behind Umax, “We use a combination of ML Vision models and GPT Vision - to analyze your features.”
On how Umax helps its users become better: “I think that insecurities are often just desire for change ... they can become accelerating forces that push us towards where we want to be."
On the Looksmaxing Community: "It's almost never about shaming…  ...It's about what can you do to improve yourself as an individual?"
On why he chose the market: "Men are increasingly lost in today's society. There's a gap in the male self-improvement space."
On what AI dating looks like: “People talk a lot about the future of customer support. It's bots arguing with one another, but the future of flirting, where it's just bots flirting with one another, that's pretty funny to me.”
On AI moderation, “If someone says something a little bit sexual, and then we feed that into the API, they're like, nope, can't touch this. So we had to figure out some workaround.”
On VCs, “I think that there are a lot of VCs that were never founders and have strong opinions about things that they don't really understand."
On his recently concluded residency at HF0: “The caliber of people and the average intellect there was just mind-boggling.”
On near-term AGI, “If somebody says to me, we are 100% at AGI right now, I don't feel strongly that you're wrong.”
Listen On
EB-6, the sixth episode of our podcast, dropped this week. Before I continue, the rules of the game are:
Pods that CHART stay alive
Pods that get a Follow on Apple Podcasts CHART
So FIRST, CLICK on the link below (opens up your Apple Podcasts app), and click “+Follow” (in the upper right-hand corner)
Then go ahead and listen to the podcast any way you want to on your preferred app, capiche mon ami?
Listen on
Why
Addressing a Gap: Blake identified a lack of resources and guidance for men seeking to improve their appearance, recognizing the growing interest in looksmaxing and the limitations of existing platforms.
Democratizing Self-Improvement: UMAX aims to make personalized, data-driven advice accessible to men who want to enhance their looks and boost their confidence.
Empowering Men: Blake believes that insecurities can be catalysts for positive change and that UMAX provides men with the tools and information to take control of their self-improvement journeys.
How
AI-Powered Analysis: UMAX uses a combination of machine learning and AI vision models (similar to GPT Vision) to analyze facial features and provide tailored recommendations.
Community Focus: Blake actively participates in the looksmaxing community, understanding user needs and preferences firsthand to inform app development.
Novelty and Virality: He emphasizes the importance of building unique and engaging features that encourage organic user growth and app sharing.
Limitations and What's Next
Ethical Considerations: Blake acknowledges concerns regarding potential negative impacts of UMAX, such as exacerbating insecurities or promoting unrealistic beauty standards.
Expansion Plans: He envisions UMAX evolving into a comprehensive male self-improvement brand encompassing fitness, mindset, and physical products.
Why It Matters
AI's Expanding Role: UMAX exemplifies the growing influence of AI in personal development and self-improvement, demonstrating its potential to provide personalized guidance and support.
Shifting Cultural Landscape: The app reflects evolving attitudes towards male beauty standards and the increasing emphasis on self-care and appearance enhancement among men.
Entrepreneurial Inspiration: Blake's story showcases the possibilities of building successful AI-powered businesses with limited resources and a clear vision.
Additional Notes
Blake's journey from college student to successful AI entrepreneur is both inspiring and insightful.
The interview raises important questions about the ethical considerations of AI-driven self-improvement tools and the potential impact on body image and self-esteem.
Blake's vision for the future of UMAX suggests a potential shift in the male self-improvement market towards more holistic and personalized approaches.
Transcript
Background Research
Blake’s first app, was Plug AI, a GPT-based dating dialogue advisor.
Followed by Umax
It is super viral on TikTok
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