We had the good fortune of connecting with Ziarekenya Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ziarekenya, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
It wasn’t the norm, I will say. I wasn’t sitting around, hanging with friends, or out somewhere when the idea came to me. I just graduated from Full Sail University in 2014, “the Harvard of creative schools,” with a bachelor’s degree in “Digital Arts & Design.” I decided not to follow the path of my peers to work for fortune 500 companies; I wanted to do things my way.

I didn’t know what course of action to take at the time; I just knew it wasn’t the path of my peers. During my journey trying to find my way in life, I ran into some hard times that cause me to doubt myself and have anxiety, and there was no empathy. I wanted to express this on social media, but I stopped myself because modern social media is usually where you only share the good times.

I quickly ask myself, why? Because life is a series of peaks and valleys, that’s what makes us human. I knew things needed to change. Since we are the most connected generation and history, why not connect on all fronts emotionally on social media; and create a more transparent, balanced, enjoyable, and human-centered experience on social media representing the real human experience.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Inpathy is a new era of social media that inspired transparency, normalizes moods, and recreates the human experience. The goal is to revolutionize how we use social media, where you can express your whole self and be yourself.

You may be thinking Inpathy is a mental health app. It’s not; it’s a human app that embodies the human experience.

I have been developing Inpathy for six years and finished a 3rd of it on my own. And now, I humbly realize my talent, skills, and abilities aren’t enough. I can’t keep doing this alone—the price of admission to get into the tech field just not feasible alone. So my goal is to raise a quarter-million to hire some well-needed help to finish the quarter of development left for Inpathy on iPhone and have it available for free and Ad-free.

Fun fact did you know the average app costs 100K to develop?

Inpathy was quoted to cost around 700K to create by a top app development agency in NYC. Yet, I manage to knock off three-fourths of the price with my funds and resources and a lot, a lot, of sweat equity. You may be asking why you invest so much time and money in an app?

Because social media is not going anywhere, so why not create a better, healthier, human-centered version of social media. I believe that’s a risk worth taking.

If Inpathy is a vision you believe in and want to see come to fruition, you can support our crowd fundraiser on our website, www.inpathy.co and click on support at the top. If you give $25 or more, you will have exclusive access to our beta when it launch.

That’s it these our humble beginnings, and we can’t do it alone; it will take a village to build this vision.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am pretty much a homebody and a slave to my work, lol. But when I do go out, these are my top 3 sports in Detroit, MI Number one “Great Lakes Coffee.” I go there to relax and work; I enjoy the vibes and ambiance it gives off. Number two will be Downtown Detroit. I enjoy riding around on the electric scooters feeling the breeze and people watching. I am cheating, lol, because number three will be a little outside of Detroit, MI. But it’s downtown in Royal, Oak. I usually will be there to relax, chill, watch a movie, or go to my favorite sushi restaurant, “Little Tree Sushi Bar.”

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I will like to give my faith and belief in my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, a shout-out first without him; I probably would have never been bold enough or to see a vision of a higher version of myself and what I can do in this life. I will also like to shout out to my Mom; She’s the real MVP for always believing in me when conventional wisdom says otherwise.

My first best friend, Will Davis, for always believing in me, helping me, and speaking great things into my life that I couldn’t see at that time. My second best friend, Gabriel Saldarriaga, for always sticking by my side through thick and thin, challenging me to be better, and always being honest with me.

Last but not least, my Sister for helping me on my Inpathy journey, with her encouragement, listening to my Inpathy pitches over the years on how Inpathy is going to change the world lol, and lastly using her amazing vocals for my Inpathy – Be Yourself promo.

 My honorable mention shout-out goes to all my supporters who help share my work, give me feedback, or just said kind words to me over the years that I will never forget.

Website: www.Inpathy.co

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inpathy/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Inpathyapp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/inpathy/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcqSJkXK-21kdhseOlnmBog

Other: Inpathy Crowd Fundraiser: https://linktr.ee/inpathy

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