Faust WhaleFaust Whale

When a couple dear to me married without inviting me to their wedding, I realized that closeness with many of my favorite people quietly faded because I neglected them while overinvesting in more accessible connections. Friendshift turns my private social prosthetic — combining software, hardware, and behavioral ritualization — into a scalable consumer product. It applies executive function support principles to relationship maintenance, helping even overextended adults stay in touch with more people more easily. With minimal screen time, our goal is more real-world interactions with the people you treasure.

While at X, the Moonshot Factory, I invented Qi, a device that delivers filtered air to the mouth and nose without covering or touching the face. The team I led, with 25 contributors, reduced respired airborne particulate by 90% using lightweight prototypes of a wearable or handlebar-mounted 10-watt device that delivered a gentle-breeze airshield. The project was killed right before the pandemic, but it led to my first patent application.

Most of the chronically ill kids I interviewed said needles were their least favorite part of hospital care. I couldn’t eliminate procedures needing them, but wanted to reduce their pain. Needle Beetle is a squeezable ball with a friendly, washable cover that does this using physiological and placebo effects. Before a blood draw or intravenous placement, a patient pumps Needle Beetle in the hand: veins rise and stabilize, making it less likely that they'll be stuck more than once. Then they switch it into the opposite hand and focus on squeezing tightly, which distracts their mind. A few years later, I licensed Needle Beetle to Mattel through By Kids For Kids, who sold it nationwide to 180 hospitals.

At eight, I invented PaceMate so my mother could complete remote pacemaker battery checks without assistance. I replaced the telephone monitor’s oversized electrode metal watch bands with snug elastic bands and packaged electrolyte-soaked sponge pads she could open when needed, improving electrode contact and electrocardiogram signal quality. My science fair project drew unexpected attention; that year, I became the youngest person inducted into the National Gallery for America’s Young Inventors.