Allen Naliath, a Stanford computer science dropout, is the founder and CEO of Friday, an AI-powered email assistant. His company, part of Y Combinator, automatically manages Gmail emails, saving users from tedious daily tasks.
Unlike most email competitors who focus on building clients, Friday aims to create a personal assistant within Gmail. “Hiring a personal assistant is expensive and inaccessible for most,” Allen explains. “Our goal is to make that capability available to everyone without leaving Gmail.”
Security and Privacy
Handling sensitive emails is a major concern. Allen emphasizes that Friday doesn’t store emails on its servers. Instead, it processes data through a “thin layer” integrated with Gmail, ensuring privacy and security.
Y Combinator Experience
Allen describes the YC application process: over 10,000 applications per quarter, multiple interview rounds, and only about 1% acceptance. He recommends YC Startup School’s extensive YouTube resources, which offer practical guidance on launching a startup.
Early Days and First Customers
Friday started as a solution to Allen’s own email overload, particularly from managing Stanford’s Startup Society. He built a small AI assistant, then reached out to other founders facing similar challenges. High assistant costs in the US, often tens of thousands of dollars annually, highlighted the need for an affordable AI alternative.
On AI Hype
While AI is widely discussed, Allen believes its value lies in solving specific problems. “AI isn’t the product itself, it’s a tool that makes solutions more powerful, stable, and efficient.”
Memorable Encounters
Allen has met influential figures like Sundar Pichai, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sam Altman, who even signed his laptop. Such experiences, he says, are motivating and informative for his journey.
Startup Life and Challenges
A typical day is unstructured, often extending late into the night. Allen highlights the difficulty of designing products that are simple to use, great design means intuitive usability, not just aesthetics. He admires companies like Apple for obsessing over user experience details.
Vision for Friday
The goal is to build an assistant that goes beyond emails, proactively helping users manage important messages. Upcoming features include mobile notifications for critical emails, streamlining communication with investors and clients.
User Support Philosophy
Allen emphasizes deep care for users, providing personalized support and direct contact. “The people who use your product most give the best feedback,” he notes, warning against listening to critics who don’t actively engage with the product.
Cultural Perspective
Allen credits his Indian parents for their supportive foundation. He also values Kerala’s strong sense of community, which he contrasts with the more individualistic culture in the US.
Hiring Approach
Friday’s hiring emphasizes versatility over pure technical prowess. Allen seeks engineers who understand audience engagement and creative thinking. One unconventional requirement he tried was for candidates to have 10,000 followers on a platform, highlighting the value of attention and influence in today’s AI-driven development.
Overcoming Fear and Rejection
Allen shares a personal exercise of deliberately seeking “no” to overcome fear and rejection. This practice, including approaching strangers and high-level professionals, sharpened his networking and interpersonal skills.
Advice for Founders
- Embrace feedback, especially from users who deeply care.
- Test and launch ideas quickly to get real-world feedback.
- Seek mentors who can transform ordinary ideas into extraordinary opportunities.
Previous Ventures
Before Friday, Allen Naliath launched Food Cycle in high school, tackling food waste by connecting restaurants with surplus food to people in need. Although the timing coincided with COVID-19, the experience taught him the importance of rapid iteration.
AI Perspective
Allen views AI as a tool to handle repetitive tasks, freeing humans to focus on meaningful work. For creative fields, AI should empower artists rather than replace them, much like electronic music technology expanded possibilities for musicians.
