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Ben Strong
Streaming + Real-Time Communications
Professional Background
Ben Strong is a distinguished engineer and leader specializing in real-time communication technologies. With a remarkable career that spans decades, he has demonstrated a consistent commitment to innovation and the advancement of user experiences. As the founder of vLine, he established the first WebRTC Platform as a Service (PaaS), setting a precedent in the industry that has paved the way for real-time communication applications today. His extensive expertise in building scalable applications and services encompasses both real-time (WebRTC/RTP/RTCP) and streaming (RTMP/HLS/DASH) media stacks, often integrating both to enhance performance and user experience.
Ben's technological journey is truly impressive. He pioneered a fast mobile web browser, Blazer, in 1999, capable of accessing the complete web—a forward-thinking project for its time. His experience extends to developing some of the earliest smartphones while working at Handspring, where he contributed to creating devices that laid the groundwork for modern mobile technology. Notably, he co-developed a mobile, desktop, and web real-time synchronization service, SugarSync, which emerged long before the popularization of iCloud, showcasing his foresight and innovation in technology.
In addition to these projects, Ben played an integral role as a lead architect on the operating system, WebOS. His contributions significantly influenced the mobile user experience (UX) we recognize today, as he was involved in crafting key features that became industry standards. Ben's career trajectory illustrates a unique blend of visionary leadership and technical acumen, consistently driving technological advancements in the real-time communication space and beyond.
Education and Achievements
In pursuit of his passion for technology, Ben Strong studied Computer Science at Stanford University, one of the leading educational institutions in the world. Although he did not complete his degree, the skills and knowledge acquired during his time at Stanford provided a solid foundation for his future endeavors in computer engineering and software development.
Ben has held prominent positions in various organizations, each contributing to his extensive knowledge base and leadership skills. He served as Principal Architect at Fireside, where he continued to push the boundaries of technology while mentoring emerging talent. His previous role as Software Architect Lead at CS Disco enabled him to design robust solutions that streamline operations and improve user experiences.
His tenure as VP Technology at Airtime saw him leading cloud-based services that transformed how users interact with multimedia content. As CEO at vLine, he steered the company's mission to simplify and enhance real-time communications through innovative web solutions.
Ben's impressive background also includes being a Principal Architect at Palm, where he contributed to several cutting-edge mobile technologies. He has founded multiple companies, including Sharpcast/SugarSync, where he served as Founder and CTO, and Bayshore Software, further establishing his entrepreneurial spirit. Additionally, Ben worked as a Software Engineer at Handspring, where he contributed to the development of pioneering devices that bridged the gap between telecommunications and computing.
Notable Achievements
- Pioneering Real-Time Communication: Ben Strong was at the forefront of creating the first WebRTC PaaS with vLine, revolutionizing how real-time communication applications are developed and deployed.
- Innovative Browser Development: His development of Blazer in 1999 showcased his ability to foresee the need for fast mobile browsing, significantly ahead of the mobile internet boom.
- Smartphone Contribution: Working at Handspring, Ben helped create some of the earliest smartphones, directly contributing to the evolution of mobile devices and the functionalities we see today.
- Early Synchronization Solutions: With SugarSync, he launched one of the first real-time synchronization services, demonstrating his foresight in the cloud space and offering a robust alternative to iCloud years in advance.
- Influencing Mobile UX: As a lead architect on WebOS, Ben's work laid the groundwork for many of today’s mobile user experience features, influencing the design and functionality of modern operating systems.
- Leadership and Mentorship: Throughout his career, Ben has taken on numerous leadership roles, where he has not only driven technological advancements but has also nurtured and guided young engineers to achieve their potential, fostering a culture of innovation and growth within teams.
Ben Strong’s career is marked by a passion for leveraging technology to create enhanced user experiences. His combination of technical skills, leadership experiences, and entrepreneurial ventures continues to establish him as a thought leader in the real-time communication space. As technology evolves, Ben remains committed to being at the forefront, shaping the future of communication and user interaction.
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Clay works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Clay offers several powerful features including:
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- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Clay is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
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Clay takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Clay encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Clay work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Clay is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Clay is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Clay is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Clay offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Clay offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Clay for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Clay accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Clay offers extensive integration capabilities. Clay introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Clay supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Clay also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
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Clay makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Clay's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Clay is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Clay stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Clay excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Clay is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Clay offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Clay's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Clay has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Clay is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Clay beneficial.
Clay offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Clay offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Clay's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Clay offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Clay focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Clay also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Clay offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Clay isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Clay instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Clay is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Clay can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Clay is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Clay helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Clay's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Clay has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Clay a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Clay's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Clay's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Clay has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Clay's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Clay as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Clay eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.