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Celeste Celeste
Co-Founder & CTO @ /'gidens/. Helping small business owners navigate ambiguity confidently.
Professional Background
Layne Celeste is an accomplished professional whose multifaceted experience spans architecture, urban planning, software engineering, and education. With a rich tapestry of roles ranging from founder to professor, Layne has seamlessly integrated her skills to influence the realms of architecture and technology. Born in Trinidad and raised in Queens, New York, she draws inspiration from her diverse background to inform her work. Currently, she serves as a faculty member at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), where she continues to shape the future of architectural education.
Her impressive career includes pivotal roles at various prestigious organizations, notably serving as co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at /'gīdens/, where she led innovative projects that explored the intersection of technology and spatial practices. As a former adjunct professor at Columbia GSAPP, Layne taught a range of subjects including User Interface Design and Computational Design Workflows, helping to cultivate a new generation of architects equipped with vital technological competencies.
In addition to her academic tenure, Layne co-founded the New York City chapter of Architechie, an organization dedicated to bridging the gap between architecture and technology. This initiative reflects her commitment to fostering community and collaboration among professionals in the field. Throughout her career, she has been involved in several projects and has held positions such as Software Engineer at Extra Card, theSkimm, and Paddle8, all of which underscore her expertise in integrating tech with design thinking.
Education and Achievements
Layne's educational journey is as extensive as her professional career. She completed her MS in Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices in Architecture from the esteemed Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation. This academic foundation was further strengthened by her studies in City and Regional Planning at the University of Pennsylvania, where she gained critical insights into urban development and policy. To broaden her international perspective, she also pursued study abroad experiences at University College London (UCL) focusing on Urban Regeneration and European Property Development & Planning, alongside her foundational training in Civil Engineering at Columbia Engineering.
Her ability to meld design with urban planning has been recognized through her participation in various projects, such as her role as Director of Corridor Revitalization with the Detroit Revitalization Fellow at Jefferson East Inc. Here, she successfully implemented strategies aimed at revitalizing urban corridors, showcasing her commitment to enhancing community spaces. Additionally, during her tenure with the Regional Plan Association, she served as an Assistant Planner, where she contributed valuable research that guided regional planning initiatives.
Layne's drive for engagement led her to numerous leadership positions, including serving as Co-Chair of the Transportation Committee at the APA NY Metro Chapter, where she championed efficient and equitable transportation planning in the metropolitan area.
Achievements
Throughout her illustrious career, Layne Celeste has garnered numerous accolades for her innovative work in architecture and technology. As a prominent figure at Columbia GSAPP, her contributions significantly shaped the academic program, providing students with vital skills necessary for navigating the increasingly complex interactions between the built environment and technology. Her dedication to education is matched only by her passion for community engagement, as reflected in her founding of the NYC chapter of Architechie, which empowers aspiring architects to embrace technology.
Layne's diverse professional background has allowed her to navigate and influence a variety of sectors successfully. By merging her expertise as a software engineer with urban planning principles, she has been instrumental in creating solutions that not only enhance architectural practices but also serve the communities they impact.
As a testament to her influence, Layne has been able to leverage her extensive network to bring together multidisciplinary teams of professionals to work on transformative projects across New York City and beyond. She is a forward-thinking leader and an advocate for the integration of technology in architecture, making her a sought-after expert in her field.
In conclusion, Layne Celeste's impressive journey—from her education at prestigious institutions to her impactful roles in multiple organizations—illustrates a professional deeply committed to transforming the fields of architecture and urban planning through innovative technology and education. Her ability to blend knowledge, creativity, and leadership continues to inspire students and peers alike, making significant contributions to the ever-evolving landscape of architectural practices.
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Clay is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Clay centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
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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- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
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- 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 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.
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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.