Michael Sayman

Michael Sayman is a Peruvian-Bolivian-American entrepreneur, software engineer, and author who is best known for creating popular mobile apps as a teenager and his subsequent work at tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Roblox.2

Key Facts About Michael Sayman

• Born in 1996 in Miami, Florida to Peruvian and Bolivian immigrant parents2
• Taught himself to code at age 13 and released his first app on the App Store when he was 132
• Gained recognition from Mark Zuckerberg with his turn-based photo game "4 Snaps" in high school, which had over 1 million downloads2
• Became Facebook's "teen-in-residence" at age 18, helping develop products for the teenage demographic2
• Played a key role in creating Instagram Stories while at Facebook23
• Joined Google in 2017 to work on projects like Google Assistant and YouTube Shorts23
• Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 20192
• Worked at Roblox in 2020-2021 managing product teams for features like Friending, Profiles, and Roblox Graph3
• In 2022, founded Friendly Apps, a startup that raised $3 million in seed funding to build apps focused on mental health and well-being13
• Published his memoir "App Kid" in 2021 detailing his upbringing and career2

Friendly Apps

In 2022, Sayman founded Friendly Apps with the goal of creating a suite of apps that help people with their mental health and physical well-being in new ways.1 The startup raised a $3 million seed round in just 7 days from investors including BoxGroup, Weekend Fund, Shrug Capital, and founders from companies like Snap, TikTok, and Google.13

As Founder and CEO, Sayman is programming the front-end and back-end of the Friendly Apps products and managing their promotion to reach the top charts.3 He plans to incorporate perspectives from diverse backgrounds like teachers, mothers, students and immigrants to help guide the company's mission.1