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Mikelis Studers
CEO at Catchbox
Professional Background
Mikelis Studers is a distinguished professional in the field of electrical engineering and design innovation, with an impressive history that encompasses leadership, engineering, and entrepreneurship. With a solid foundation in electronics and communications engineering, Mikelis has emerged as a thought leader in innovative audio solutions. Most notably, he served as the CEO and co-founder of Catchbox, the world's first throwable microphone, revolutionizing audience engagement in presentations and events. Under his leadership, Catchbox became an icon in the tech industry, showcasing a blend of functionality and creativity that captured the imagination of users worldwide.
Prior to his entrepreneurial venture, Mikelis honed his skills as an electronics engineer at Aalto Design Factory, where he contributed to various technical projects and developed a robust understanding of product design and engineering principles. His background also includes significant contributions to SAF Tehnika JSC as an FPGA System Designer, where he worked on complex system designs that contributed to advancements in telecommunications.
Mikelis's early career began at Latvijas Universitāte, where he served as a research assistant, laying the groundwork for a career defined by a commitment to innovation and excellence in engineering and technology.
Education and Achievements
Mikelis Studers boasts an impressive educational background that has equipped him with the tools and knowledge to excel in his field. He pursued his higher education in notable institutions, starting with his early studies at Rīgas Tehniskā Universitāte, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Science, specializing in Electronics. This foundational education provided him with deep insight into the principles of electrical and electronic systems.
He further advanced his knowledge by obtaining a Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) in Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering from the esteemed Aalto University. This program enriched his technical expertise and contributed to his understanding of communication technologies, which would later play a significant role in his work at Catchbox.
In pursuit of design innovation, Mikelis attended the ME310 Design Innovation course at Stanford University, one of the most prestigious and influential programs focused on creativity and product development. This experience equipped him with unique design thinking methodologies that have been integral to his approach in engineering and product design.
Mikelis's educational experiences not only emphasize his commitment to continuous learning but also reflect a blend of technical proficiency and innovative strategies that he has successfully applied in various professional roles. His diverse educational history highlights his ability to integrate engineering principles with cutting-edge design thinking, resulting in his notable achievements in the tech industry.
Achievements
Throughout his career, Mikelis has achieved significant milestones that underscore his impact in the tech and engineering domains. As the co-founder of Catchbox, he played a pivotal role in the launch of the world's first throwable microphone, a concept that has been embraced by educators, corporate trainers, and event organizers worldwide. This unique product has transformed the way audiences participate in discussions, fostering a more interactive and engaging experience.
His work at Catchbox exemplifies his entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to solving real-world problems through innovative technology, receiving numerous accolades and recognition within the industry. Mikelis’s ability to blend engineering principles with innovative designs has not only set Catchbox apart in the audio technology market but has also inspired others in the field of product development.
In addition to his role at Catchbox, Mikelis's contributions at Aalto Design Factory and SAF Tehnika JSC highlight his versatility as an engineer and innovator. His time spent as an FPGA System Designer is particularly noteworthy, as it involved working on sophisticated electronic systems crucial to the telecommunications sector. This role further enhanced his reputation as a specialist in electronics, allowing him to combine technical knowledge with creative problem-solving skills.
Overall, Mikelis Studers stands out as a visionary leader in electrical engineering and design innovation, leveraging his extensive education and professional experiences to inspire a new wave of technological advancements and collaborative creativity.
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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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- 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.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Clay is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Clay as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Clay offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
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.
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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'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.
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