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Ralph Castillo
Asst Director of Engineering, Lead Web Developer at NYC Mayor's Office of the CTO
Professional Background
Rapi Castillo is a dedicated and visionary professional with extensive experience in campaign management, movement building, and technology. With a keen passion for fostering community engagement and empowerment, Rapi has made significant strides in creating platforms that inspire individuals to become active participants in various causes and campaigns. Known for a bottom-up approach, Rapi emphasizes innovative distribution techniques and organizational strategies while leveraging technology to enhance engagement and implementation.
Throughout their impressive career, Rapi has held several prominent positions, showcasing their versatility and expertise in engineering and leadership. They currently serve as the Assistant Director of Engineering and Lead Web Developer at the NYC Mayor's Office of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO), where they contribute to creating digital solutions that enhance governmental functions and public engagement.
Before their tenure at the Mayor's Office, Rapi founded Rapico LLC, a venture dedicated to providing technical consulting and support in various areas. Their entrepreneurial spirit and proactive leadership fostered an environment for technological innovation, which set the tone for Rapi's diverse career. Previously, they served as a Lead Web Developer at the NYC Mayor's Office of the CTO, where they honed their skills in software development and project management.
With experience as a Full Stack Engineer at Siege Analytics and Reach Progress PBC, Rapi has orchestrated numerous projects that blend technology with social impact. Their role as the Chief Technology Officer and Political Director at Caban for Queens further emphasizes their dedication to civic engagement and political empowerment, where they leverage their technical expertise to promote meaningful campaigns.
Rapi's commitment to progressive initiatives is showcased through their involvement with organizations like Progressive HackNight, where they served as Co-President, promoting collaborative technology solutions for social justice. Their dedication to uplifting communities continued during their time as an Organizer-in-Residence at Civic Hall, where they facilitated civic technology projects to benefit the public.
Additionally, Rapi has a wealth of experience in software engineering roles at prestigious organizations such as the United Nations and IBM Global Process Services. These experiences have enriched their understanding of how technology can serve global needs and foster collaborative solutions for complex challenges.
Education and Achievements
Rapi Castillo holds a Master's degree in Computer Science, as well as a Bachelor's degree in the same field, both from the University of the Philippines. This solid educational foundation equipped Rapi with an in-depth understanding of computer science principles and the technological skills necessary for their multifaceted career.
Rapi’s academic and professional journeys are marked by numerous achievements that illustrate their deep commitment to technology and community engagement. With leadership roles across various organizations, Rapi has pushed for innovative approaches to problem-solving, leveraging their technical prowess to design tools and strategies that address pressing societal issues. Their role as an influencer in tech-driven campaigns demonstrates their ability to bridge the gap between technology and grassroots activism.
Notable Contributions
- Founder of Rapico LLC: Demonstrating entrepreneurial ingenuity, Rapi launched Rapico LLC, focusing on consulting and support for technology-driven initiatives.
- Assistant Director at NYC Mayor's Office of the CTO: In this role, Rapi has influenced policy and technology initiatives to elevate public services and promote civic engagement across the city.
- Co-President, Progressive HackNight: Rapi has played a crucial role in bringing together technologists to brainstorm solutions aimed at social change, leveraging collaboration to drive progress in civic technology.
- Organizer-in-Residence, Civic Hall: In this capacity, Rapi helped facilitate the convergence of technology and civic responsibility, nurturing an environment for innovative thinking in community problem-solving.
- Expert in Full Stack Development: With extensive experience as a Full Stack Engineer, Rapi has developed versatile skills across various platforms and technologies, making significant contributions to organizations like Siege Analytics and Reach Progress PBC.
- Global Perspective: Rapi's time as a software engineer at the United Nations highlights their commitment to global issues, applying technology for social good on an international scale.
Community and Personal Engagement
Outside of their professional roles, Rapi Castillo is deeply committed to fostering community through various initiatives that promote civic tech and social justice. They actively participate in events and conferences centered around technology's role in enabling activism and engagement, sharing insights on movement-building strategies and technological infrastructure that supports grassroots initiatives. Rapi's enthusiasm for community engagement is contagious, serving as a model for aspiring professionals looking to make an impactful difference through action and advocacy. With a charismatic approach, Rapi inspires others to harness technology for positive change, encouraging a more engaged and empowered society.
In conclusion, Rapi Castillo is a dynamic force in the realm of technology and advocacy, effectively merging both domains to create a lasting impact. With a solid education in computer science and a wealth of expertise in civic technology and movement building, Rapi is an influential leader who continues to inspire individuals and communities alike, advocating for progress and engagement through innovative solutions and community empowerment.
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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
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- 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.
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.
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.