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Roo Shamim
Spatial Experience & Product Strategist| Community-Centered Design, UX-led Product, Digital Media Systems, Experience Architecture
Professional Background
Roo Shamim is a dynamic and innovative professional who possesses a unique blend of creativity and analytical thinking. As a mercurial ideas person, Roo is not just a passive observer in the realm of design; instead, she is a participant fueled by a deep passion for lifestyle design challenges that resonate with digital natives. Since the onset of her career, Roo has collaborated with creative technologists and strategists to craft user experience (UX)-led product research that fosters ecosystems for continuous discovery, which, in turn, propels content for spatial environments. This commitment to creativity and innovation is a distinguishing feature of her professional journey.
With extensive experience across multiple organizations and diverse roles, Roo has demonstrated her exceptional ability to implement creative leadership. She leverages both liberating structures and agile methodologies in her projects, advocating for a collaborative and inclusive approach to innovation and creativity. By building remote and hybrid workflows, Roo effectively incorporates various perspectives into ideation, prototyping, and testing processes. Her comprehensive approach spans from conceptual design all the way through documentation, implementation, analysis, and reiteration. This allows her to effectively understand the impact of strategic interventions on product ecosystems, underscoring her analytical and visual, interactive methodologies.
Education and Achievements
Roo Shamim's academic background is as impressive as her professional experience. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Ecological, Environmental & Evolutionary Biology, focusing on Sustainable Urban Design at Columbia University. This robust educational foundation has informed her understanding of the intersection between ecology and urban settings, enabling her to approach projects with a sustainability mindset.
Thereafter, Roo pursued a Master of Science in Integrated Design & Media at New York University, where she honed her skills in design and media integration. This program helped solidify her expertise in various forms of media and their role in shaping user experiences effectively. Additionally, Roo continued to expand her knowledge through a specialized study in Product Management at General Assembly, which equipped her with the necessary skills to manage product development effectively.
Notable Achievements
In her professional tenure, Roo has held a multitude of important roles across several notable organizations. As the former Experience Architect and UX/Product Strategist at Anitya, she played a crucial role in shaping user experiences that resonated with target audiences. Her tenure as a Strategic Advisor in Applied Systems Thinking at Giving Desk saw her advocate for innovative strategies to improve organizational efficiencies.
Roo excelled as a Senior Product/Experience Architect at TPN, where she was responsible for delivering successful product strategies that enhanced user engagement. Additionally, her experience as a Culture Scout and Researcher at sparks & honey involved scouting trends and consumer behaviors, allowing her to provide valuable insights for clients.
As a Founding Member at Dreamers // Doers and the Founder of Future Local LLC, Roo has been integral in nurturing creative communities and promoting collaboration amongst forward-thinking individuals. Her role as a Store Experience Design Researcher at Rent The Runway allowed her to explore retail use cases, improving customer experiences by investigating user interactions with physical spaces.
Further extending her impact, Roo served as a CX Strategist at Bombas, where she worked to elevate the customer experience through thoughtful design. Her involvement as a Growth Acquisition Field Researcher at Via - On-Demand Transit underscored her commitment to understanding the mobility landscape, while her experience as a Member Experience Manager at Impact Hub Network showcased her dedication to community building.
Roo has worked as a Community and Content Consultant at the New Museum of Contemporary Art’s NEW INC, advising on community engagement strategies. Her advisory role as a UX-led Product Strategist at Withfriends highlights her ability to meld user experience strategies with product objectives effectively.
Roo’s creative journey has also seen her in various fellowships, including a Digital Media Fellowship at Brooklyn Experimental Media Center, adding depth to her understanding of media's future in design.
In addition to her professional roles in UX and design, Roo has contributed her expertise as a social media strategist for several organizations, including Fenton Communications and Chashama. Her passion for building communities is evident in her work as a Collaborator at Live With Design and as a Community Experience Lead/Content Strategist at The Music Building.
Each of Roo's roles has contributed to a wealth of experience and knowledge, establishing her as a thought leader and innovator in the product experience landscape.
Skills and Areas of Interest
Roo Shamim’s professional interests span a wide array of disciplines. She is particularly passionate about Participatory UX Research, emphasizing the need for user engagement and involvement in the design process. This collaborative approach aids in developing timely solutions that are both functional and user-friendly.
Her dedication to Corporate Social Responsibility is another key area of focus, where she seeks to integrate social impact into the design and product development processes. Additionally, Roo is deeply interested in creating branded experiences focused on Urban Technology, thus bridging the gap between technology and urban environments.
Roo's expertise in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Spatial Computing signifies her forward-thinking approach to design—enabling her to work on the cutting edge of technological development. Furthermore, her knowledge in Digital Production, particularly concerning Transportation Systems, Micro-mobility, CleanTech, and Systems Literacy, underscores her commitment to sustainability and future-ready solutions.
Conclusion
Roo Shamim is a visionary leader in the UX design and product research realm. With her background in ecological studies and design, along with her extensive professional experience, she continues to forge paths for innovation within the creative space. Through her commitment to collaboration, sustainable practices, and a dedication to community engagement, Roo embodies the essence of a modern creative strategist who understands the importance of placing user experiences at the forefront of product development and design. Her passion for instilling creativity in technology helps her to contribute meaningfully to any project she undertakes, ultimately enriching the lives of users and the community as a whole.
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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.
Nexus is Clay's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
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.
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