Avondale teen to launch Perspective app
Lyman Starmer plans to release the beta platform of his Perspective application this month with approximately 1,600 people on it. A desktop iteration will follow and then a mobile version after that. Starmer projects to have millions of users by 2023.
The Avondale-based tech developer is a senior at Wolfson High School. Perspective is the name of his corporation and the name of his new social media app. To join, users must fill out a 15-minute survey with questions focused on topics of controversy. Current social media platforms base popularity on ‘likes’ and ‘retweets,’ but Perspective will be based on socioeconomic discussion.
Starmer wants to fortify social progress by bringing together rather than breaking apart people who would usually disagree. His team’s vision is to take artificial intelligence and leverage technology to give autonomy back to the customers, the users, to enhance online presence rather than diminish it. Perspective takes both sides of the political aisle, finds a consensus, and pushes that into the public rather than partisanship. Perspective is trying to bring people into a shared reality by removing echo chambers that other social media platforms use and, instead, add anti echo chamber algorithms.
Starmer has a strong team behind him, beginning with his co-owner, Kaden Powell, a Wolfson classmate. The two met in their junior year. They’re supported by a board of advisors, developers, project managers, and are currently recruiting even more—those with ten plus years of experience. Recently, the company expanded their office space to downtown quarters in the Barnett Building on Adams Street.
“We are very excited for the launch, as we have met with countless government officials, such as state senators and city and state reps, to build interest from key persons of influence around our community,” Starmer said.
The idea for his company began during the November 2020 elections. Starmer noticed a need for a social media platform that promotes different perspectives, that bolsters consensus rather than dissension. He birthed Perspective. His parents are entrepreneurial and political minded. He has friends who are as well. He uses that background to help drive him in this pursuit.
“Entrepreneurship is the essence of innovation,” said the 18-year-old. “It all starts with an idea, creating a team with that idea, and going out into the world to present that idea to people.” That’s exactly what Starmer is doing.
Although he has been courted by several Ivy League schools as a basketball recruit, Starmer plans on taking a gap year before college to concentrate on the Perspective app. Though fundraising efforts have been successful thus far, with a recent $160,000 round, millions more are needed to promote the platform. “We are in due diligence with the DuPont family out of Maryland for a large investment,” Starmer said.
Starmer is a firm believer that once the idea is accepted by the people, it must continually be upgraded “to make it best for the people,” he said.
Interested parties can email [email protected].
By Mary Wanser
Resident Community News
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