For our very first update, we’re excited to share our journey so far — from building our team and developing our app to getting the word out about our product!
Kyra began developing this in her spare time back in October of 2024, knowing that what started as an idea would grow into something big. In the new year, Kyra joined Portland State’s Everyday Entrepreneur Pitch Competition and their Accelerator Program, the Cube!
Everyday Entrepreneur.
EE was a 10-week pitch competition and workshop series, where Kyra and her teammate Ashleigh hosted customer discovery interviews, ran surveys, and refined their business model. This all culminated in a pitch competition against 5 other teams in their category, with a panel of 14 judges, where they took home the 1st place prize! 🏆 As a result, we established several new connections for our upcoming summer pilot program, including interest from at least three companies and one vendor.
The Cube.
The Cube is a year-long accelerator program, through which Kyra was connected to Yalda and later Patti. Through The Cube, The Weave will receive ongoing support as we move from concept to product launch. Starting this week, we will also launch a series of experiments to validate demand among HR managers for innovative employee engagement solutions. Additionally, The Cube will play a key role in guiding our team on how to identify and track critical KPIs to strengthen future funding opportunities.
Engineering.
- Kyra Boveda (CEO & Founder) – Kyra is a senior software engineer who has worked for several startups and large corporations alike to build internal and B2B solutions. Kyra is currently pursuing her MBA at Portland State, and is passionate about how community and workplace culture can make or break the employee experience at a company.
- Patti Vrobel (Technical Mentor) – Patti joined our team as a technical advisor and mentor in April 2025. Her expertise as a technical leader has been critical for deploying sound architecture and security practices.
Strategy.
- Ash Boggs (Customer Success) – Ash likewise has felt the importance of community in their life. Their experience in retail and as an engineer makes them uniquely skilled at devising the best strategy for ensuring an enjoyable experience for our users!
- Yalda Moshiri (Mentor) – Yalda joined our team as a mentor in February 2025. Her experience in helping entrepreneurs throughout Oregon start their businesses has been pivotal in helping us focus our scope and make valuable connections.
Since starting in October, Kyra and the team have made steady progress toward completing their MVP. Today, the app includes a functioning social newsfeed and kudos system, along with customizable personal and company profiles. The team has also implemented hosting and authorization infrastructure via Firebase and Google Cloud, and is close to completing development on their first game as a proof of concept.
With June around the corner– the launch of our closed alpha pilot program– the team’s focus is on finalizing the multi-tenant system and beginning to experiment with basic data collection and AI features. Throughout the three-month pilot, we expect to continuously iterate and refine the app based on what we learn about the features that matter most to our users!
As we’re sure many new entrepreneurs can relate, when you begin tackling a new problem, you want to try to do everything at once! We have a clear vision for what this app can become: not just a space for virtual engagement, but a powerful tool for HR managers and leaders to truly understand their people– their needs, their challenges, and their opportunities for growth.
One day, we’ll have insightful admin dashboards, smart surveys, and gamified collaboration and development tools. For today, thanks to the customer discovery interviews we’ve led, we know that focusing on creating meaningful and fun virtual experiences is a critical first step. It’s the foundation that teams need in order to organically build a strong workplace culture. And hey, that’s a pretty good place to start in our book! Thank you for following along!
