Founder: Tom Law, CEO & Lead Engineer
Location: Portland, Maine
Year founded: 2023
What inspired you to start this company?
For years, I have been pondering the future of the internet, social media, advertising, data privacy, AI, and what my children are going to have to learn to navigate in tomorrow’s digital environment. Back in 2023, I had an “aha” moment – most people don’t need more information – they need the right information at just the right time for them to take high-impact actions; and they need trustworthy and intuitive tools that get them that information as part of what they are already doing. This led to Oak, a technology company dedicated to closing the gap between people’s values and the actions they take every day – and our flagship product, Amplify.
What did the earliest version of the business look like?
Oak has always been about getting people situational insight and advice based on their expressed values, but we started with a direct-to-consumer service that was a very different experience for users called vibeCheck Search (vibecheck.org), which allows users to see if there are any red flags on a new site or app they are evaluating – and we didn’t stop there!
What problem are you trying to solve, and for whom?
We are empowering brands, creators, and organizations by tackling the problem of how they transform their followers from passive viewers to engaged doers.
Social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube make it hard to direct followers off platform via clickable links. Even if you get someone to a site, friction is high – so conversion on a call to action is low.
Why hasn’t this problem been solved well before?
The last era of digital marketing tools was built for organizations with entire media departments, technical teams, or big consulting budgets. Most of the people doing meaningful work today don’t have those resources.
What does your company do to solve this problem?
Amplify is a social media platform integration that is reviewed and approved by the platforms we operate on, such as Meta and TikTok. After our users approve our integration, we augment their organic post activity. Followers seamlessly receive DMs with links or recommendations that they request via comments or DMs – whether that’s buying concert tickets, donating to a cause, signing a petition, or signing up for a newsletter; the things that fuel businesses and communities. When someone sees a post from an organization or person they trust and wants to act on it, we allow them to do it right there in their chosen social media platforms.
What makes your solution different or better than alternatives?
Amplify is safe (Instagram-approved technology provider), simple (easiest setup on the market), secure (built with both creators’ and users’ best interests in mind), and super effective.
Who are your customers today?
Many of our early customers were political commentators, campaigns, and advocacy organizations working on social engagement and community mobilization, but we serve a pretty diverse clientele these days – larger brands, artists, athletes, small businesses… even petfluencers. Most of our larger brand clients are working with a cohort of creators and/or multiple media accounts, not just a single account and following.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from talking to customers?
Amplify accelerates and magnifies what content creators are already doing – growing Substack newsletters, building donor lists, creating deeper off-platform relationships with their audiences.
What assumption turned out to be wrong early on?
Way back at the inception of the company, we assumed that most people could articulate their personal values and already had ideas on the actions they wanted to take based on these values. Turns out instead that people react and take action based on the recommendations of trusted sources they already follow.
What progress are you most proud of so far?
The daily real-world impact we see from Amplify users – things like environmental impact campaigns, veteran’s voter registration, petitions signed, people registering for vocational courses. We are making an outsized impact by supporting the organizations, businesses, communities, and thought leaders driving pro-social actions.
How did participating in Dirigo Labs support your growth?
We won the Dirigo Labs 2024 Audience Choice Award, but the biggest thing we got from the program were friends and connections. The close-knit community here means you’re never building alone.
Where do you see the company heading in the next 6–12 months?We’re expanding to TikTok and YouTube, scaling through partnership distribution with networks and enterprise sales, and deepening our product for our customers.
What’s the biggest challenge you’re working through right now?
Moving at the speed of trust. Our services are extremely effective for early adopters, but people still distrust brand-new tech.
What kind of help would be most valuable right now?Referrals to organizations and creators who have a social following and are actively growing newsletters, membership programs, donor lists, community platforms, or event registrations. We’re especially interested in talking to anyone who’s struggling to convert social media engagement into action.
How can the Maine startup community support you?
Through ongoing connections and engagement! We are rooted here in Maine and want to serve our peers and community organizations first – and almost every group or business has some kind of social media presence these days. If you know of local organizations who use or want to use social media to engage donors, grow their business, or mobilize people – send them our way.
Best way for people to reach you: hello@oak.ai