Plexus' Founding Engineer

Another chance connection…

Five months ago, I reached out to r/auntienetwork—a 50,000-person abortion-support subreddit—with a proposal. The subreddit’s feed was too chaotic for members to quickly find abortion care. I thought they might benefit from software that automatically matches members to the content they need.

I got on a call with one of the community’s leaders, who confirmed that they had this frustration. I showed him our prototype, he was intrigued, and, together, we got to planning Plexus’ launch for the community.

Just as we were making final preparations, however, Roe v. Wade was overturned. The subreddit doubled in size, then shut down completely, and we lost touch with the leader.

In September, I circled back with him. He had just finished UChicago’s Computational Social Science masters program and was set to take a software job at Amazon. I learned too that he was a three-time founder, an engineering wizard, and an intense listener with love for strangers’ stories. We discussed Plexus’ future, then grew ecstatic, together, about a world where life-altering connections aren’t random, but routine. It quickly became clear that Bezos wouldn't get his star engineer.

It is my joy to welcome Micah Corning-Myers to Plexus. In our work over the past seven weeks, Micah’s shown me new possibilities for online community-building. He will be key to our future.

Grateful for chance connections, yet sprinting toward a world where they aren’t necessary—

Davey