Hey there! I'm the co-founder and CEO of Chestr. I'm a graduate of Georgetown School of Foreign Service and I have worked at a few cool places like Andreessen Horowitz, Citibank, Logitech, and AnchorFree.

Personally—I grew up in Albania and did my high school in Switzerland through a scholarship. From there, I've explored and worked in over 35 countries. These Forrest Gumpian adventures, and the amazing friends and mentors I met along the way, have shaped my career as an entrepreneur. 

Technology allowed me, from an early age, to seize opportunities beyond my zip code. I see technology and startups as the most powerful force to drastically change people's lives, and that's why I dedicated my career to it.

In between all the tech stuff, I also write and paint (an amateur in both). In March 2023, my first painting was featured at the Spillsbury Gallery in Washington DC. This year, I'm hoping to sell my first piece.

Finally—if you are a founder, or someone thinking of becoming a founder, and need help with anything—how to make the startup jump, sharing ideas, VC connections, a sounding board—feel free to reach me at copabesart (at) gmail.com. Always happy to help.

Projects

Caesar (archived)

Caesar is my attempt at fixing a very particular problem: taking reading notes and then easily adding those notes to spaced repetition calendars. After years of misery and lost notes, I got on Figma and started building the app I wished was out there. Not sure how many others will find it as interesting as I do to take voice notes but there's only one way to find out. 

CHESTR.app 🔑 (current)

Every time I wanted to save something on the internet – be it a shirt, pair of sneakers, or a book – I would add it to a Chrome bookmark folder titled "Wishlist." That worked until I saved 70+ items and I couldn't figure out what they were just from the title. 

It's a simple problem but the existing solutions were not "it": they either had an outdated design or were too slow for my purpose. For example, Pinterest Chrome Extension takes you through three different pages to just save one item. So I made some designs on Figma and started tinkering. 

Chestr lets you save any item in one click, and easily add it to categorized lists without leaving the shopping page. It's not rocket science, but it's nifty. You can sign up for the beta here!  

Progress Labs (archived)

Progress Labs was my effort at organizing labs, startups, think tanks, and VCs by theme so that one can get a better idea of the ecosystem for each cutting edge technology — 3D printing, lab-grown food, VR/AR, autonomous vehicles — and be able to find the appropriate resources and opportunities within each. This was the first iteration and it turned out 'aight, but I think there's still a great opportunity for a media company or consulting firm to organize the world laboratories, startups, and VCs by theme in an effort to find opportunities in accelerating the pace of technological advancements in these particular emerging technologies. 

Writings

Opinion | A Georgetown installation is transforming the discussion of public art

The Washington Post 


"For Howard, a scientist who is dedicating his life to solving some of the most complex neurodegenerative diseases through technology, the two Transformers are a way of expressing his passion for the coexistence of humans and machines. And because his lab is in Georgetown, so should his art be. 


It is through this lens of public art as a social priming device that the sculpture of Stalin, a totalitarian dictator, would not add the same value to Georgetown as the two Transformers. The statue of a communist dictator would symbolize the antithesis of Georgetown’s historical spirit, but the two Transformers are an embodiment of the typical American industrious extravagance — and the endless life-changing possibilities through which technology can help us “restore human dignity.”

Hacks, Dilemmas, and Lies: Scapegoating Technology (In progress) 


A data-based look on social media's impact on elections, democracy, and society at large. 


Dawn of Advanced Home Robotics: Strech, Please Bring Me My Coffee (PDF) | Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service

How long until we have advanced home robotics? How long until a robot will be able to bring me my morning coffee in bed? Here I try to answer that. It also includes a candid interview with Aaron Edsinger – one of the leading robot experts in the US, former Google robotics director, and founder of Hello Robot – where he explains some of the key challenges in robotics today. And his estimate of how long it will take for a robot to be able to bring you your morning coffee. 

The Unfashionable Solution: Sentiment Analysis of Nuclear Energy in the US (PDF) | Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service

A look at the changing sentiment on nuclear energy in the US. Includes a brief history and a review of the data and research that advocates for the adoption of nuclear energy as the best energy production with zero-carbon emissions. 

Everybody Lies All The Time: Guide to Effective UX Interviews

At Chestr, user interviews are core to our product strategy—here I shared an easy but effective tip for getting honest and useful feedback from your users.

Bookshelf (Goodreads) 


Random Selection of Articles/Papers I Like 

Snaps 📸 🌎

Contact copabesart (at) gmail.com