Ron Rogge

Yo, have you heard of Ron Rogge? The dude’s the real deal in the startup and research game. He’s from YC S21, so he’s legit in the startup world, but what’s crazy is his path to getting there. Dude’s been all over, served in the Navy, bounced around academia, and now he’s crushing it with tech that actually makes a difference.

So here’s the scoop: Ron started out with a pretty solid background. He’s got ties to the University of Rochester, where he’s a faculty member now. His research? All about relationships, romantic stuff, family dynamics, how to make love and life better. He’s led massive studies with tens of thousands of people, digging into what keeps couples connected and happy. The guy’s legit obsessed with understanding human connection, which is kinda rare in the tech world.

Before all that, he was in the Navy. Yeah, military background, probably toughened him up and gave him a no-BS attitude. Then he jumped into research at UCLA in Dr. Utpal Banerjee’s lab, where he must’ve been doing some high-level stuff that sharpened his analytical skills. That mix of discipline, research, and real-world experience? That’s what fuels his hustle today.

So, he co-founded Agapé, this dope app that helps couples stay connected through daily prompts. No cap, it’s already got over 12,000 daily users on both Google and Apple stores. That’s not just some side project; it’s the real deal, solving real problems in relationships, which, let’s be honest, marriage and dating apps are kinda bullshit sometimes. But Ron’s approach? It’s science-backed, thoughtful, and actually helps people.

What’s wild is how his past, military discipline, academic research, and his drive to understand human connection, came together into this startup. It’s like he’s been studying love and connection his whole life, and now he’s building tools to make it better. That’s what makes him stand out. He’s not just another founder chasing the future trend, he genuinely gives a shit about improving lives, and that’s rare.

So yeah, Ron Rogge is one of those people who’s been through a lot, learned a ton, and now he’s using all that to build something meaningful. That’s why he matters. Not just because he’s in YC or because his app is crushing it, but because he’s actually out here trying to fix a core part of human life. That’s the kind of founder I wanna watch.