An Indian woman employed at Meta in San Francisco recently found herself involved in an inspiring entrepreneurial journey during an ordinary Uber ride. While traveling with a friend who had arranged the ride, she was taken aback to find a poster in the car requesting support for a startup.
The poster, placed on one of the car’s seats, was a heartfelt appeal from the driver, Frederico Coutrim. He was looking to gain 1,000 downloads for his app to attract potential investors. Intrigued by this initiative, the Meta employee, Resham Khanna, initiated a conversation with Coutrim. He shared that he was developing an innovative app designed to translate messages in real-time.
Chatting with our Uber driver who is building startup and looking for feedback. If anyone works in adjacent fields please hit him up pic.twitter.com/PS4NMSJSBY
— resham khanna ☻ (@Reshusaur) September 28, 2024
The app, named TransChatMe, aims to revolutionize the way people communicate across language barriers by eliminating the need to copy and paste text into translation tools. Instead, users can simply type their messages, and the app automatically translates them. The poster boldly declared: “Please, help me build my startup. It is called TransChatMe – the revolutionary free mobile app that translates your messages automatically! No more copying and pasting – just write your message, and TransChatMe handles the rest. I need 1,000 users so I can share it with investors.” Coutrim even included QR codes for both Android and iOS users to facilitate downloads.
in the arena fr fr
— Frank ☼ Bach (@zendadddy) September 30, 2024
Moved by the driver’s determination, Khanna took to social media, sharing a picture of the poster on X (formerly Twitter) to rally support for his endeavor. In her post, she wrote: “Chatting with our Uber driver who is building a startup and looking for feedback. If anyone works in adjacent fields, please hit him up.” The post quickly gained traction, leading to significant attention and support for Coutrim’s app.
Shortly after her post went viral, Khanna received an email from Coutrim expressing his gratitude for her support. He shared that his app had attracted over 200 new users in just 24 hours, highlighting the impact of her outreach. “Your help has given us strength to keep moving forward,” he wrote, adding that her post had come at a crucial time for him.
Coutrim expressed hope that he would one day have the opportunity to meet Khanna in person, reflecting the bond formed through this unexpected encounter. The story serves as a testament to the power of community and social media in helping entrepreneurs realize their dreams.
