Founder & CEO, roots
2024 - Present, Ann Arbor, MIBuilding a privacy-focused family platform that brings shared memories, communication, and family history into one considered product, backed by more than $30K in non-dilutive funding.
Steven Lohan
I am the founder of roots, a social media company that combines the connective power of social platforms with the privacy and intimacy of a family group chat.
I started roots after losing my mother to brain cancer. I realized that her digital footprint, now the richest source of firsthand information about her for me and future generations, did not fully reflect who she was. It had been shaped for the audiences she addressed and the roles she played: coworker, acquaintance, or stranger.
In 2015, there was no meaningful place online for her to be her most genuine self, and little has changed since. I believe we are most authentic when communicating with the people we care about most: our families and closest friends. Yet that part of our identity remains fragmented across group chats, photo albums, and close-friends lists. roots is my attempt to give it a home.
Outside of roots, I am an avid reader. I occasionally write about sports and economics, build projects with AI, and look for ways to help my community. Feel free to reach out at stevenlohan@proton.me or on LinkedIn.
Work
roots
A privacy-focused family platform designed to preserve shared memories and make family history useful across generations.
FlutterFirebasePrivacyConsumer
rootsapp.orgDiane Fund
A charitable organization built from a local fundraiser into an ongoing community with events, merchandise, donors, and volunteers.
FundraisingCommunityDigital operations
dianefund.comNBA Quant
A research system for estimating NBA win probabilities, removing market vig, ranking model-market gaps, and evaluating calibration over time.
PythonPostgreSQLModel calibrationStreamlit
Founder Daily Brief
A local-first service that turns calendars, inboxes, tasks, and follow-ups into a concise daily operating brief.
TypeScriptNode.jsSQLiteWorkflow automation
em-dash
An interactive 3D globe for researching emerging-market investment opportunities, scoring companies against evidence-weighted claims rather than narrative. The current vertical is African energy access.
TypeScriptNext.jsThree.jsGeospatial
Experience
Summer Analyst, Endeavor
Summer 2024, New York, NYWorked with founders and the investment team across market analysis, unit economics, scaling strategy, and fundraising preparation.
Founder & Executive Director, Diane Fund
2020 - Present, New York, NYBuilt a community-led charitable organization spanning fundraising, events, merchandise, partnerships, and digital operations, raising more than $200K to date.
Vice President, External, Michigan Vertical Flight Technology
2023 - 2025, Ann Arbor, MILed external operations and sponsor development for a student organization building autonomous flight technology.
Vice President, Operations, First Generation Investors
2023 - Present, Ann Arbor, MIRunning chapter operations for a program that teaches investing fundamentals to students without prior exposure, covering both the curriculum and a student-managed portfolio.
Research Assistant, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
2023 - 2024, Ann Arbor, MIResearched how technical skills are developed and valued in business education, and built the web platform used to deliver the findings.
Education
University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
BBA in Finance & Consulting, Minor in Computer Science
Class of 2026
Recognition
- Baranwal Scholar
- ZLI MVP Studio Fellow
- Perplexity Business Fellow
- LAUNCH Accelerator founder
- Build Blue founder
Want to get in touch?
I am always up for a conversation about early-stage products and the people building them.