Recent Duke University graduate Hakeem Shitta-Bey believes that generating new and beneficial connections comes with too great an energy cost for college students. He specifically describes “coffee chatting”—a way for students to network organically with individuals who could mentor or guide them in their careers—as a four-step process:
First, a student must find the person; second, they have to figure out a mutually suitable time to meet; third, they have to conduct an engaging conversation; and fourth, they have to follow up to solidify the connection.
To address the problem, Shitta-Bey founded Trybl, a networking platform built by and for college students that seeks to match its users with people “worth a real conversation.”
Although resources such as ChatGPT or LinkedIn can provide young adults with general information on how to make connections or find like-minded people, Trybl works to streamline the process of making connections directly through its programming. By just uploading their Google Calendar, interests, resume and desired career path, users can be matched with other individuals and access “coffee chat calendars” specifically curated for them.
Shitta-Bey, who holds degrees in biomedical engineering and electrical and computer engineering, described Trybl’s work as “social automation.” In other words, the startup helps in “lowering the cost of energy that it takes to engage in social habits that connect us” and motivates people to get more out of their environments.
Ideally, for a Trybl user, the hardest part of networking is “just showing up” to the Coffee Chat the platform helps them schedule.
“We’re working towards really making sure that no one really has to feel that disconnection from people around them,” Shitta-Bey said.
The Trybl experience
Trybl offers a variety of services. If a user uploads their Google Calendar, the platform can create Coffee Chat events (with approval), add events fitting the user’s interest, and send invitations to a match. According to the startup’s website, Trybl only stores the information needed to “supercharge” a user’s schedule and does not access emails or other personal information.
All introductions made by Trybl are mutual, and anyone, once verified, can join Trybl to either “get help” or “give help” to their peers. The platform also provides AI prep briefs before conversations. If users allow, this means Trybl can record the conversation to provide an AI-generated transcription and summary with recommended steps on how to follow up afterward.
Prospective users can currently download Trybl on iOS, make up to two matches per month, and use the AI prep and summary tools all for free. Students with a .edu email address can use Trybl to get four free matches and the AI tools.
For $3 a month, premium users can use Trybl to make up to 30 matches monthly. They can also access a “knowledge graph” to see which topics they touched on most with each person, as well as an LLM knowledge query tool.
Through these offerings, Trybl helps to break through the awkwardness and uncertainty that can come with seeking connections in the academic or professional world. Shitta-Bey describes the relationships students can make through the platform as “invaluable.”
Building Communities
When he had first arrived at Duke, Shitta-Bey said he was a quiet student. Four years later, he described a “night and day” difference, due largely to the mentorship he received through networking at Duke.
“If I’m sitting down with a professor, I’m going on a coffee chat, I’m really building that relationship, getting to know them,” he said. “They can speak on my character outside of wherever they’re at.”
Christopher Williams, Trybl’s Chief Information Officer and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said that the ability to “have conversations, tense conversations, disagree well and keep moving forward” has also become significant in the current political atmosphere.
“It starts with the ability to connect,” Williams said. The name Trybl, he explained, comes from the idea of “leaning on each other,” like a tribe.
Alongside the Coffee Chat and AI functions, Trybl has been building a platform called “Communities” that will provide opportunities for users to join groups and access an interactive events map and smart scheduling tools that streamline the organizing process for gatherings.
The team launched an early version of “Communities” at Duke and quickly saw an influx of 200 users. Shitta-Bey said the team is currently rebuilding the feature as the platform becomes more broadly available.
“Our ultimate goal is to have these Communities on top of the Coffee Chats,” said Nati Worku, a Duke University graduate and the Chief Technology Officer of Trybl. “We build up to the point where there are so many people on it that we begin to funnel others into Communities.”
With the Communities aspect of the platform in particular, Shitta-Bey hopes to help users make connections to build innovative projects that can help others, just as he has in connecting with Worku and Williams to build Trybl.
QUICK BITS
Startup: Trybl
Co-Founders: Hakeem Shitta-Bey (CEO), Christopher Williams (CIO), Nati Worku (CTO)
Founded: 2025
Team size: 3
Location: Durham
Website: trybl.app
Funding: Bootstrapped
Shitta-Bey and Worku built the Coffee Chat feature of Trybl at the North Carolina Central University AI Hackathon, an event sponsored by IBM. Trybl won second place and received $2,500 for their venture.
In March, Trybl also earned third place at the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Southern Regional Pitch Competition, receiving $1,000. The team also attended Raleigh-Durham Startup Week in April, a “big highlight” for Shitta-Bey, Williams and Worku as they were able to connect with more people about their product.
Over the next few months, the Trybl team is looking for more conferences willing to allow them to showcase the value of their platform, which, as Williams said, represents “using artificial intelligence for public good.”
