I thought it would be nice to look back and share how this all started. zyme didn’t begin with a big plan. It came out of a few conversations, some frustration, and a desire to help others. What started as a small idea, slowly turned into something real—shaped by the people I met and the problems they faced. This is the story of how it all came together.

It started with a simple meeting

After resigning from my role at Apple, I was stepping into a period of rediscovery. I needed time to find a deeper purpose in my life. I wasn’t chasing the next big role or a new title. I was chasing meaning. Something that mattered.

I’ve always known that I wanted to create an impact on this world and making it a better place. Something that helps people. Something real. But I didn’t know exactly what form that would take—yet.

One day, I posted a short note on social media and said I was willing to mentor engineers for the next 10 weeks and invited those who were interested to send me their resume. That single post led to something far bigger than I could’ve imagined.

What I discovered in those conversations

I started interviewing engineers, different levels, different companies, different backgrounds. And I started noticing patterns.

Many of them were stuck, not because they lacked potential, but because they lacked direction. They didn’t know how to learn effectively or contribute meaningfully to large, real-world projects. Some of them had been through countless tutorials, but couldn’t break through to the next level.

I related to that. I had felt that same frustration in my own journey. The truth is: tutorials can’t teach you how to think like an engineer. They don’t show you how to understand systems deeply, navigate unfamiliar architectures, or make meaningful contributions. They don't show you how to work with your teammates effectively and have more impact on the business.

When I asked, “What’s stopping you from contributing to open source or joining a bigger codebase?” most engineers said the same thing:

“I don’t know where to start.”

The real problem hehind the struggle

The more I listened, the clearer it became: there’s a gap between ambition and access. These engineers wanted to contribute to something bigger. They wanted to stretch their skill sets and step outside their comfort zones. But they didn’t know how to break into an existing codebase. They didn’t know the path.

And honestly, they’re not alone. Most developers avoid exploring large codebases because it’s hard. It’s mentally expensive. It takes real energy to learn something built by someone else and the learning curve feels vertical.

When I asked, “What would make it easier for you to contribute?”, the answer was consistent:

“If I could understand the ideas behind the project, the patterns, the techniques, the ‘why’ behind the code.”

They wanted to see the signatures of the developers who built it. They wanted the map.

That was the moment I realized: maybe we could fix this. Maybe we could make it easier to read projects, not just write them. That was the seed of zyme.

Building zyme

I didn’t start with a perfect vision. I just started building. I’m not even sure what zyme looks like at the time you’re reading this, but I can tell you it’s built on hundreds of 1:1 conversations, micro-pivots, and constant iteration.

We began with a simple MVP. We explored open-source projects, studied what held people back, and compiled real feedback from the field. We combined that with previous experiences my co-founder and I had gathered from our time at Shopee and Apple.

We created personas to understand our users better. Juniors trying to break into codebases. Seniors trying to onboard quickly. Leaders trying to transfer tribal knowledge. We asked: what does success look like for each of them?

That led to the first prototype. A platform that guides engineers through unfamiliar repositories, highlighting what matters, surfacing architectural patterns, and giving them the tools to ramp up confidently.

What’s next

Since then we did not look back and we just focused on building the zyme. Right now, as I write this, we’re preparing for our first beta testing. If you’re reading this before May 2025, we’d love you to be part of it.

zyme isn’t just a product. It’s a response to a very real problem that too many engineers silently struggle with. It’s a platform built with empathy, shaped by experience, and driven by a mission: to help engineers unlock their potential by understanding the systems around them.