# Kaya Hickin > Kaya Hickin is the co-founder and CTO of MyFutureSelf, a consumer AI company backed by Cintrifuse Capital. A full-stack developer, he built the original product end to end and leads engineering across mobile, web, backend, and AI. He also trained a custom multimodal model for Dog AI. Kaya graduated cum laude from Miami University and received its 2026 Startup Catalyst Award. Location: Cincinnati, OH. Biography updated September 13, 2026. ## Pages - [About](https://kayahickin.com/about) - [Work](https://kayahickin.com/work) - [Stack](https://kayahickin.com/stack) - [Awards, credentials and metrics](https://kayahickin.com/proof) - [Contact](https://kayahickin.com/contact) ## MyFutureSelf traction Updated Sep 13, 2026 ยท company-reported. - 66K+ downloads - 3.8K+ active paid subscribers - $245K+ annual run rate - 4.7-star app rating from 1,611 ratings Annual run rate means the last completed calendar month's gross sales multiplied by 12. Paid subscribers means active paid subscribers. Rating figures come from the company's combined app metrics. ## Engineering I'm Kaya, co-founder and CTO of MyFutureSelf. I build consumer AI that helps people turn the person they want to become into actions they can take today. I built MyFutureSelf's original product end to end and lead engineering across its mobile apps, web experiences, backend, and AI systems. The company is backed by Cintrifuse Capital. My work spans real-time voice, personalized AI conversations, subscriptions, analytics, accessibility, and the infrastructure required to ship and operate the product. I also trained a custom multimodal model for Dog AI and built its iOS experience. I publish developer tools for evaluating AI conversations and turning App Store reviews into useful product feedback. Codex and Claude are part of my daily development workflow. GitHub: 13,621 contributions from September 13, 2025 to September 13, 2026. Contributions are broader than commits. 100B+ tokens: My reported cumulative token usage across Codex and Claude coding workflows, as of September 13, 2026. This measures coding-tool usage, not Dog AI model training. - [AI Conversation Judge](https://github.com/kayahickindev/ai-conversation-judge): A public tool for evaluating AI conversations. - [App Store Review Digest](https://github.com/kayahickindev/app-store-review-digest): A public tool for analyzing customer reviews and surfacing product feedback. ## Programs and backing - Cintrifuse Capital: MyFutureSelf investor. Emerging Founder Residency, Cincinnati, 2026. - Founders Inc: Off Season II participant, San Francisco. - Series Build: Inaugural cohort participant, New York City. - Y Combinator Startup School: Invited to Startup School 2026. ## Education B.S. in Business, Marketing major, Entrepreneurship minor. Miami University, Farmer School of Business, May 2026. Cum laude, 3.74 GPA. Dean's List honors across engineering and business. I began university in engineering before completing my degree at Farmer. Valedictorian, Crestwood High School, Class of 2022. ## Awards - Startup Catalyst Award, Miami University, 2026. Recognized alongside co-founder Giancarlo Sarti by the John W. Altman Institute for Entrepreneurship. [Source](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/miami-university-institute-for-entrepreneurship_the-future-of-entrepreneurship-is-in-good-activity-7455620311288541184-qsdO) - RedHawk Venture Pitch Prize, Miami University, 2025. $10,000 team prize, shared with Giancarlo Sarti for MyFutureSelf. - Values and Ventures Honorable Mention, TCU, 2026. $2,500 team award at the Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Competition. ## Scholarships - RedHawk Excellence Scholarship, Miami University - Joseph M. DeNardi Scholarship, Miami University - Roger L. Jenkins International Scholarship, Miami University - Luxembourg Exchange Scholarship, Miami University - Harvey S. Eagle Award, Miami University - Alpha Academic Scholarship, 2025-2026, Sigma Chi Foundation [Recipient record](https://sigmachi.secure-platform.com/a/gallery/rounds/99/details/27661) - Alpha Bell Chapter Academic Scholarship, Sigma Chi [Recipient record](https://sigmachi.secure-platform.com/a/gallery/rounds/63/details/23561) ## Credentials and training - DHS Trusted Tester Certification: Trusted Tester for Web on Windows. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Certification. Earned 2026-08-21. - Microsoft Applied Skills: Secure AI solutions in the cloud. Microsoft. Applied Skills credential. Earned 2026-08-24. [Credential](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/users/kayahickin-2412/credentials/applied-skill/secure-ai-solutions-in-the-cloud) - Fortinet NSE 1 Certified in Cybersecurity. Fortinet. Certification / badge; expires August 2028. Earned 2026-08. - Developing Secure Software LFD121. The Linux Foundation. Course completion. Earned 2026-08-24. - Web Accessibility, the Business Case. The A11Y Collective. Course completion; 0.5 IAAP education credits. Earned 2026-08-24. - Cybersecurity and Cloud Fundamentals 1.0. Fortinet. Course completion, related to NSE 1. Earned 2026-08-24. - FERPA 101: Colleges and Universities (Accessible). usferpatraining. Course completion. Earned 2026-08-24. - FERPA 101: Local Education Agencies (Accessible). usferpatraining. Course completion. Earned 2026-08-24. - FERPA 201: Data Sharing Under FERPA (Accessible). usferpatraining. Course completion. Earned 2026-08-24. - Excel Formulas and Functions Quick Tips (2020). LinkedIn Learning. Course completion, 37 minutes. Earned 2023-09-16. - Learning Excel 2021. LinkedIn Learning. Course completion, 47 minutes. Earned 2023-09-16. - Social Media Simternship - New. Stukent. Simulation/course completion. Earned 2026-04-22. ## Travel I studied abroad in Luxembourg at Miami University's Dolibois European Center in Fall 2024 and have traveled to 15 countries across Europe, North America, Africa, and Oceania. Sweden is a favorite, and I've returned more than once. Countries visited, excluding the United States: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland.