What if there was an AI for Beating Social Anxiety during Networking Events?

July 2025 | by Indu Arimilli

The Problem: Networking burnout is real

I love people — until I have to introduce myself 12 times in one night. Between remembering names, companies, and pretending to be extroverted, I needed help.

So I built SocialSparks, my AI wing-woman for networking events.

Research

I logged 3 awkward CMU mixers and interviewed 5 friends about their social anxiety triggers.Findings:

• Forgetting names caused panic.

• Conversation starters felt forced.

• Follow-up messages were always forgotten.

Then I stumbled on an article about AI-powered event assistants that use facial recognition to match LinkedIn profiles — cool, but creepy. My idea? Do it the human way.

MVP — SocialSparks

Core Idea:An app that helps you prep, connect, and follow up authentically using contextual memory and humor.

Features List:

1. Pre-event prep: summaries of attendees’ interests (from public data).

2. Icebreaker mode: suggests one-line intros tailored to context.

3. Memory cards: saves snippets like “met at Swartz Center; loves dogs.”

4. Smart follow-up drafts: generates natural post-event messages.

User Stories:

• As an introvert, I want personalized openers so I feel confident approaching people.

• As a PM, I want to track meaningful connections without it feeling transactional.

The Prompt

“Build a simple mobile app mock that takes attendee names + bios and generates short personalized intros and follow-up messages. Include a contact note feature and a memory log for each person.”

My Prototype:

My Conclusion

• AI should amplify warmth, not efficiency.

• Personalization ≠ creepiness.

Now, I walk into events armed not with business cards, but with conversation spark notes.