A 2016 biology major from The Ohio State University, Hari was visiting a local zoo to help him with an 'animal vision app' project that he was working on the side while helping create a software system for the United States Air Force full time. When he got lost and couldn't figure his way out of the zoo, he realized there had to be a digital map to help him get out... but could not find one and so he set off to create a solution to his problem. An eager first-time founder, he managed to raised funds from family and friends working with a team of four to launch the first Zoptiks. After several conferences, talks with zoo visitors, and customer outreach he began to understand his marketable. However, his funding had run out, and customers were not interested in joining Zoptiks in its current state, he had to rethink everything. Hari scaled back in 2018, got a full-time job to make ends meet, and started working Zoptiks on the side. In early 2020, he knew that Zoptiks was ready for primetime and switched to building Zoptiks out full time. During his journey, he picked up skills in everything from web/mobile app development to creating bioinformatic artificial intelligence. Today Zoptiks is a virtual zoo integrated with next-gen augmented reality creatures and stunning interactive zoo maps. Moreover, our product: ZooKit serves as a foundation for zoos to create their own virtual tours, replace paper maps, and generate digital revenue. We might be a small startup, but that only means we treat our customers like gold, respond to feedback and provide the best support. No bureaucracy to go through, if we can do it, we'll get it done for you.