Hi everyone 👋 I’m Chris, the maker of FOLQ, a new voice-first mental wellbeing chatbot companion designed to help people feel heard, supported, and less alone. I’m a military veteran, author, award winning health-tech entrepreneur, and currently a PhD (AI) candidate at QUT Digital Wellbeing Lab in Brisbane, Australia, researching emotionally intelligent AI. What drives me is building technology that doesn’t just work, but actually listens, learns, and helps people to live better lives. I’ve been working on FOLQ to tackle what I see as one of the biggest challenges of our time: the global loneliness epidemic. With FOLQ, users get a safe and trusted AI companion that listens with empathy, senses emotion through voice, and supports mental wellbeing in a safe, stigma-free way. Launching here on Product Hunt is special because this community has always been where makers push the boundaries of what’s possible. Outside of FOLQ, I’ve published books on resilience, violence in society, and 'wokeism', worked across startups and global companies in 5 countries, and — fun fact — completed the 960km Camino De Santiago last year in 31 days which involved spending one night sleeping in a dumpster (long story). If you’re interested, I can share more about my entrepreneurial journey, building a mental health AI from scratch, or what it’s like to shift from soldier to startup founder. So, ask me anything! 🙌 I’ll be around all day to answer your questions, whether about: 🚀Building FOLQ and designing empathetic AI 💡Startup lessons, fundraising, and going from idea → product → launch 🧠 The future of tech, AI, and mental wellbeing 📚 Writing books and storytelling as a founder 🎖️ Life lessons from the military and beyond All questions are fair game… fire away!

Maker

📌

12mo ago

@chris_rhyss Congrats on the launch, Chris! 🎉 Love how FOLQ blends empathy with technology — tackling loneliness through emotionally intelligent AI is such meaningful work. Your journey from military to mental wellbeing tech founder is truly inspiring. Excited to see FOLQ make a real impact! 🙌"

FOLQ.ai

Let a digital friend remind you that you’ve got this

Let a digital friend remind you that you’ve got this