The team
Built on Connection
We know that strong relationships don't just happen — they take intention, effort, and a little help along the way. As former Googlers, we experienced firsthand how busy schedules and distance can get in the way of meaningful connections. That's why we built avec: a smarter way to make time for the people who matter.
Laura Raines
Founder and CEO
Laura leads product, brand, and growth at avec. The idea for avec came from her own life — a network built over time and scattered across cities, coupled with too many "wait, you were here?" moments. She believes that we're missing the tech to strengthen existing relationships. Before avec, she spent her career in advertising and technical strategy at Google, paired with making process improvements at The Raines Group, Ohio's top real estate team.
Ollie Wild
Founder and CTO
Ollie is the engineering brains behind the security and infrastructure of avec, ensuring that data remains where it should. Before avec, he spent over 15 years at Google in security and infrastructure in Cloud and Search. He believes it's the people that matter. Life is too short to eat dinner in a hotel room.