Karima Williams, a native of Prince George’s County, Maryland, created an AI-powered web platform designed to assist users during intense emotional “crash-outs.” Williams’ career began by educating individuals on technology use while employed by Obamacare. Following Trump’s election, she transitioned into IT.
Her career led her to the private sector, where she engaged with cryptocurrency, and she subsequently spent seven years working with startups before being laid off.
“I started off with me teaching crypto basics like safety, wallets, yields … Then it branched into me teaching about AI and AI agents because I was learning about them as I was teaching,” she told AfroTech.
“And by the time I got let go from my company, I was more so full into the AI part of it, and I continued to teach AI and live stream,” Williams added.
Williams, a Howard University graduate, explored various AI tools, including Lovable, a no-code AI builder, and Claude, an AI-powered assistant.
Starting in October 2024, she extensively used Claude, referring to it as her “AI bestie,” and it essentially acted as a technical co-founder during her platform development.
“When I had really hard issues I couldn’t get past, I would go to Claude and I would copy and paste the code, put it in Claude, and then Claude would fix it. Also, when it came to my pitch deck and writing it, I would have Claude help me write it,” she recalled.
The Crash Out Diary website offers users a unique way to manage their emotions. Upon visiting the site, users can choose to “crash in” and select a “response friend” with a support style that suits them, such as “boy’s best friend,” “sassy girlfriend,” or “empathetic friend.” Users then write a message and receive feedback from their chosen “response friend.”
After this, users get two options: “crash out” or “choose peace.” If they pick “crash out,” they can play a game where they tap their phone until it virtually “breaks.” But if they “choose peace,” the website offers calming or breathing exercises to help them chill out.
The website’s users are mostly females, aged 13-30, primarily high school or first-year college students.
“Our mission is to help relieve a million women from shame and help them redirect their energy and glow up with emotional regulation,” Williams said of the platform, which she does not see as a replacement for therapy.
“I feel like shame is a driver of addiction. It’s a driver of low self-worth. It’s a driver of crime … What I really want to do is help people relieve themselves from having to experience the emotional turmoil that comes with acting out and glow up and live a better life and be more connected and relieve themselves without that stress and that strain,” she added.
Crash Out Diary really took off a month after launch when Williams dropped a video about it on social media. That video blew up, racking up 2.4 million views on Instagram and another 413.3 thousand on TikTok. Williams figures about half of the platform’s 60,000 active users jumped on board the week it went viral. Plus, users have saved a solid 25,000 messages on Crash Out Diary.
All that feedback from the viral period got Williams thinking, leading to new categories for the platform. It started out just for relationship issues, but now Crash Out Diary covers work and life too, with the “life” category currently being the most popular.
Williams is looking to create a mobile app to make the platform even better. She’s currently raising money from family and friends to help with this. The new app will let users send more messages, have full conversations, and chat with up to four companions around the clock.
The platform will also include meditations, mini-games, and a way to create affirmations. The current crash wall will still be there for anonymous posts, and expert advisors will reply weekly. Plus, a reward system is coming, so users can unlock prizes, merchandise, and giveaways.
Williams sees the platform’s ability to make a consistent income as really important for success and wants to show off its overall value.
As a mother of a 6-year-old, she hopes her venture into technology will inspire other women, especially mothers.
“AI is a perfect assistant to help you get over the next hump to your next level. And now it’s accessible to you for $20 a month. And it’s just up to you. And I believe that the more women can hear what I’ve been able to do, then they can do it too. That’s important to me,” Williams said.
“You can balance what you have and still make something that you’re passionate about. And you can relieve some of the stress of the road with using AI,” she added.
