TeenVogue: "How One Girl Turned Her Favorite Songs Into Sculptures with Computer Software"

No, really.

By Allison Wood, June, 2015

Allison Wood was selected to give a talk at TEDxTeen, a conference where young men and women spoke about their simple ideas that made a big impact. After her talk, Teen Vogue caught up with Allison, CEO and co-founder of REIFY, to learn about her company that aims to transform the way we experience music. Click to watch her talk above, then read her tips for how to get your own ideas out into the world. As told to Courtney Lindstrand.

My journey began when I started out as an intern working on this project that now has become a fully-fledged company called REIFY. We created software that allows you to take music, run it through the program, and produce a 3D sculpture inspired by the sound. We also developed a mobile app that can identify the sculpture and play back the music it was inspired by, along with visuals that create a multi-sensory experience. Seems complicated, but this demo sums it up nicely:

By definition, reify means "to make real". And the only reason I could this project real and become the CEO and co-founder of REIFY was because I took the idea out of my head. I talked to people about it. It's all about taking ideas in your head, saying them out loud, and being surprised by the community around you and finding others that might also be interested in your idea.

I love the idea that there's no such thing as a lone genius. Now, I'm certainly not calling myself a genius, but the we often think it's just one person who had this amazing idea. But to actually make something real and get it out into the world, it requires a ton of collaboration and action. Even with something that's as complex as REIFY might seem, we can do it because we have an awesome team of people working on it together. And, the great thing is, the steps you can take to get started on your own journey are simple ones:

Tell a Friend
Just put an idea out there. It can also be these crazy big dreams like "I want to be a fashion designer" or "I want to end world hunger." Just expressing your aspirations to one other person makes you accountable. Now, that person knows something more about you, and you've given them permission to say something that they want to do.

Find Supporters
If you're really passionate about something, find other people that are really passionate about it, too. Once you start having that conversation, like-minded people who are ready to take action start to come together.

Ask Questions
Find people that know more than you do about the topic you're interested in and ask questions. I'm young, but I've been able to build REIFY up because I surround myself with the most experienced, capable people I can and I ask a lot of questions. A huge part of making an idea real is being brave enough to say that you don't know something and that you need help.

Ignore the Naysayers
When I first started telling people about REIFY, I definitely encountered people that told me "This doesn't make sense" or "People don't want this software". But at the same time, I also found a group of passionate, incredible people that were asking the same questions I was. You're always going to be faced with people that don't quite get it, but you just have to push past those people and continue on with what you believe in regardless.

One of my favorite non-profit groups, I Am That Girl, encourages young women to turn self-doubt into self-love through peer groups. One of their main messages is to tell girls, "Go be the badass that you are." You just have to remind yourself of that. Tell yourself: "I'm a badass because I took an idea out of my head" or "I'm a badass because I asked for help." I think it's a really important thing to own.

Read full article HERE:
www.teenvogue.com/my-life/2015-06/allison-wood-reify-ted-talk