The Team

Our Founding Team

The three people building Awaken. One founder running the vision, one founder running the creator movement, one developer making the alarm unskippable.

Emiliano Mercenari headshot
Emiliano Mercenari

Founder and CEO

Emiliano is a founder and UVA men's soccer player. His mornings were built in 5 AM training sessions grounded in faith and discipline, and he started Awaken to give everyone that same kind of morning: Scripture first, distractions locked, intention set. He leads Awaken's vision, growth, and partnerships.

Liam Gimigliano headshot
Liam Gimigliano

Founder and CMO

Liam is a founder of Awaken and the creator behind Save The Youth. He leads Awaken's creator movement, bringing the faith-driven morning routine to a community of hundreds of thousands.

Michael Iryami headshot
Michael Iryami

Lead Developer

Michael has been passionate about software development since middle school, spending years building projects and sharpening his skills. He has worked as a programmer at multiple startups, gaining hands-on experience shipping real products. Currently a computer science student at the University of Michigan, Michael is Awaken's lead developer, building the alarm and app-lock engine that makes the morning ritual unskippable.