By Lizzy Tsuang
Circulation Editor
Costa graduate turned entrepreneur Michael Powell took the bull of social media by its horns in creating an app that promotes #facetoface interaction.
Powell is the chief operating officer of an app called “Down to Chill” along with Chief Financial Officer Adam Elkassas, Chief Technical Officer Arjun Jain and Chief Data Officer Matt Wojcieszek. In order to focus on the app, the creators are taking a gap year between their sophomore and junior year at the University of Pennsylvania. The concept of the app is to connect friends by mobilizing plan making, as stated in their slogan #facetoface.
“The app’s idea is to take the work and stress out of making plans with friends,” Powell said. “After a long day of school or work, people don’t want to spend energy making a bunch of calls or texts in order to coordinate with friends. Hopefully, by using this app, hanging out can be easier and faster.”
Users log into their Facebook accounts, post times they are available and tag it with a specific activity, such as going out to lunch or meeting with a study group. From there, other users can see what their friends are doing and message them directly.
“We wanted an app that made it quick and simple,” Powell said. “Easy-to-understand features and design are important to us, but we also wanted something that could actually provide useful information.”
Straying from the standard idea that social media diminishes social contact between people, Powell hopes the app changes how people navigate busy schedules.
“Our app is for social networking but in a different way from sharing photos and information,” Powell said. “It’s about getting the person in contact with you, face to face, which is different from any other apps around.”
According to Powell, his experience at Costa exposed him to skills he would need in the future. He was able to apply the skills learned in La Vista and Model United Nations while creating the app.
“At Costa, I learned how to write, propose ideas, communicate, debate topics and speak publicly,” Powell said. “These professional skills aren’t really something you learn at other schools, but I was lucky to have the opportunity to learn [these skills] early on.”
The founders of “Down to Chill” plan to continue fine-tuning the app’s features, functionality and layout. “Down to Chill” is available for free download on iPhones and Androids.
“We see our app growing to become a social planning version of Instagram or Snapchat,” Powell said. “We don’t think it will replace texting or calling, but we hope it will serve as a platform for spontaneous planning, and bring people together.”
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