Over the past few days, the NYU Shanghai campus has been buzzing with rumors about a new student-run start-up with a distinguishable fox logo. By now, must have seen the posters everywhere. It is likely that you have received the black or red invitations. But what is all the hype about? The answer is one word. One catchy word: Appoint. According to its founders: “Appoint is a social networking app based on location services. You can directly see where your friends are on a social map. It notifies you when a friend is nearby. You can check-in at your favorite places. No typing necessary. Swipe, tap and press. Still safe - Privacy Friendly - turn on Sleep Mode to stop sharing.” As you can see, the goal of the app is to make it easier for people to find each other in the city. What better city to have an app like this than in so densely populated Shanghai? We have all been through the struggle of locating our friends or just simply figuring out the weekend plans. Still, once we are out and about, we do happen to wonder suddenly where our friends are or what they are doing. While, to some, this may seem creepy, it is a real phenomenon that social media has introduced. Appoint is directly trying to solve that problem. There are few events more exciting than the launching of a new company. This Tuesday, Dec. 1, NYU Shanghai community gathered on the 15th floor to uncover what the purpose of Appoint was. All attendees had different expectations. What is more, not even the start-up team itself can predict how the idea will play out. Indeed, a start-up is the culmination of months of planning, resource gathering, and designing. The event itself was full of surprises - the least of which was the large crowd of people. NYU Shanghai is a very entrepreneurial school, and so naturally there are a lot of students interested in the start-up world. There is a lot to be said about the fact that NYU Shanghai not only sponsored the event but also gave its full support to this student venture. In doing so, NYU Shanghai unlocked the opportunity to grow and gain further popularity. In the case that an app like Appoint takes off, the school would benefit significantly. First, any successful start-up from the University will lead to good press as it highlights the entrepreneurial and creative spirit of the students. Also, a successful start-up will encourage other students to test out individual ideas. Even if a great deal of these start-ups fail, launching an original product is still beneficial as it provides experience and makes the community stronger. Finally, supporting fellow peers in a creative venture is a great way to build spirit. It was clear from the event that students not only want to use the app, but many also want to get involved in the start-up. The team clearly put a lot of effort into both developing the app and preparing the launch. The advertising is particularly impressive as both the banners and posters have an original and dynamic look. Additionally, by putting the QR code on their advertisements, Appoint team makes it very simple to download the app. The strategy, too, appeared to be well calculated. The Appoint team stressed that they wanted to use the NYU Shanghai community as a pilot for feedback. By starting small, the team hopes to examine how the app is used and then work to improve the quality in response to student and faculty comments. The Appoint team is determined to reach 90% of the NYU Shanghai community by the end of the year - a rather lofty goal, but undoubtedly attainable with the right strategy. It will certainly be important for Appoint to elicit as much feedback from the community as possible, as this will make the launch into China much smoother. Entrepreneurship is the way to the future, and start-ups like Appoint are going to have to work hard to find a niche in the market. The advantage of having NYU Shanghai as a launching pad is certainly a great thing for Appoint. Both student and faculty feedback is crucial to app’s success. Even some NYU faculty have been directly advising the Appoint team, including Professor Christian Grewell and NYU Stern Professor Adam Brandenburger. This faculty oversight is a great way to understand the start-up world from business professionals with knowledge of the industry. While NYU Shanghai is a great place to start, the real test will be once the app is launched beyond the school. The competition is sure to be intense, and the market is sure to be unpredictable. Still, the Appoint team has the right attitude. Miguel Zambrano Boy and Andrea Giunti two of the founding members expressed the team’s vision saying: ”We want to change the way teenagers and future generations interact with each other. We want to change the game regarding efficient communication. Make it as simple, intuitive and fast as possible. Our goal is to make communication as easy as just placing your finger on your screen. And we managed to do that. There is no typing involved. Only intuitive gestures. Swipe, tap and press. That's all you need to do to communicate with Appoint." Certainly, it seems clear that Appoint is off to a great start, and hopefully that momentum will carry it forward to bigger and better things. This article was written by Louis Demetroulakos. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: On Century Avenue.