Meet the Students of CGS: A Day in the Life of an Entrepreneur
Each summer, College of General Studies students continue their learning by pursuing opportunities that stretch their skills and help them apply their education to real-world experiences. This series gives a glimpse into the summer jobs, fellowships, and internships of CGS students. Jordan Gutt (CGS’17) talks about his summer venture launching and marketing a new app.
You’ve been working on creating and launching an app during the school year and this summer. What is it called and where did you get the idea?
The app I am working on is called Sync – Contact Exchange and is currently available on the Apple App Store. It launched April 26 and allows users to exchange their name, number, email, website, and the social medias they’re on with the click of a single button as well as creating a new contact in your phone for them. I got the idea while I was still in high school, I thought it would be pretty cool to exchange your contact information with people with the press of a button instead of manually inputting the information into your phone or searching for them on social media. My idea was validated when I went to my BU freshman orientation and found it a hassle to manually input my new friends’ cellphone numbers and then backtrack to add them on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. I thought it would be great to have an app that can exchange all these usernames with the click of a single button.
I thought my idea could be especially useful when I saw a store advertising the various social medias they’re on outside their door. I’ve been seeing a trend that everywhere you go you see the name of a store or restaurant or business with the little social media icons under it prompting you to follow them. Ideally, you would walk into a restaurant or retail store, press the Sync button, and the store’s profile card with its name and social medias would come up making it much easier to add them on social media, which is exactly what the store wants you to do.
What is Sync – Contact Exchange able to do that is different from other existing social media apps?
Sync – Contact Exchange is different because it consolidates all of your social media information onto one profile card which you can exchange with your new, and old, friends. Its pretty fun for you and your friend to each press a button and have your phones interact with each other. Ideally, Sync – Contact Exchange will become a new type of social etiquette where the first thing you do when you meet a new person is “Sync” with them to exchange your contact information. Additionally, the potential to connect users with businesses this way is something new that has never been done before.
You were in London taking the NS 201 and NS 202 classes this summer. Did you experience or learn anything that has helped you make progress on Sync – Contact Exchange?
It’s been really interesting being outside of the US and seeing how Londoners use their phones and what technology is being offered to customers over here. Being in London has broadened my perspective on how people all over the world use their phones. My time here has really strengthened my idea that there should be some type of universally used app to exchange contact information.
Last year you were an intern at a co-working space called The LAB Miami. What did you gain by interning there?
While interning at The LAB I was exposed to a professional working environment of entrepreneurs and freelancers. I was able to get to know many local entrepreneurs and see first hand the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem in South Florida. Being in the same environment as these more experienced entrepreneurs definitely encouraged me to start a venture of my own.
Do you have any tips for other BU students who are interested in pursuing their own business ideas?
If you think you have a good idea, start today. You will thank yourself a year from now. Write down everything you know about the idea and how it could work and then ask your friends, family and even strangers what they think about it.
What is the next step for Sync – Contact Exchange?
The next step for Sync – Contact Exchange is an updated interface and a few refinements to how it works. Creating a successful app is a constant series of adding features and refining those new features. My goal for Sync – Contact Exchange is to get a million users and progress the way in which people exchange contact information.
If you’re a CGS student or recent alum who has an exciting internship or job this summer, let us know about it! Email alisahar@bu.edu with the details.