For many people, going to college is usually a way to further your passions and follow your dreams. Although it’s one of the best places for exploring yourself, most people don’t begin a career until they’ve graduated, much less their freshman year. However, that’s not the case for WY alum, Fabio Cesar ‘16. Together with his two roommates, he started a business called Pakochi ― an app that allows users within a five foot radius to exchange phone numbers and social media account information all at once.

When he went to the University of Michigan’s freshman orientation in the summer, Cesar quickly noted a problem when meeting new people and trying to exchange contact information – it took too long and was inefficient. He thought about creating something that would allow people who have just met to exchange contact information quickly and easily, and all in one place. Cesar was convinced he had a good idea when his roommates, both studying to be computer engineers, experienced the same problem.

The name of the app, Pakochi (pronounced pah-cah-chee), is the Portuguese word for ‘package,’ inspired by Cesar’s Brazilian heritage. The name is short, catchy, and meaningful.

The app was designed keeping in mind the different kinds of people who would use it, and not be just for college students meeting each other for the first time. Cesar described sitting at bus stops during the weekends and asking people about their experiences exchanging contact information with new people and how they would feel about having an app like Pakochi available to them. It’s gotten to a point where he’s known to some people as “the guy who sits at bus stops.” Although this sounds exhausting, especially since he’s a full-time college student, Cesar in no way regrets spending his freshman year this way. The way he sees it, “if you have a dream, or just something you really want to do, you gotta go out and do it.”

Pakochi is very easy to use and its design allows you to choose exactly what you want to share. This is how it works: after you have downloaded the app, you need to connect it to all of the social media accounts you would like to share, as well as your phone number and email. Once you are standing within five feet of other people who have on their phones, you press the app’s button and it automatically adds their phone numbers and emails to your phone, as well as adding them on your social media accounts.

Support a fellow WY alum and make sure to download Pakochi!

The app will be available for iOS and Android starting June 1.