In an effort to find a way for current college students to make new friends, I made Strike. Strike strives to help college students connect virtually by highlighting things they already have in common at their schools.
I was inspired to create Strike after seeing so many posts on various social media platforms about the struggles of new students at UNC to make friends. Thinking back to my own freshman self, I thought of how I made so many friends through the people I lived with, however, the ability to have roommates in dorms was unavailable to these students. I began thinking of other ways to meet people virtually.
Inspired by popular dating apps, I researched and identified flaws and whitespace in the market of meeting people. The most popular app to make new friends is Bumble BFF. However, users of the app complain about people using it to solely find roommates or lack of true compatibility that makes a lasting friendship.
So what does make a lasting friendship?
Common interests are at the core of friendships that withstand the test of time according to research. Unlike current apps such as Bumble BFF which is designed after its original dating model, Strike focuses on commonalities over appearances.
Find initial research and proposition here