WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) – A Wausau native’s smartphone app designed to encourage face-to-face connections will be featured on a television show this weekend.
CEO and Founder Brad Steckart’s “Sit By Me” app will appear on “Project Pitch It,” where Steckart pitches his idea to a team of moguls.
“Sit By Me is a social engagement app that helps businesses fill seats, increase revenue, and most of all, build community,” Steckart said.
The app allows users to connect with strangers at coffee shops, bars and other locations where they might be willing to share a table or start a conversation.
It all started with an idea while Steckart was studying for his graduate program at UW-Milwaukee while sitting alone at a big table in a busy coffee shop.
“There’s got to be a way where I could indicate I’m working quietly. Maybe me and the other people who are also working quietly in this cafe could, you know, come to one table,” said Steckart.
How the app works
“The app allows us to use our crutch, which is our phone, to go somewhere and maybe start a chat or send somebody an icebreaker question,” Steckart said. “Now you can set your phone down, and now you’re having a real-life conversation.”
Steckart said the app can help reduce the loneliness epidemic.
“The hope is people can use the app to sort of gamify going out and meeting people who might also be out looking for somebody to talk to,” he said.
Wausau currently has four Community Connection Points where users can log on and connect with other people through the app. The Pinery Coffee Co., Sconni’s Alehouse & Eatery, Tucknee Coffee Company, and Kin & Kind. More locations can be added in the future.
“If you get a couple hundred to a couple thousand using it in Wausau, you’ll really see the town start to buzz, and you’ll see places kind of highlight with little dots,” Steckart said.
Pitching to moguls
Steckart said appearing on “Project Pitch It” was nerve-wracking.
“I had note cards in my hand just in case,” he said.
His biggest takeaway was the support around him.
“When you want to pursue something that you’re really passionate about and that you want to put everything behind, you’re going to find support from every single, you know, pillar of the community and even from the moguls who you never think you’d meet in your entire life,” Steckart said.
Steckart’s episode of “Project Pitch It” will air Saturday at 10:35 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on CW.
You can download the app here and learn more about the “Sit By Me” version three launch party on June 6.
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