Having a core group of friends is an enriching experience, and oftentimes friends will bond over similar interests. But with hectic schedules, academics, jobs, and family commitments, it can be challenging for someone to find another person available at the same time and in the same place to play, for example, a pick-up game of basketball.

Senior classmates Vilia Baumilas, Christopher Vallone, and Troy Pilia, have devised a solution to this problem with an app called WePlayTogether. The app will use a logarithm to match people who share similar interests, passions, and ideas with others to show their locations and available meeting times.

“We knew we wanted to enter the StartUp Elevator Pitch Competition and started to brainstorm business ideas,” said Baumilas. “It was a beautiful September day and we decided to take a break and play tennis. But since we were a group of three people we needed a fourth person for doubles. That’s when we got the idea for WePlayTogether.”

With guidance from their mentors — Chris Hamer, founder and chief product officer of CrowdFlik, and Jeff Moretz, assistant professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at Fairfield — the group has since expanded the idea beyond sports to help connect people with a broad range of similar interests and hobbies.

“I play multiple sports including field hockey, lacrosse, golf, and tennis... and I surf,” shared Baumilas. “I also recently learned how to play Mah Jongg and have been looking for people to play with. The benefit of our app is that people can fill out one profile with all of their interests and schedule their activities in one place.”

Save the date: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 to watch Team WePlayTogether make its pitch to investors at this year’s Fairfield StartUp Showcase and vote for the audience favorite at fairfield.edu/startup.