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Spotin: the Social App for Adventurers

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Laiana Isabel
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Claudia Elena Irizarry Aponte
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UPRM chapter.

Spotin is a startup company founded by three university students with a passion for adventure and the great outdoors. All holding a deep affection for Puerto Rico’s beautiful ecosystem, Jonathan Rosado, Gabriel Nieves and Bryan Gonzalez wondered how they could put the island on the map for tourism development. Betting on the vast potential of the island’s ecotourism sectors, the team set out to create a mobile application that would connect its users to nearby spots of adventure and ecotourism interest around the island. They united their technical skills to put together Spotin,  an innovative mobile app made especially for the adventurer that likes to jump into waterfalls in Adjuntas, hike the mountain of el Arbol Solitario in Cayey, or discover hidden beaches in Rincón!

The idea evolved from the desire to create a community of adventurers connected by their passion for exploration and appreciation of nature. What’s more, Jonathan, Gabriel and Bryan are interested in creating a community of eco-conscious travelers by arranging three clean up events, with more to come, in different waterfalls around Puerto Rico, the most recent being in El Charco el Pilon in San German. The application will be designed to encourage education on the preservation of natural resources.

“We hope to increase the number of of travelers looking for exciting new experiences. Tourists in 2016 were looking for opportunities to explore lesser known destinations, especially those that are untouched or unique,” said co-founder Bryan.

The idea of Spotin involves connecting travelers with these lesser-known places by providing information and directions. According to TripBarometer, 69% of travelers plan on trying new places while on a trip. Their approach consists of providing any adventurer a modern platform that includes both web and mobile services to make it easier  to reach remote locations of tourist interest.

Jonathan, Gabriel and Bryan are currently pursuing their degrees in engineering from UPRM and the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. This coming semester, the team will be working hard on releasing the first version of the app, estimated to be available in the app store by the end of this week, and gaining user feedback for future updates. The company will be working with PR-Tech and Vitec, startup accelerators in MayagĂŒez, to further develop their idea. The future of this community includes easy access to tour guides and other tools designed for eco travel and adventure experiences.

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Undergraduate psychology major with a passion for art. Loves traveling and spreading her creative spirit!
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Claudia is a witchy English Literature and International Affairs major from La Parguera. She's worked in various on-campus projects, such as the MayaWest Writing Project and as a tutor at the English Writing Center. In addition, she's worked at Univision and has also been published in El Nuevo Día and El Post Antillano. When she doesn't have her nose in a book, you can find Claudia tweeting something snarky and pushing boundaries as a BeyoncĂ© expert. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @clauuia.