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Luis Batista created a calendar app called Indino. GRAHAM GIAMARINO/USF

CAS alumnus develops mobile app
[01.30.2014]

TAMPA, Fla. -- Most graduates do not linger on campus for long after graduating. Many alumni start internships, begin a career, or pursue graduate school.

Luis Batista, a 2011 USF graduate in communication, decided to drop a paid internship at an investment banking company in the summer of 2011 to promote his new mobile app, Indino, instead.

The idea behind Indino, pronounced “in da know,” emerged during Batista’s student career at USF when he struggled with keeping track of events and organizations on campus.

“Students are multitaskers whether they’re part of an internship, they work, or take a full class load,” Batista said.

Finding the time for a social life and making the best of a college experience can be overwhelming for many students while pursuing academics.

“I would have love to known about the tech clubs, hackathons and computer coding nights,” Batista said. “There was no way for me to find out until the day after.”

Batista acknowledges that there are many social media outlets that promote events.

“Every social media has its own purpose,” Batista said. “On Facebook, you do your personal posts. On Twitter, it’s about your thoughts. On Instagram, it’s about your photos, but none of these are about events, but people are using it for events.”

Batista explains that the current market does not offer a way to attach or follow a calendar.

“You want all of your events in one place, and you want it to be mobile,” Batista said.

After thousands of sketches, conducting research and forming a team of developers, Batista finally found a solution through the creation of Indino.

The Indino smartphone app is a free social tool that allows users to create profiles, follow calendars and share events. Within a news feed, users are able to accept or decline events with a swipe of a finger.

In October 2013, Batista released the iOS version of Indino. On Jan. 6, 2014, the app was made available to Android phones.

Since the initial release, the app has been opened up to 229 different campuses across the United States. Several departments and organizations at USF already have began utilizing the app in their promotion of events. Some include the AdClub and the Department of Communication.

Currently, Batista is developing a way to market Indino successfully. He has personally dedicated himself in marketing toward more users in 2014 to “get a nice buzz” going about Indino in hopes that it will draw in a second round of funding and more developers.

Batista is determined to make Indino successful and works tirelessly every day to make his dream come true.

“I haven’t taken a vacation in two years,” Batista said.

-USF-

Filed under:Arts and Sciences Arts and Sciences Alumni Communication Student Success  
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Author: Kristan McCants
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