Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

As a social media specialist for Zonder Studios, I sincerely hope that this blog serves as a porthole into the concepts, technical ingenuity, and passion behind both our app and our team. Please feel free to reach out at any point regarding ideas, comments, questions, employment, or investments. On behalf of the whole team, we hope you enjoy the aesthetic appeal, technological stability, and fun of our app, Zonder.

As a college student, travel enthusiast, and eager professional, you could say that I am living the dream in my current position at Zonder. However, this is not an uncommon phenomenon in our blossoming startup. Each individual person brings to the table years of experience in their respective field and immense passion for the success of our company, all conglomerating into a fun and easy-going team. In my experience playing on the baseball team at Swarthmore College, the teamwork of Zonder rivals that of my NCAA team — no small feat. In this way, I have found startup life appealing as it combines all of the highly technical innovation and heavy lifting of early company development with a laid back work environment full of great people. I am so appreciative of the opportunity to work here and believe that we balance all aspects of life well.

Nationals Park, Washington, DC

Upon initially applying to Zonder and just hearing the basic concept, I was hooked. As just a college student, I have travelled far and wide, seeing some of the most brilliant sights and vibrant cultures the world has to offer. At the same time, some of the best discoveries have been right in my backyard. Before Zonder, I had years of experience in geocaching, a GPS-based treasure hunt where players find boxes and notes hidden in the real world around them. Through this experience, I not only had a blast, but also stumbled across some pretty cool places. It was shocking to me that such beauty could be hiding right under my nose, and I would have no idea if it weren’t for this app. We, at Zonder, hope to bring this same zeal for discovery through a seamless and enjoyable game interface.

On the other hand, I have also been an avid traveller throughout my high school years, from Belize to Russia to the UAE. For instance, I won an immersive grant in high school to travel to Vietnam with the goal of researching the relationship between communism and religions in the growing nation. My studies took me from Buddhist pagodas in the heart of Hanoi, Vietnam’s Northern capital, to Ha Long Bay, the inspiration for the movie Avatar, known for it massive mountainous island cliffs. We ate incredible food — including a lot of pho, interviewed extremely hospitable people, Americans and Vietnamese alike, and did all of this as two high school students traveling alone. Thus, the experience not only strengthened my passion for travel, but also empowered me in knowing that I could manage such a feat of independence.

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

However, one particular personal struggle on this excursion was finding attractions, restaurants, and other travel locations. This feat was already hard enough in Vietnam’s bustling, disorienting street plan, but my lack of knowledge of Vietnamese did not help either. Thus, we ended up relying on Anthony Bourdain’s restaurant advice and various sketchy travel sites to explore the vibrant culture. Thankfully, the locals, both Americans and Vietnamese alike, gave us far better insight into where to travel and how to do so cheaply and safely. Zonder seeks to bridge this gap, providing fun and exciting attractions, while also encouraging travel and fun through the game itself. As a part of the Zonder community, you can not only reap the benefits for your own travel, but join a vibrant community of travelers to maximize your travel experience.

The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia

Another travel experience I had the pleasure to take part of was leading multiple service projects to Belize. Belize, known for its surfing and tourist-laden coasts, retains greater poverty inland in the sugar-based agriculture regions. Thus, this travel experience exposed me not only to some of the most beautiful and unique tourist spots on the planet, but also the innate beauty of the inland regions as well. Most tourists would leave many of these places unappreciated, simply on account of a lack of knowledge of the region. Without exposure to the places, I never would have seen ancient Mayan ruins, played soccer in a remote Belizean sugarcane field, or met some of the humblest, and most hospitable people. At the same time, I also saw Caye Caulker, one of the most pristine beach islands on the planet, enjoying delicious food in this idyllic paradise. Having a tool and a game like Zonder allows all of us to gain exposure to these locations and does so in a non-biased, enjoyable format.

Hanoi, Vietnam

However, unfortunately for many of us, life cannot be no work and all play. While many of us are traveling the globe on great adventures, others of us are simply working and saving up for their next expedition. To this end, Zonder integrates a community aspect of the game, not only allowing you to compete with others, but also see the amazing experiences others are having, while you work. While I continue my education here at Swarthmore as an Engineering and Economics double major, I know that being able to see my friends around the world doing amazing things in their own lives serves as a constant motivation and joy in my life. My community around me and friend base serves as my backbone throughout my educational, professional, and personal endeavors, so seeing their success helps immensely. It is this community that Zonder fosters.

In these ways and so many more, we, at Zonder produce an app that I am proud of and personally believe serves a need in the world. Again, please feel free to reach out on any of our social media platforms or my email adam@zonderapp.com for any reason. We are so proud to be a leader in this travel gaming technology and want to make it as accessible and enjoyable to you, the user, as possible. Thanks again and keep looking out for more updates and stories here.