A senior at Texas State withdrew from a full semester of classes to join a team of creators in starting a company called The Moves.
Kindell Texada, public relations senior, does not regret dropping out of her spring semester has resumed classes this summer.
During her time away from classes she became the social media director of The Moves, who just accepted a $100,000 investment from KiwiTech, a company that invests in startups.
Texada started her career at Texas State with the Student Event Planners Association. Her passion for public relations took off in event planning, and is a talent she wants to further pursue after graduation.
The Moves is a work in progress and intended to launch in September. It was created and developed by Chandler Malone, a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis where he studied American culture studies.
During his time as an undergrad he kept in touch with Texada, a former high school friend. Malone kept up with a variety of friends from different backgrounds until he rushed a Greek fraternity.
Malone’s app will allow users to post what they are doing and where, and will combine concierge-like services with live posting and location tracking. When users see their friends out and participating in events, they will be able to click on the post and get access to tickets and a ride there.
“I had a diverse group of friends, then I joined Greek life and I basically didn’t see those friends anymore,” Malone said. “I wanted to be able to see all of my friends at once and have everyone have fun.”
Malone said the app will get users to stop watching others have fun, and start joining in. The app intends to combine social media with ticket sales and transportation services.
After formulating his concept, he reached out to a number of friends from college and to Texada. Malone and Texada attended John Paul II high school together in Plano, Texas. While each of them played basketball, Texada’s dedication to her team and presence on social media inspired Malone to invite her to join his company in 2016.
“It’s interesting to be a part of something that could honestly take over social media,” Texada said. “I feel like we hit a gold mine.”
Texada said she is happy to be on board with the company and her team, but is looking forward to seeing the app’s success when it launches in the fall.
“I like the app because it’s something I can see my friends and their friends using. It’s something I can see myself using on a day-to-day basis,” Texada said.
Texada said she will graduate in December, and attributes her ability to take risks and make moves in her career to her time on campus. She said she expects her work with The Moves to have a major impact on her life and career in terms of strategic planning and operating social media projects.
Texada and Malone said they hope to see people getting more involved in each other’s lives as an effect of The Moves app.
According to a statement from KiwiTech, the companies will use the investment to further develop the app and its technology, and valued the app at $2 million before release.