Lawrence Lin is bringing real-life conversation back into social media. The freshman international relations major and his business partner, Quentin Rosso, are connecting world cultures with Savofair.

Savofair is a growing online community with 50 contributors from 13 countries. In October of 2015, Lin and Quenton, also a freshman, realized that although Syracuse University has wonderful resources for students and burgeoning startups, there is not a flowing dialog between differing cultures on campus.

The idea was to start a platform that provides quality information about cultures beyond the surface, Lin said. Even though Savofair is in its earliest stages, there are already opportunities for meet-ups on campus. In future years, the duo hopes to make international meet-ups available so members are able to find other members in any country during excursions.

Lin and Rosso have been traveling to campuses around the nation to start new chapters of Savofair. With targets for the next three years, Lin sees this startup continuously building and bringing members together internationally.

“The experience is what we’re going for,” Lin said.

The word Savofair itself is the romantic concoction of wanting a brand name that transcends multiple languages. The words “savo” and “fair” together mean a collection of knowledge. With the intent of quality above all else, Lin refuses to profit from advertisements on the site.

“We don’t want to profit off of students’ content in a way that obstructs the integrity of the work,” Lin said. “We appreciate the time that each student puts into their work.”

Originally from China, Lin said he is grateful for his parents’ support in his endeavors. He realizes that in Chinese culture, having the permission to travel the world and discover one’s passions is rare.

Lin worked on his first non-governmental organization when he was 14 years old, and has since volunteered with multiple NGOs, including Al Gore’s Climate The Climate Project in Beijing. He credits his sense of initiative to consistently working with mentors and older colleagues throughout his life.

Even though there are sometimes doubts about the success or direction of a project, Lin believes the straightest path to success is following through while keeping one’s objective in mind.

Said Lin: “It is passion. It has to be passion. If not, there is no motivation.”

Published on April 25, 2016 at 12:01 am

Contact: ghhughes@syr.edu