With more than 12,000 international students from all over the world and over 60,000 total students enrolled at the University, finding people who share the same culture or values can often feel like a daunting task. Two University students have decided to tackle those problems head-on with their app, Globi.

Alex Vasilevich, junior in Business, and Anton Charov, junior in Engineering, had a lot in common when they first met. Along with being native Russian speakers, they also shared a similar vision: to build something new, something that could help people. The opportunity to act on that vision arrived in December 2024 when Vasilevich, an international student from Belarus, found himself alone in Chicago over the winter break.

Vasilevich didn’t know anyone, but he wanted to find other people from Belarus, or at the very least others who spoke Russian in the area where he was staying. After trying everything from dating apps to Facebook group chats, he came up empty.

“I figured out there is basically no way to connect with them,” Vasilevich said. “So I called Anton because he was one of the smartest people I knew at the time.”

According to Charov, Vasilevich wanted to meet at the Willis Tower to find a solution to this problem. Charov agreed without hesitation.

Along with a shifting team of collaborators, the two of them created Globi, a free social app for people trying to find someone else who shares their culture, background, values or beliefs.

Globi serves everyone from international students, immigrants and expatriates — anyone looking to connect to their culture or learn about someone else’s. Users can log on to find people, cultural groups or events in their area to attend, all compiled based on the preference settings of their profile.

The account creation comes with an extensive list of identifiers like language, heritage, religion, sexuality and gender identity. Globi makes it possible for anyone to find their people, no matter how unique their background is, even some options that Charov and Vasilevich were not familiar with.

“That’s one of our core missions,” Charov said. “Our goal is to connect all cultures together. That’s why we have such an in-depth list.”

Before the Globi team could fully realize their dream, they needed a beta test to see how a diverse community of users would interact with the interface and with each other. The Globi team gathered around 50 test users to try it and give their feedback, including Bekhruz Turabov, junior in LAS and an international student from Uzbekistan.

Through Globi, Turabov found a group of students who not only shared his love for martial arts but also spoke his language. He has even begun planning events for after the break.

“With English, my fluency doesn’t give me as much freedom, so I cannot joke,” Turabov said. “In comparison, in Uzbek, I promise you my jokes are much more sophisticated.”

In addition to finding a community, Turabov has also been using Globi to find a romantic partner.

“Relationships on campus are not serious,” Turabov said.  “They’re very casual. You approach a person, you date with them for a few days, you spend a few weeks together, and then you go on to repeat the cycle again. In contrast, dating in Uzbekistan … is very serious from the beginning.”

As a social app, Globi comes specially equipped to handle this kind of cultural dissonance in dating. Vasilevich and Charov don’t want people to get the wrong idea, though.

While using Globi can help people find a romantic partner, over 80% of its current users just want to find friends.

“People strongly associate it with dating because the app is pink,” Vasilevich said. “We’re going to do a little rebranding.” 

The Globi team intended to take all of this feedback and apply it to the app before releasing a new and improved version after winter break. They wanted to wait and make sure everything was set so they could release the best possible product.

They didn’t account for how high the demand for an app like Globi would be. People craved connection, and potential customers and current users alike requested that the app stay open, unfinished as it was.

“It’s very painful to see how many people say, ‘… I need to connect with people. I don’t want to spend the holidays alone,’” Vasilevich said. “We’re trying our best to open it up as soon as possible, even pushing beyond our limits.”

The public launch after winter break will be limited to students at the University, but Charov and Vasilevich have already planned a release to other cities, including those in the Chicagoland area. They hope their dream will even expand beyond the United States.

“Our end goal is essentially to unite the world … to connect everyone together, to connect all these people of different values and different multicultural values together,” Charov said.

Until then, Vasilevich, Charov and the rest of their team continue to make improvements, helping people find each other one connection at a time.

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