It all started with a four-hour conversation. After a ten-day meditation retreat in northern Thailand, Niccolò discussed with Jacopo the growing dangers of social media and its negative impact on society. Both felt a duty to act, and that’s how the idea of Posto (Italian for "place")—a platform to reconnect people in real life—was born.

When Niccolò went to UC Berkeley, Jacopo joined him to test their idea. How? With a provocative deep survey targeting students from UC Berkeley and Stanford. The twist? They threw a massive party to gather data, attaching condoms to the invites with a cheeky note, “A little gift for real life.” The turnout? Over 1,000 participants (even though a few thought it was an orgy)!

The survey, crafted using “The Mom Test” principles, showed 85% struggled with social media addiction, and 90% had failed to solve it. Armed with these insights, they pitched at SkyDeck, met Aidan from Codify, who offered his best Berkeley CS students to help build the platform. And so, Posto was born.