????對于普通高校的大一學生來說，最初幾個月往往充滿了壓力，因為他們需要適應一個新地方，結交新朋友。伊利諾伊大學（University of Illinois）學生、應用程序One的聯合創始人科里?利維就曾在2010年親身體會過這種人生地不熟的窘境。

????“開學第一天，我幾乎一個人都不認識，也不知道周圍正在發生什么事情，”他回憶說。“One真的挺有用，因為它可以根據人們的興趣愛好，為他們提供更多關于周圍的人和事的信息。”

????這款適用于iOS系統的應用主要面向大學生群體。它根據地理位置和共同的愛好，比如鐘愛蠢朋克樂隊（Daft Punk）或電影《指環王》（Lord of the Rings），提醒人們注意附近的其他用戶。這款應用現已在包括伊利諾伊大學（the University of Illinois）在內的4所大學普及。憑借著羅恩?康威、基思?拉布伊斯、True Ventures風投公司和其他支持者提供的近200萬美元種子資金，利維和卡拉漢打算在秋季到來前把它推廣到至少10所其他院校。

????但在這一切變成現實之前，21歲的利維和29歲的卡拉漢將在財富頭腦風暴技術會議（Brainstorm Tech Conference，7月22日至24日在科羅拉多州阿斯彭研究所召開）上，與4位其他選手共同角逐本年度創業偶像大賽（Startup Idol）的桂冠。我們提前問了他幾個簡單的問題。

????問：假設現在已經是下一周，你們已經登臺亮相了。用一句話簡短地介紹你們的產品。

????答：One是一款移動應用，隨時提醒人們注意身邊是否來了一個與自己有著許多罕見共同點的家伙。

????問：現在有不少所謂的“發現人”應用，它們的目的或許有些區別，但基本原則是一樣的。那么One與其他應用（比如說Highlight）有什么不同之處？

????答：說起“發現人”這一功能，我愿意用One和你所說的Highlight比較一下。在我看來，Highlight所做的事情非常被動。它會告訴你某個人是在幾個街區之外，還是在幾英里之外。我們認為這些都是“非實際信息”。誰在乎某個人離你幾英里，還是幾個街區啊？你絕不會為了見一個陌生人而走上很長一段路。但如果你正坐在一間教室或者餐廳里面，而且你身旁有一個人與你有著許多罕見的共同點，那么你與這個人建立真實聯系的幾率就將大大增加。沒有哪款應用能夠達到這樣的精確性。我們想說的是，我們的“接近性引擎”（proximity engine）本身就是一種技術成就，它可以讓兩個擁有許多共同點，彼此相隔3英尺或20英尺的人建立聯系。

????其次，我們的產品是為我們自己開發的。這款應用的服務對象是大學生。我們知道我們和朋友們究竟想要具備什么功能的產品。相較于其他年紀大一點的創業者，我們更加接近問題的核心。

????問：從技術上講，今年并不是你第一次參加財富頭腦風暴技術會議。聽說有一年你沒拿到票就混進場了，真的嗎？

????那是三年前的事情，當時我們甚至還沒有動手開發One。我和家人一起在科羅拉多州度假，走在街道的時候，我發現周圍許多漂亮的轎車上都印著帶有“財富頭腦風暴技術會議”字樣的標識。所以，我就跳入其中一輛，隨口說了一句，“帶我去吧”。我當時并沒有登記注冊，就這樣被拉進了會場。實際上，我悄悄地坐在了基思?拉布伊斯的旁邊，還和他搭訕了。現在，他成了我們的首位投資者。當然，我最終被發現了，但我說服《財富》（Fortune）方面的組織者給了我最后兩天的門票！（財富中文網）

????譯者：任文科

????For the average college freshman, the first few months are stressful as they navigate a new place and make new friends. Cory Levy, a University of Illinois student and co-founder of One, found that out for himself in 2010.

????"My first day, I hardly knew a soul and had no idea what events were happening around me," he recalls. "One would have really helped, as it gives you more information about the people and things happening around you based on your interests."

????Available for iOS, the app was meant for the college set. One notifies people of other nearby users, called "matches," based on location and shared interests, like an affinity for Daft Punk or Lord of the Rings. Available at four schools, including the University of Illinois, Levy and Callahan will introduce it to at least 10 other schools by fall thanks to nearly $2 million in seed funding from Ron Conway, Keith Rabois, True Ventures, and other backers.

????But before that happens, Levy, 21, and Callahan, 29, will vie as one of five contestants for the mantle of this year's Startup Idol competition at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference, at the Aspen Institute in Colorado. We caught up with Levy beforehand for a few quick questions.

????Q: Let's pretend it's next week already, and you're onstage. Give us your elevator pitch in one sentence.

????A: One is a mobile application that notifies you when someone is right next to you who shares a number of rare things in common.

????There are other so-called people discovery apps out there that may have somewhat different aims but the same underlying principle. (Take Highlight, for example.) So how is One different?

????So if I were talking about "people discovery," I would contrast it and say with Highlight, what you do is very passive. It'll tell you if someone is a couple blocks or a few miles away. We see that as "non-actual information." Who cares if someone is a couple miles from you or a couple blocks from you? You're not going to walk a long distance to go meet a stranger. But if you're sitting in a class or at a restaurant, and there's someone right next to you with a number of rare interests in common, the chances of you actually connecting with that person increases. No one's been able to get that range of accuracy, and we like to say that that in itself is a sort of technical achievement -- our proximity engine -- that allows someone to connect when they're three feet or 20 feet from each other.

????Secondly, we're building a product for ourselves. This is a product geared towards college kids. We know what we want and what our friends want. We're closer to the problem compared with other founders who may be a little bit older.

????Technically, this Brainstorm Tech conference isn't your first. You gate-crashed one year, right?

????Three years ago before we even starting work on One. I was in Colorado on a family vacation, and I noticed when I was walking the street that there were these nice cars driving around with "Fortune Brainstorm Tech" signs. So I hopped into one, and I said, "Yep, take me there," or whatever. I wasn't signed up or anything, but I was driven into the venue. Actually, I snuck in and sat next to Keith [Rabois]. I connected with him. Fast-forward, he became our first investor. Of course, I got caught eventually, but I convinced Fortune to give me a ticket for the last two days or so!