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Paramus Native's New App Sparks Central Park Snowball Fight

PARAMUS, N.J. — Had Paramus native Josh Block never launched his new app, the 19-person snowball fight that went down in Central Park during Snowstorm Stella wouldn't have happened.

Josh Block of Paramus invented Sponté, an activity-based app that recently sparked a massive snowball fight in Central Park.

Josh Block of Paramus invented Sponté, an activity-based app that recently sparked a massive snowball fight in Central Park.

Photo Credit: Contributed
"We're in 2017, so if I'm thinking about an app that no one else has, then that's a problem," Josh Block of Paramus said of Sponté.

"We're in 2017, so if I'm thinking about an app that no one else has, then that's a problem," Josh Block of Paramus said of Sponté.

Photo Credit: Contributed

The 25-year-old and three friends rolled out the activity-based app Sponté — derived from the word "spontaneous" — earlier this month, and it already has more than 200 active users.

"Sponté is the only place where you can plan an event instantly with your friends or people in your area," explained Block, a Rutgers University graduate with a background in finance.

"We get people off their couches and connect them with others who share similar interests."

For Block, it was the snowball fight and a game of chess with Rob Silverman, who later became the app's developer.

For others, it might be yoga, basketball or brunch. No matter what, it's up to users.

"It's not about this being my own personal start-up," Block said. "It's just something that I wanted in my real life. So I made it."

After having leg surgery that left him briefly bedridden in 2015, Block was looking for something to do. That's when he got a vague idea for the app.

It was over the game of chess with Silverman that the idea truly came to fruition. The pair — along with Cecil Pang of New York City and Joshua Yammer of Teaneck — got to work in May 2016. 

Ten months later, they were in business.

"I work so hard on this — nights, weekends, all the time," Block said.

"It’s not even work, it’s my passion."

The team hopes that Sponté will foster social interaction for others as it did for them.

"I'm very confident that we have truly fulfilled my vision and passion," Pang said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD. THE APP IS CURRENTLY ONLY FOR IPHONES BUT WILL BE COMING TO ANDROID USERS SOON.

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