One of the highlights of a recent West Chester Henderson High School grad’s adventure to Italy was wrestling a native Judo champion there, and ever since, Charlie Grab has grappled with the idea for a mobile app that would connect world travelers with local people who share their interests.

“You make a new friend, and the adventure basically begins from there,” Grab said of the new app, CultureCloud, in a Daily Local News report by Brian McCullough.

Just as he nears graduation from Rowan University, Grab has helped take CultureCloud to an Android test version currently available for download and an iOS version pending Apple approval.

CultureCloud has already accumulated five equity partners, help from almost a dozen more through the Rowan Clinic Program and $10,000 in investment for winning the college’s Rohrer Business Plan Competition.

“It was nearly a year-long process where we had to submit our business plan at multiple stages until only five business plans were left,” Grab said of the competition. “It’s now our money to use for growing CultureCloud into a successful business.”

It’s received a big head start in that regard, too, with 13 ambassadors across five continents rallying behind the effort.

Throughout the globe-trotting app development journey, Grab has tapped lessons from another cross-country experience: running.

“The important thing is to keep on schedule, keep putting in the miles, keep eating right and to believe in the system. Holding onto these ideas has helped me tremendously through all aspects of my time at Rowan University and especially with the unpredictable journey that CultureCloud has been for me.”

Read much more about Grab’s CultureCloud adventure in the Daily Local News here.