Chat Depot started as a social experiment. A passion project of our founder, Edgar Villeda, who decided to set up an ‘interaction booth’ in various public spaces throughout Denver Colorado to see if people were willing to share an unexpected moment of good cheer with strangers or people they were with as they passed by. His desire to do this emerged from frustration at the repetitive and limited options people have to experience each other in public settings, and out of a deep sense that the problems in our world weren’t going to get any better unless the people in it started to get along better.

It wasn’t long before Edgar realized what he was doing had profound implications and potential not just for the people he met in public, but for all the “occasions” in which people gather, and where the same lack of warmth and openness may be present. Throughout his 15 year career organizing and facilitating in-person events for corporate law firms, he was a frequent witness to how difficult and awkward it was for busy (and often introverted) professionals to break the ice and socialize in formal settings. 

Edgar’s strong desire to break the mold on how people interact comes from a lifetime of being the friendliest and most talkative person in the room. During his college years, he created a community outreach program for homeless people and student tutors that focused on providing a platform to express personal stories through writing. Edgar has always envisioned a world where curiosity, openness, and exposure to others becomes the cure for the interpersonal ills our societies are increasingly facing - Chat Depot is his way of making that vision a reality.