What do President Dwight D. Eisenhower, comedian Larry David, journalists George Stephanopoulos and Larry King, and talk-show host Jerry Springer all have in common?
They are all notable alumni of the fraternity Tau Epsilon Phi (TEP).
College students around the country join Greek Life organizations like TEP to connect with classmates and alumni, and they often carry around their Greek letters with pride long after graduation.
But like any membership-based organization, connecting in a meaningful way with others gets tricky when members are spread out across the world. That is particularly true for fraternities and sororities, which have alumni bases far beyond college campuses. So how do these types of organizations create meaningful connections with members, regardless of geographical location?
TEP thinks they’ve found the answer…and they are employing an Atlanta-based startup to do it. The fraternity announced today that it is partnering with Connector Technologies to launch an exclusive networking app for their over 75,000 fraternity members (active members and alumni) around the world.
Hypepotamus readers will be familiar with Connector Technologies, a startup app we highlighted in 2024 that provides geo-location-specific connections for professional networking opportunities.
The new partnership means that TEP members will have a custom-branded networking tool that is only accessible to TEP members. The goal is to help members “discover, connect, and reconnect with TEP members nearby, whether at conferences, events, airports, on campus, or in any location around the world,” according to a press release.
Building Brotherly Connections
It is all about using curated, community-focused technology solutions to address member needs, Matt Tursi, TEP’s Director of Chapter Services, told Hypepotamus.
“One of the most frequent questions we get from undergraduates is, “I’m looking for a job/internship that aligns with my degree. Do you have contact information for an alumnus near me I can reach out to?” In the past, we would pull reports from our alumni database that may align with the request, but then we have to ensure that the alumni are willing and able to assist. Now, through TEP Connector, our brothers are able to see in real-time who is near them and what industry they are in,” Tursi added.
Adding Greek Life chapters as a user base is a natural progression for Connector, says Steven Eppinger, Founder and CEO, who himself is a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp). He credits his Greek Life connections with helping him launch the startup in the first place.
“The Greek community, both fraternities and sororities, are a natural audience for Connector, as networking both in school and as alumni are the backbone of a lifelong fraternal connection. And while fraternities and similar associations have always been on our radar as a way to grow our audience, it was actually a comment from an unexpected source that more profoundly set us in this direction. We recently announced a partnership with Atlanta-based addiction treatment center No Longer Bound, and one of their leaders referred to graduates of their program as a brotherhood. That made everything snap into focus and helped us to realize that brotherhoods of all kinds could and should be our priority.”
