Winter 2023–2024

Building Relationships in the Workplace

Chloe Samaha ’25 poses for a photo on campus
Listen

Chloe Samaha ’25 is just beginning her career as an entrepreneur, but she’s already mastering a key aspect of entrepreneurial leadership: the importance of people and relationships.

Specifically, she is intrigued by the ways that companies with virtual or hybrid arrangements—which offer colleagues fewer opportunities to chat by the water cooler—have altered workplace relationships. She began reading about topics including the Great Resignation, “quiet quitting,” and what matters to Gen Z and millennial employees. “If we don’t feel that we are providing value or that (co-workers) care about us as people, if we don’t have community in the workplace,” Samaha asks, “what’s keeping us there?”


BABSON MAGAZINE: Read the complete Winter 2023–2024 issue.


Seeing that this was a problem in need of solutions, she began brainstorming tools to help company leaders build community. Samaha, a Natalie Taylor Scholar with a concentration in technology and entrepreneurship, started developing a mobile app called BOND.

The app generates a daily bonding activity that allows colleagues to get to know each other. “It could be a question, a quiz, or a challenge, and you have a certain amount of time to respond,” Samaha says. The activities are simple and fun: Name the coolest thing you’ve done in the last year. What was your silliest fear as a child? What’s the next road trip you want to take?

Given Samaha’s emphasis on relationships, it’s little surprise that she chose to live in eTower, Babson’s living and learning community for entrepreneurs, where she serves as president. eTower has been key to BOND’s development. For example, a fellow eTower resident introduced Samaha to Brian Cho, a software developer and student at the University of Toronto, who became BOND’s co-founder.


“If we don’t feel that we are providing value or that (co-workers) care about us as people, if we don’t have community in the workplace, what’s keeping us there?”
Chloe Samaha ’25, co-founder of BOND

Through Babson’s Summer Venture Program, Samaha spent some intense days at the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship last July, building a fully coded version of BOND and preparing to release it on the App Store. “It really gave me a taste of what it’s going to look like being a full-time founder after college,” Samaha says.

The app is now in the hands of beta testers, including eTower residents and alumni, plus startups and corporate firms; their feedback has led to the addition of game elements to the app to encourage friendly competition, such as a leader board and engagement meter. Teams that spend time getting to know each other rack up points and can win prizes. The app continues to evolve and is catching on, with multiple large companies interested in sharing BOND with their employees..

“I want team leaders to use BOND because they genuinely want to build a culture that is people-first,” Samaha says, “and because they believe that the strength of the company is the people working there.”

Posted in Entrepreneurial Leadership

More from Babson Magazine »

Latest Stories

Babson student pitches startup from the stage
Mentors, Investors, and Proud Parents: Who’s Watching Babson’s Summer Venture Showcase It’s not just about startups and pitches. The people in the audience at Babson’s Summer Venture Showcase make it a hub of connections and support.
By
Hillary Chabot
Writer
Hillary Chabot
Hillary Chabot is a writer for Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. An award-winning journalist, she is known for her insightful reporting and dedication to detailed storytelling. With a career spanning over two decades, she has covered a wide range of topics, from presidential campaigns and government policy to neighborhood issues and investigative series. As a reporter for The Boston Herald, Hillary earned a reputation for tenacity and integrity. Her work at Babson College fuels her passions—to learn something new every day and conduct thoughtful, empathic interviews. She’s thrilled to be at Babson College, where students, faculty, staff members and classes provide compelling copy daily.
August 7, 2025

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership

A businesswoman leads a team vibrant and engaging team discussion in a modern office setting
Building Resilient and Agile Teams: The Competitive Edge in a Rapidly Changing Market   Resilience, flexibility, and agility aren’t just workplace buzzwords. Babson experts say they are the mindset and muscle that teams need to succeed in the face of constant change and unexpected disruption.
By
August 6, 2025

Posted in Insights

A group is seen working a project from a distance
Unscripted Moment: Sphere Perspective In our occasional photo series, staff photographer Nic Czarnecki shares a unique perspective on a design group project at a Professional and Executive Education program.
By
August 4, 2025

Posted in Community