Student.com

Student.com is a student accommodation marketplace that tries to help students find residential accommodations.[1] The company operates focussing on the student accommodation market, by connecting students to landlords; highlighted in a niche in the property market.[2] Student.com was founded by Luke Nolan in 2011 with Shakil Khan and John-Paul Jones joining in 2014.[3] The company is headquartered in Dubai, with offices in the UK, China, Hong Kong, USA, Australia and India.[4]

Student.com
Screenshot
Student.com Screenshot
Type of businessPrivate
Founded2011
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)Luke Nolan, Shakil Khan, JP Jones
CEOLuke Nolan
IndustryReal estate, Accommodation, Travel
Employees200
URLstudent.com

Company history

Inception

The company was initially founded in 2011 as Overseas Student Living by Luke Nolan.[5][6] After working in China for several years, Nolan was regularly called upon by his Chinese friends to help recommend accommodation for students looking to study in the US, UK and Australia. Recognizing that many other individuals, especially students, were facing similar issues, Nolan realized that there was a potential market for an online student accommodation marketplace that could help in connecting students with trusted professional landlords for their accommodation needs.[7][8] In 2014, he was joined by other co-founders Shakil Khan, who met Nolan 10-years earlier in Shanghai, and John-Paul Jones.[9][10] The company rebranded itself as Student.com in 2015 to focus on expanding globally and hired a team of multilingual booking agents.[11][12][13]

Growth and funding

In 2015, the company saw $110 million in bookings, listed properties in 426 cities in proximity to 1,000 universities.[14][15] The company raised combined Series B and C funding of $60 million in 2016 led by VY Capital, Horizons Ventures, Expa, Spotify founders Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, and Hugo Barra of Xiaomi.[16][17]

Products and features

The listings on Student.com are displayed on an interactive map subdivided by different neighborhoods.[18] The platform claim to help in the accommodation search for international students needing to secure a base for their studies from a distance.[19] The website assigns the user to a booking consultant, who contacts the student to verify their details, including choice of room, roommate, tenancy length, price and student status. The service is free for students and it takes its commission as a cut from bookings.[20][21] In April 2016, Forbes revealed that billionaire investor, Jim Breyer invested an undisclosed amount in Student.com.[22]

References
  1. Steven Bertoni. "Tech Investors from Spotify, Xiaomi, VY Capital and Horizons Bet On Study Abroad Site Student.com". Forbes. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  2. Natasha Lomas. "Student.com Bags $60M To Grow The Reach Of Its Student Digs Marketplace". Techcrunch. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  3. Arjun Kharpal. "'Booking.com for students' raises $60M". CNBC. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  4. "Student.com Expands Global Footprint to India". www.businesswire.com. 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  5. Henry Williams. "Accommodation booking platform Student.com clinches $60m". Startups.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  6. Daniel McDonald. "Accommodation marketplace Student.com has raised $60 million". Dailynewsx. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  7. "Student.com secures $60m investment in round led by VY Capital". Dealstreetasia. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  8. "60 εκατ. δολ. για το Student.com, ένα marketplace εύρεσης φοιτητικής στέγης". Emea.gr. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  9. Natalie Marsh. "Student.com raises $60m to build global accommodation reach". Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  10. Clément Bohic. "Student.com lève 60 millions de dollars : merci la Net-économie". Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  11. Paul Sawers. "Student.com raises $60M (and its profile) to help international students find somewhere to live". VentureBeat. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  12. Yon Heong Tung. "Xiaomi VP, Spotify Founders join US$60M investment in Student.com". Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  13. "李嘉诚等投资Student.com 涉资4.7亿元". Sohu.com. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  14. "Property site Student.com gets $60m in funding". Archived from the original on 27 May 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  15. Kristijan Lucic. "Spotify Founders & Xiaomi VP Invest In Student.com". Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  16. "Student.com Raises $60m Investment Round". Red Herring. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  17. "STUDENT.COM SCORES $60M FOR ITS STUDENT DIGS PLAY". Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  18. "Student.com亮相中国 留学住哪儿不用愁". Sina. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  19. "Die besten Studentenbuden im Ausland: 60 Millionen Dollar für Student.com". Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  20. Jeremy Kahn. "Website to Help Students Find Homes Gets $60 Million". Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  21. "Student.com Secures $60M From Spotify And Its Backers". Pymnts. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  22. Steven Bertoni (13 April 2016). "Student.com Scores Powerful Silicon Valley Connection With Breyer Capital Investment". Forbes. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
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