It was the beginning of our first virtual semester at the University of Maryland. It all started with creating a Google Doc to jot down our business ideas. No structure, industry, or any creative limitations. We had a wide range of ideas from hardware systems to prevent drunk-driving to a simple student to student tutoring service. Understanding the transition to virtual collaboration due to COVID-19 we decided to do a software based business, like a mobile application. The concept was simply a campus economy optimized platform for students to sell their skills to local small businesses. We were aware of competition from established platforms like LinkedIn and freelance platforms like Fiverr, but those were aimed at the professional workforce. For an average college student looking to make some quick cash, there was no credible and centralized local economy focused platform. With the gig economy accounting for 40% of the U.S. economy and rising, it is becoming imperative for students to engage in freelance and side-hustles. This is because gig-economy skills teach students to be self-starters, flexible, and spontaneous, a much needed mindset to be able to adapt in economic downturns such as this pandemic.
We have completed MVP development and are currently rolling out BETA tests to UMD students and College Park business. Please click here to join. Soon, we’ll be assembling a formal team to market the product and officially launch on iOS and Android.
Without any prior entrepreneurial knowledge we decided to embark on this journey, documenting our thoughts, failures, and successes here in this blog. Thanks for reading!
Feel free to reach out via email: umd.campus.gigs@gmail.com
Sri Kanipakala
Nataraj Shivaprasad