95. University Cribs

Founders: Jack Jenkins, Daniel Jefferys, and Christian Samuel
Founded: November 2014 (launched October 2016)
Website: universitycribs.co.uk

If you’ve been to university then you’ll remember the struggle of trying to find good student accommodation. From dealing with limited time-frames, attempting to negotiate with agencies and landlords, to juggling property searches while studying… there are plenty of issues that arise.

But one start-up, University Cribs, believes it has the answer.

Attempting to simplify student lettings to help students search for their new home “stress free”, University Cribs is an online student accommodation search engine which lists student rooms from well-known lettings agents and halls providers from all the UK’s major university towns and cities.

Through the site, users can instantly book viewings and contact agents directly and can browse properties ranging in size from a studio to a 12-bed penthouse.

Created by Jack Jenkins, Daniel Jefferys, and Christian Samuel, University Cribs launched in October 2016 and attracted 100,000 site hits in its first month of going live.

Just seven months on and the start-up has 120 clients advertising properties to students on its site and a team of nine; made up entirely of graduates “who work hard and play harder”.

With 150,000 fans across social media channels, the start-up credits its early success to its ability to tailor specific content online to the wants and needs of students:

“By focusing on students as a specific niche, we are able to engage effectively with them. This is an area that our larger competitors [like Rightmove and Zoopla] are unable to dominate as the content does not resonate with their whole of market users.”

About to enter a funding round to support new product development, University Cribs’ founding trio reveal that the next year will see the addition of rental admin automation software and student household billing platforms.

The end-goal? “To become the most recognised online platform for student accommodation globally. Basically, total world domination.”