From Messy Flat to Genius App: Student Creates HOMEi to End Shared Living Struggles
Where did your idea of business come from?
The inspiration for HOMEi came to me whilst living with my housemates during our final year of university. Although we had been living together for nearly three years there was still the persistent issue of disorganisation within our flat, with chores being unfairly distributed, disproportionate communal cost distribution, and calendars being misaligned becoming an everyday occurrence.
Upon the realisation that “there must be a better way” to manage our household I went out to find a quick and easy solution. After three months of trialling different methods including apps, paper-based organisation, and excel I concluded that none of these could solve the complexities of student shared living.
Subsequently, I dedicated myself to creating a new way of organising student homes. After two months of conducting market research across eight universities, HOMEi, the first household organisation app designed for students, was born. Students can now spend less time disputing with their housemates and more time living their best uni life.
What inspired you to turn your idea into a business?
I had always known that I wanted to start a business even from a young age. I just lacked a feasible idea! So, when I saw the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students around the country, I knew I had to take the chance and create HOMEi.
What support did you receive from the University of Sheffield to develop your idea?
Over the last year I have found the additional support received from the university to be invaluable in the success of both HOMEi and the improvement of my personal skills.
Emerge, has been a blessing, (although I originally joined for the incentive of funding!), their support throughout the year has allowed my company to improve leaps and bounds ahead of where it would have been had I undertaken this journey alone.
For myself, being a sole founder, their continued support in checking over my plans, providing specialist advice, and building up my network has been invaluable in my growth as a founder. Not to mention the additional motivation I receive each week when attending their guest speaker events. These events remind me each week that the current challenge will be worth it in the end. I would recommend these talks to all budding founders.
What do you think the most important skills are to succeed in the start-up industry?
I strongly believe that the most important skill you need to succeed in the startup industry is highly dependent on where you come from. In my case as a student founder, time management was the key skill I needed to get HOMEi up and running.
When you are a student, your life is chaotic whereas people in employment or full-time founders generally have more stability in their life. For a student, studying hours could be 9am to 5pm etc, you then have your part-time job, so that you can afford to continue studying, then you need a personal life so that you can maintain your friendships and unwind, and finally you need to find the time to build and run your business. Consequently, excellent time management is needed to create that work, personal, and business life balance. And if you have, or can be supported to develop this skill, your time as a founder will be much more enjoyable.
What advice would you give to anyone who would like to start a business?
My advice to anyone wanting to set up a business is just do it! Shows such as Dragon’s Den and The Apprentice don’t show you the sheer amount of time it takes to set up a business. Researching, developing, and marketing is a lengthy prosses, sometimes taking years, so the sooner you start, the sooner you will be able to make your vision a reality! I started researching HOMEi over a year ago and we are only just getting ready to begin trading. This can sometimes be frustrating but as long as you remember that big dreams are made from small steps, this time will fly by, and your vision will come to life.
Where is your business up to now, what are you looking forward to in 2024?
Right now, the HOMEi team are tirelessly working to finish the development of the HOMEi app in time for the new university year. Over the next few months, we are planning to begin our debut marketing campaign ready for September 2024.
We are extremely excited for September 2024 when we can begin trading and start working towards our mission of enhancing the university experience, but the rush is now on to get HOMEi ready for you guys to use!
