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Ask HN: Is a roommate finding platform for leasing a good idea?

4 points by josemcm ↗ HN
I am thinking about creating a platform that helps people find roommates in order to rent a place together and I would like to know some opinions from the HN community regarding the business model and features.

1. Do you think there is room for another player? There are a lot of platforms out there, some better than others, tho I still find it curious how some people still rely heavily on craigslist/reddit for this. 2. What are the main features that would convince you to use something like this if ever? 3. What is the business model that would attract you? Would you pay more for freemium, or a subscription-based model?

Thanks!

3 comments

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eksemplar
Is it a good idea? Yes. But the value of a roommate finding platform isn’t the platform it’s the amount of people who use it.

That’s why most people use traditional social media. A few shares on Facebook and you’ve reached thousands of local people.

So for a business idea, your focus should be on adoption. I mean, any web developer can build a roommate finding website in a few weeks.

sh87
I'd start with looking at a sub-segment that you can reach within the larger roommate seeking group of people you plan to target.

Say people moving for work for example. I'd first pick an area that is fertile with people moving for work and seeking roommates. I'd then pitch this platform to as many work places that I possibly can. Give out stickers/pamphlets/freebies and ask them to be handed to new/potential employees or at least get them to recommended you to to such folks.

Next, I'd reach out to popular communities that are roommate friendly and do the same to try to get them to recommend your platform to folks seeking roommates.

Next, keep track of every lead, every post on CL/Reddit/Fb in that area of focus to gain some sort of edge or insight into your customers needs.

That should provide enough data to plan next steps.

[dead] marketgod
Bunz is another platform and couchsurfing. Maybe build something that integrates with all the platforms, i.e. if scrape all their data in your platform, and post all your entries on theirs, then auto update your posts with their auto replies. I think there are many platforms for this and it's a good market if you can consolidate it.