Funny this popped up. I was just having a chat with a classmate about how he ended up finding his roommates for his shared Brooklyn apartment on Craigslist, and how I would never have the guts to do that.
So are you a vetting service for roommates, like I enter a list of preferences and you give me a list of roommates that have all been vetted (i.e. not serial killers)? Or are you building a platform for anyone looking for a roommate to connect with others? I think you'd find people who'd pay for a vetting-like service, particularly students who are studying abroad out and in the US.
In any case, how are you hoping to acquire users? You're essentially trying to beat out Craigslist. You might want to take the Airbnb approach by posting ads there that redirect to profiles on your site.
This has been a solo side project for me for a few months now. I had to find a roommate and sifting through Craigslist felt clunky. It's more the latter. A simple way for people looking for a roommate to connect with one another.
There are a lot of improvements and features that I have planned for the future.
I'm new to the "product launch" thing. I'm going to be trying some facebook ads and tweeting at people looking for roommates. They seem to be a fairly vocal community on social networks so they're not difficult to find and interact with.
The Airbnb approach sounds like a great idea. Thanks!
I wish I could use this with critical mass in my home city of Montreal. I just searched HN for 'roommates' thinking, "there's gotta be a better way to do this! someone must've talked about it." And here we are.
Searching for a new home with other people is indeed tiring. I wish you well!
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[ 4.5 ms ] story [ 15.7 ms ] threadSo are you a vetting service for roommates, like I enter a list of preferences and you give me a list of roommates that have all been vetted (i.e. not serial killers)? Or are you building a platform for anyone looking for a roommate to connect with others? I think you'd find people who'd pay for a vetting-like service, particularly students who are studying abroad out and in the US.
In any case, how are you hoping to acquire users? You're essentially trying to beat out Craigslist. You might want to take the Airbnb approach by posting ads there that redirect to profiles on your site.
In any case, good luck!
There are a lot of improvements and features that I have planned for the future.
I'm new to the "product launch" thing. I'm going to be trying some facebook ads and tweeting at people looking for roommates. They seem to be a fairly vocal community on social networks so they're not difficult to find and interact with.
The Airbnb approach sounds like a great idea. Thanks!
Searching for a new home with other people is indeed tiring. I wish you well!