Tradeversity app could be exactly what you need
Look out, student entrepreneurs, we’ve found your new favorite USC tool
There’s a USC born and bred platform that can truly act as a catalyst in empowering your business – Tradeversity. After their app launched this past September, Tradeversity stood out to me as something that benefits not only your average student but also student entrepreneurs.
It’s pretty simple. The app allows you to list anything that you’d like to sell, ranging from furniture and electronics to textbooks and clothes. It even has categories so you can easily find whatever you’re looking for as a buyer.
The initial app was only a buying and selling market for goods, which was beneficial, but the recent update allows for so much more. Now, users can actually sell their services on the app – game changer! Check out some of your peers killing it offering a variety of services for us all.
In addition to services, you can also list items for rent (hello, sharing economy). I’ve seen students on our campus list everything from photography to doing other students’ laundry. It seems the possibilities are endless. While I’m a huge advocate of Airbnb as was witnessed when I created the glorious Phi Sig “Frat Castle” listing (a must-see for a damn good laugh), Tradeversity doesn’t incur the same types of costs and, once again, you’re not renting out to “out of townies” (although they can be a riot sometimes).
Check out some of my favorite listings, which include senior Management student Vincent Felix and his masterfully-crafted phone cases by local artists.
Senior Nursing Major, Meg Roy joined Tradeversity when her neighbors’ (I’ll admit it – it’s the frat castle neighbors) laundry machine broke, and she saw the opportunity to serve them.
Junior retail major Molly makes these awesome knitted headbands.
This dude is offering his stang that has a decent chance of attacking a bird or should I say lady Gamecock?
I sat down with the CEO Mike Meyers who is a recent USC grad of 2014. He got his initial start from winning our Proving Ground competition, which you should enter next fall, to see how he came up with the idea for Tradeversity.
So, how did you come up with the idea for Tradeversity and use local resources to get help make it grow (validation)?
Tradeversity was born a few years ago when I was a junior in college and needed extra spending money. I was trying to sell extra unused backpacks I had, and I couldn’t find a great platform on which I could sell them. Facebook is a social network, not a marketplace. Craigslist is creepy. And eBay had shipping fees and service charges. That’s why I decided to create a solution for the problem I was experiencing.
Sweet. How does this improve students’ and student entrepreneurs’ experiences in college?
Well Tradeversity is essentially a way in which students and student entrepreneurs can reach their target demographics – other students. It’s a safer, simpler and more convenient platform for buying, selling and servicing other students on your campus.
What can we do to continue empowering students to flex their entrepreneurial muscles/instincts?
Support them! Starting a business and getting your idea off the ground is not easy. Tradeversity helps to support student-run businesses by providing a platform for them to sell items and list services to other students. If you have friends or classmates also looking to be student entrepreneurs, you can play a major role in their development by supporting them and their ideas.
What is your advice for first-time entrepreneurs?
Don’t give up. That sounds so cliche, but it’s probably the most important thing for entrepreneurs to understand. A favorite quote of mine is, “Entrepreneurs don’t see walls; they see obstacles.” If you remember that problems and roadblocks are merely obstacles and not walls, you’ll be successful. Continue pushing and working toward your dream.
Where do you see Tradeversity in the next year?
We plan to launch Tradeversity at a number of schools across the country by the end of 2016. Tell your friends we could be headed their way!
Tradeversity is currently servicing USC, Columbia College and Midlands Tech in the area, and it’s also at Clemson, Virginia Tech, JMU, Radford and NC State. If you haven’t already created an account, I highly recommend you check it out.