Alexander Kunzman is currently a student in the IE University Bachelor of Information Systems Management program, which focuses on Technology and Innovation Management. At his young age, he has already launched his first startup called Usifeed, a company that makes life easier for university students. He is also working on a couple more business ideas which he hopes to launch soon. Check out this interview to learn more about his company and what it means to be a tech entrepreneur.
Could you explain what Usifeed.com is?
Usifeed is a central hub for students to buy and sell university-related material among peers. The goal for this venture is to grow internationally whilst maintaining a local feel within each transaction. This means that each university will have its own individual store from which students can purchase and sell items specifically related to their university.
Usifeed will act as the epicenter for everything related to university, ranging from books and peer notes to accommodation and furniture. The goal of Usifeed is to make life easier for university students by providing a one-stop shop for college needs.
How did you come up with the idea for Usifeed?
On September 21st, my mate Milo and I sat down at a cafe near IE University and discussed our first days at university. I had recently switched from studying in Rotterdam University and Milo had recently returned after 15 months of travelling; needless to say, both of us were eager to start this new chapter in our lives.
However, life seems to hit hard when one is forced to choose what to purchase while living on a budget, and this very topic led us to the discussion of purchasing our expensive university books. Rather than seeing it as a problem, we discussed creating a student platform completely focused on making the student life easier and cheaper: thus the idea of Usifeed was born. We then created the concept and contacted Marco Dietrich, another student from my course, to join as he had the sufficient knowledge of IT to produce a great e-commerce marketplace.
“The Usifeed Founders”
We understand that you are also working on other entrepreneurial projects, could you tell us about them?
I am currently working on two other projects. One is related to events and the second one is focused on the real estate industry. These projects are still in the conceptual phase and will be hopefully available soon.
How do you think that technology and entrepreneurship complement each other?
Considering we are in the middle of a digital revolution, I believe there is no way to deny that technology has opened a new world of possibilities for people to start businesses and develop an entrepreneurial career, regardless of the industry.
Technology has made it easier to start something with a large potential, with little to no capital. In the future it will be a necessity to understand how to manage technology and take advantage of its full potential. Creating new products and developing unicorn platforms require skills and the mindset that I discovered while studying at IEU. The future of technology has become key in assuring a good position in the new digital era.
Where do you picture yourself in the next 10 years?
In 10 years, I picture myself having created many business opportunities, and having successfully sold one of them. I want to diversify my work within different industries in order to get good insight while I continue to update my know-how. In the future, I want to invest my time with projects that help sustain our planet and even explore the potential of space and why we exist.
If you had to give one piece of advice to someone thinking about starting a business, what would it be?
Simply do it and don’t think too much. This does not mean that you shouldn’t have a proper concept and business plan, but you shouldn’t be scared to take action. Furthermore, it is very important to have a good team that can help you develop your idea.
**Special thanks to Alexander who kindly helped us write this post!