Great Colleges have great stories but do not have the platform to publish these stories. Hyderabad based startup StuMagz is providing a platform for colleges to connect, publish their stories, post their events and collaborate with projects. Telugu360 is in conversation with the founder – Sri Charan Lakkaraju who shares with us the journey of StuMagz in becoming a Student’s home…
Could you pitch for your startup?
We are low cost brand acquisition channel for whoever targets students as customers and influencers. We are first digital platform and medium for colleges. Students can write stories, connect with other students. We also bring Corporate brands to the Campus. We post Jobs, Corporate Webinars and deals in the same magazine.
With so many social networking sites to connect, why should one choose StuMagz?
The students in tier two and tier three colleges are not connected. People say Facebook connects everyone, but not all A section of, say CSE, students are connected to B section students despite being in the same college. Co-founder Frederick DSV and I brainstormed on how to build a network where all these students can come under one umbrella. That’s when StuMagz came into the picture.
How does StuMagz work?
As per rules, every college must have a student magazine which not all colleges have. We sign a MOU with such colleges, followed by a recruitment drive. Through the recruitment, we secure our avengers(representatives) who spread the word about the college magazine. We don’t enforce anyone to join but with new features coming in, the number of students joining us is increasing.
Can you tell us about your target audience?
We started off with engineering colleges, now we are targeting B-schools. Not all engineering colleges are ready to join either. It becomes people intensive approach at times. At Hyderabad level, we were very picky – we did not go to premier colleges but preferred rural areas and normal colleges. However, we want to become one stop destination for all colleges in future.
Is there any scope for Alumni?
Yes, if the college is registered with us. There is nothing like special alumni connect section at this moment. However, one can register as a student as their roll number remains unique. We have plans for the Alumni wherein they can post specifically to their alma matter.
What is your funding pattern?
We were initially bootstrap. But in 2016 at TiE-ISB Connect, we raised on the spot funding of 75lakhs. After securing a seed fund now we are aiming to raise up to $1 million funding.
How do you deal with negative feedback?
Most people did not understand this startup. Because the product is for free, they start questioning more. Any revenue model which is not understood makes more money. There are ifs and buts which doesn’t bother us.
What is the change you see from the time you started off?
We have been evolving continuously and innovating. The core-essence has remained the same. When I started StuMagz it was supposed to be just a magazine platform but now it turned out to be direct digital platform. Technology wise our website is minimalistic and grew on par with international websites.
What is something that you did not expect?
The acceptance rate for the platform is very high. Colleges are coming forward to establish themselves with us. Also as a startup, we did not expect to grow in terms of team so quickly. About a year ago, we were hardly 2 or 3people and now my team size is 24.
Can you tell us about your plans for expansion?
Recently we started in Dehradun where the response was great. We have our footprint in both Telugu states, some parts of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Uttarakhand. Next year we want to be a pan-India brand. We want to connect at least 10lakh students and as many brands as possible. In long run when people think of student, they should think of StuMagz.
Stumagz is about connecting with Stories
Stumagz is about collaborating with people
Stumagz is about creating a Cult
