As a college student at a Chicago university, living with your parents in the suburbs has one obvious benefit: You're saving a ton on rent. But with that comes plenty of downsides, namely that you're always leaving campus every night and missing out on clubs, intramural sports, parties, networking events and other school activities that happen beyond classroom hours.
You feel less connected to your school, and less invested in the experience.
But two former DePaul students want to help commuters feel more plugged into their university by creating an Airbnb-like app that let's you crash on a fellow student's couch--for free. The catch? You have to pay for your stay in services, like doing the dishes, buying your host coffee, or walking the dog.
The startup, called SHAC (Student Housing and Collective), wants to help students find free housing near their campus, where they'll typically stay a couple nights out of the week, according to founders Khalil Pillai and Diana Zawojska--who both commuted to DePaul from the suburbs while they were in school.
In our conversation below, Pillai and Zawojska talk about the benefit commuting students get from staying close to campus, why they chose to make the service "free" to users, and how they plan to make money.
