Emory Startup Spotlight: Vezzy
Vezzy is student run startup that was founded in June 2018. The team includes Eric Yang, Justin Luo, Avery Crafts, Ethan Chen, Michael Aki, Ronik Sheth, and Katharine Yan.
Eric Yang spent his past summer working on FetchMi which is his previous company. “Now thinking back that project was a little too big for college students” said Eric Yang. “In the beginning of June we started on this app, I started thinking we need to do something that is more relatable to students. The one market we know is the college student market.”
After looking at the Emory Buy and Sell Facebook page, Eric Yang knew that with a few changes he could make this into a successful app organized and catered to college students. “We started this app to build a better marketplace for college students” said Eric Yang. “If we only do buy and sell we won’t go anywhere big; it is a seasonal business.” In the first month they got over 1600 Emory students on the app.
His projection is to capture 2500 students at Emory and then branch out to neighboring colleges such as Georgia Tech and Georgia State in the future.
“Our tech team has been working very hard on the service side of the App.” They have launched a new update to the App which focuses on a new Service side of the app. “We have reached out to EPASS tutors to be involved on the app. Services come in all shapes and forms, photography, graphic design, and errands. One thing everyone can provide is time so everyone can be involved in this service.” With this service, he wants to capture the market in a way he was unable to with Buy and Sell which is very seasonal.
He has been working with the marketing team to promote the app through weekly sales. They sold mooncakes during the Mooncake festival at a low price to test the idea of a service side. The mooncakes sold out in 2 days. They sold 50 cups of bubble tea which got sold out instantly. I have two people on the marketing just to push for weekly sales because they provide steady transactions and they get more people to download the app. “Even if you are not into Buy and Sell services, you might be into bubble tea or mooncakes.”
The Vezzy team has reached out to develop partnerships with companies and clubs to partner with the app to provide students with more deals. Vezzy is planning to partner with Zoe’s Kitchen, where if students show the app they get a 5% discount.
“I want this app to be a big exchange platform with college students and a big exchange platform with the outside world” says Eric Yang. “I also want to create a mini community within this mega app.”
Written by Veena Jaipradeep
Emory Entrepreneurship & Venture Management | IQ Magazine Associate
