UCL ENTERPRISE

A student in his second year of completing a PhD in computer science has set up a new website to help other students find accommodation in London.

Trung Huynh, originally from Vietnam, came up with the idea for the latest incarnation of his website, Cravify, when he was looking for a place to live in London following a Master’s degree at Oxford University.

Trung’s original vision for Cravify, which was originally established in 2011, was of a site offering services including classified ads, part-time job ads, items for sale and houses to rent and flatshare.  “I quickly realised that the most promising route was to develop the property side of the site,” says Trung, 25.

Advice from Lillian Shapero, one of the student business advisors who work as part of UCL Advances – the university’s centre for entrepreneurship – helped him hone the site to shape it takes today.

Cravify brings together data from sources across the net, including Zoopla, Rightmove and Gumtree and shows them on a map of the UK, updated in real time to give users the very latest information on the availability of rental properties in what is one of the most cut-throat markets in the country.

“It’s very exciting to see the traffic build, even though we launched only a short time ago,” he added. “I’m looking forward to building the profile of the site, helping people find places to live which fit their budget and needs and potentially opening it up to advertisers in the near future.”

Links:

• Cravify
• UCL Advances Student Business Directory