Amsterdam-based Uni-Life, a platform that connects campus with students, raises €275K from Fundsup

Amsterdam-based Uni-Life, a digital platform that helps universities and other academic institutions to connect the campus with students, announced on Wednesday that it has recently completed its second funding round of €275K from Fundsup.

Fundsup is on a mission to empower young startups to build the change they wish to see in the world. It claims that it takes the friction out of early-stage fundraising through data-driven matchmaking through Seed to Series A stages.

Uni-Life co-founder Joep Annega says, “We were one of the first startups on Fundsup. The first time, we found an investor right before we thought we’d have to quit. The investor himself hooked up with four other investors in his personal network. Now we have found one new investor through Fundsup, who has again brought in three others through his own network. There is great energy coming from in from those happy investors.”

“Together with our expected revenue, this funding is enough to really take off for the next 12-18 months,” adds Annega.

Prior to this, Uni-Life raised its last funding round of €175K two years ago.

Capital utilisation

Uni-Life will use the funds for two things. First, it will invest in sales, wherein it will hire fresh talents who speak other languages and know how the universities work, in order to expand internationally. And second, the company will invest in developing its product.

Universities and colleges have high standards in terms of privacy and security. To maintain that, a large team is required. Hence, Uni-Life is looking to double the size of its team by the end of the year. Currently, the startup has an eight member team. It also has brand ambassadors on the campus of clients who help with promotion and content on site.

What does Uni-Life offer?

Founded in 2018 by Joep Annega and Thomas Smulders, Uni-Life is the student platform for universities focused on building a stronger campus community, boosting student engagement, and increasing the overall wellbeing of the students. The company does this by collecting and monitoring student data, which showcases all the social aspects that affect student happiness.

The platform also provides relevant information for students such as upcoming events, student associations, organisations, faculties, clubs, and initiatives at the university. It works together with some of the biggest and most respectable universities, including Erasmus University Rotterdam, Vrije University Amsterdam, Leiden University, TU Delft, Tilburg University, among others.

Talking about the story behind Uni-Life, Annega explains, “I am Dutch, but I grew up internationally. I am used to adapting and settling in a new environment. During my studies at Erasmus University, I noticed two things. The university thought the academic part was very important, but often paid less attention to the social part. Everything was arranged for the academic part: timetables, grades. On the social side, they thought it was very good if you were going to do a lot, but you largely had to figure it out yourself. This can be a real challenge, especially for foreign students. Erasmus University was willing to invest in a solution. And we have grown from there.”

Recent growth

Uni-Life has managed to onboard half of the Dutch universities as partners and expects to partner with the rest by next year.

Annega says, “Sometimes months go by when we don’t get any new customers and then all of a sudden you have a week where you get four. The big plus is that they are often already convinced before we go into the details with them. Universities themselves conduct a lot of research and already understand our product before they come to us. That helps.”

The startup says it will now focus on the first year of study and international students. “We are now expanding the value added by the platform. We are investigating whether our platform can be used to show potential students how attractive a university is. And whether it can be used to keep alumni connected to their university,” adds Annega.