KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Nov. 4, 2019 \u2013 溏心vlog免费B站 students Andrew Bikash and Ben Grossman experienced the same feelings as their residence hall neighbors when they first came to campus in the fall of 2017. They all wanted to create something that could be profitable and lasting.<\/p>\n
The College of Business<\/a> juniors have done just that \u2013 developing a peer-to-peer app, Kanu, which will allow students to network across campus and help them launch their own entrepreneurial ambitions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw students in our dorm that all have a similar drive that we do,\u201d says Bikash, an entrepreneurial major from East Greenwich<\/strong>. \u201cThey all wanted to make money on their own and they wanted to do something to leave a legacy. We created this app as a shortcut to achieve their visions, to harness what they\u2019re interested in.\u201d<\/p>\n Kanu \u2013 pronounced \u201ccan you\u201d \u2013 provides a platform that allows users to buy and sell items, using a map interface that shows the location of posted goods, services, and requests. But the app, which is expected to be launched in spring 2020 through app stores for iPhone and Android, also expands the ability for users to create \u201cside hustles\u201d or gig jobs \u2013 such as tutoring or delivery services \u2013 and offer them to the University community.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a community centered around business ideas,\u201d says Grossman, a marketing major from Fort Washington, Pennsylvania,<\/strong> \u201cwhether you\u2019re looking for a job or to offer a service, trying to find a particular service, or just wanting to explore the opportunities within your community.\u201d<\/p>\n Recently, their work on Kanu garnered top honors for oral presentation in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s 2019 Showcase of Undergraduate Research, Scholarly and Creative Works, which featured the work of 58 students across 27 unique majors. Grossman and Bikash were also recently named to the online publication Rhode Island Inno\u2019s \u201cInno Under 25<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The business partners, who met through a campus leadership program, started defining their business goals as first-year students, conducting market research by surveying neighbors in the College of Business Living and Learning Community in Fayerweather Hall. In fine-tuning their vision, they decided a smartphone application was the best way to reach fellow students, and have worked with an outside developer to design the app.<\/p>\n \u201cWe weren\u2019t app developers when we got into this,\u201d says Grossman. \u201cWe really just had an idea, knew what technology was out there, and which our generation uses most frequently. We\u2019ve shaped this platform around technology we admire and to provide a state-of-the-art service\/delivery portal.\u201d<\/p>\n Kanu provides a safe platform for users, presenting a community-wide marketplace, but also allowing users to select who they contact. \u201cTechnology allows someone to cast a wide net,\u201d Grossman says. \u201cYou can make a post and interact with 14,000 kids. That\u2019s compelling but also not accessible to a lot of students. We saw that firsthand. Our peers were attempting to sell things on channels like Facebook Groups but didn\u2019t get much of a response because our peers don\u2019t engage in those mass settings. We have focused on remedying that issue by creating a safe and local social marketplace that is by students and for students, which enhances the college experience for all students.\u201d<\/p>\n