036 | "App to Connect Current Students with Future Students" (Kimeshan at UniBuddy)
Today’s guest on the “Phil with F30” podcast is Kimeshan Naidoo – CTO & Co-Founder of Unibuddy
Forbes List: Europe
Year: 2020
Category: Social Entrepreneurship
I teach entrepreneurs that it’s important to focus on the number one reason your customers want your product or service. Kimeshan Naidoo, CTO, and Co-Founder of Unibuddy is a master at finding out his client’s pain points and knows how to create a product and service based on that.
His product, Unibuddy, helps students select the right university for higher education in a way that updates antiquated university recruiting methods. Over 250-thousand students have used the product with great enthusiasm.
Unibuddy is a fast-rising tech company with 300 universities using the product in 30 countries. Unibuddy has raised $12-million and has offices in London, New York, and Bangalore.
In our conversation we discuss:
How Unibuddy was developed to meet a need that’s an industry disrupter.
The importance of creating a product that solves problems with an easy client interface and deployment.
How Unibuddy speaks the language of Gen Z.
Using peer-to-peer communications to benefit potential students.
How potential student questions (data collection) can benefit university marketing efforts.
Future markets.
Kimeshan keeps improving his product. Recently, a new live video streaming feature was added and is proving to be invaluable to students and universities during the pandemic.
“Under 30 Seconds Round”
1. What is the book you’ve gifted more often than any other book, and why?
Measure What Matters, John Doerr. The strategies apply to organizations and your personal life.
2. What’s one of the best investments and one of the worst investments you’ve ever made and why?
Best - Just starting. I also bought some good cryptocurrency early on.
Worst - I thought investing in Nelson Mandela coins would have more value.
3. What’s the most impactful thing you do in your Morning and Evening routines?
AM - I started to read philosophy instead of emails first thing. I’m reading Meditations, Marcus Aurelius.
PM - I do non-reactive things such as flossing my teeth.
4. Pretend you won the Peter Thiel Fellowship and you were going to get money to start a business instead of going to college, what’s the very first thing you’d do to start a new business?
I would start a think-tank or incubator that would try to figure out how to produce leaders who could improve governments around the world.
5. What’s something you never knew you needed?
Sleep. It’s the best thing you can do for yourself.
In the REVIEW SECTION, please let me know…
1. The city / country you’re tuning in from!
2. How Kimeshan Naidoo’s story has inspired you! And, your favorite part of this episode!
3. Tell me the questions you’d like me to ask future Forbes 30 Under 30 Members!
GUEST INFO: Kimeshan Naidoo – CTO & Co-Founder of Unibuddy
CONTACT: Twitter @kimeshan_ Instagram kimeshan_n
WEBSITE: https://unibuddy.com/
HOST INFO: Phil Michaels
SOCIAL: @iamphilmichaels
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/philmichaels
PODCAST WEBSITE: www.philwithF30.com
PHIL’s WEBSITE: www.iamphilmichaels.com
