New freshers meeting service hits Sussex

Starting university can be very stressful; being away from home, in a new place, and with new people. But two young entrepreneurs in this exact situation have created a solution. Friends and freshers Sam Owen and Harry Deeming have created Raspberry Flats -a new free service that connects flatmates and coursemates before you arrive, available for over 100 universities. We got the chance to  speak to the lads about their new venture.

So, guys, tell us a bit about yourselves!

We’re Harry and Sam, the creators of Raspberry Flats. We’re school friends from Wiltshire and are starting university in September. Yes, we may look like a couple, but we can assure you this partnership is purely business.

Sam and Harry, the creators of Raspberry Flats

What inspired you to create Raspberry Flats?

Both being future freshers, we also face the fear of not making friends and ensuring that we get along with flatmates and coursemates. We wanted to quell this fear for ourselves and others, connecting students before arriving at uni.

Uni Facebook groups already exist. What can the site offer its members that sets you apart?

Once you sign up, our service will connect you with others in your halls and course. Later, with our tailored friend feed, you can find and add like-minded people who have similar interests as you at your university. We’re different from Facebook groups; Raspberry Flats is all in one place; you don’t need to figure out which of the 5 freshers pages you need to join, or 10 group chats with different rotations of people. It’ll do the hard work for you.

Connect with future flatmates

Raspberry Flats has a young vibe. How important to you is the accessibility of your website?

We’re freshers; we designed our website the way we’d want to use it, using simple language, in a lighthearted manner, that will appeal to students.

The service is pretty new, how has it gone so far?

The online platform was released for initial sign up on the 5th of August, and we’re fast approaching 2000 users. Students can begin connecting with each other from the 1st of September. The platform will improve with our user base, bringing student blogs and exclusive offers. All users have loved it so far- many are calling for it to be embedded into the university transition process, and it can only get better with more users.

Anything else you’d like to tell our readers?

In a nutshell, we have a sick idea, a platform with huge networking potential, and seek your involvement to contribute to what could be for most new students, a life changing service. Now, what could be better than that?

Check out Sam and Harry’s website here