Delhi-based student housing startup Stanza Living said it will hit 45,000 beds by the end of November and will reach its target of 100,000 beds sooner than expected.
Launched its operations in July 2017 with 100 beds in Delhi University’s north campus area, Stanza Living has managed to scale up aggressively in the last two years. In April 2018, the startup expanded its services and scaled up to 2,000 beds across Delhi-NCR, and then in April 2019, it scaled up to 20,000 plus beds in 10 cities across India. And now, the startup is eyeing to scale up the number further.
Speaking to a local daily, Anindya Dutta, Managing Director and Co-founder of Stanza Living, said, “We started with 100 beds in 2017, scale that to 2000 beds in 2018 and are about to hit 45,000 beds by the end of November, spread across 10 cities.” It seems the startup is trying to create mini campus like clusters in every educational hub and plan to invest Rs.250 crore in expanding operations to tier 1 and tier 2 cities.
Founded by Anindya Dutta and Sandeep Dalmia, Stanza Living is redefining student living in India by providing thoughtfully-designed residences, tailored to student needs, coupled with various supporting services and living experiences. It provides fully-furnished rooms, interactive common spaces, gaming areas, tech-enabled security, doctor on call, laundry service, unlimited Wi-Fi, and others that anyone would love to call home. The tech-enabled startup currently has its presence in ten cities.
While there are a slew of other startups offering similar co-living facilities, the co-founder was reported saying that the use of technology has set them apart from the rest.
Commenting on the technology, Sandeep Dalmia, MD and Co-founder of Stanza Living, who also oversees technology, said, “The way we think about technology is that it should help us scale and also provide customization to the consumer.”
Stanza Living uses technology at the backend to scale its product. Using algorithms, the startup's team identify and select residences, figure out the rent in the area and then determine end user pricing so there are no false underwrites. “We very rarely get a building wrong and that’s very important for us to accelerate and drive growth. I think we are comfortable at the pace at which we are growing, and we will reach our target of one lakh beds sooner than expected,” Dutta was quoted as saying.
The startup also has a student facing app that allows students to give feedback on the residence spaces, menu, and even communicate with the operations team. The app also offers students access to social events, brand deals, discounts on restaurants and even allows buying internet packs.
Meanwhile, Stanza Living has recently raised an undisclosed Series C funding round led by Falcon Edge Capital, bringing its total capital investment to around $70 million. The startup’s investors include Sequoia Capital, Matrix Partners, Accel Partners, and Alteria Capital.
