Where did the idea for Diverzum originate?

Both Fanni and Miklós studied in several countries in Western Europe, including Norway, the UK, Spain, and the Netherlands. They noticed many discounts available to students there, which were not present in Hungary. Wanting to create something similar in Hungary, Fanni, in her final year of university, and Miklós, leaving his master’s program, started working full-time on this venture.

“It was a very complicated situation. I felt pressured by society, the university, and my immediate environment to pursue a corporate career, but I didn’t feel it was for me. Having worked in a corporate environment before, I knew its comforts, so I decided against a corporate job, knowing I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur. I saw an opportunity to start my own business between university and starting a serious professional life. We knew we didn’t know enough, but we thought we’d learn along the way, and this proved true. We knew the beginning would be tough, but we hoped that surrounding ourselves with the right experts would help us settle in, and it did.”

They’ve been in the market for almost two and a half years now, starting as individual entrepreneurs without investment for the first year and then raising capital in two rounds, totaling nearly €229 800, part of which came from an investment on the show ‘Sharks Among Us’. They believe they are now standing on their own feet quite well.

Did you conduct market research first, or did you fall in love with the idea and decide to implement it regardless of the challenges?

For every idea, they first intuitively feel it out and then try to substantiate it with numbers, researching to see if the market reflects their internal beliefs. For Diverzum, they liked the idea and felt there was a need, so they conducted market research that yielded promising results. The viability of the idea was confirmed when they signed contracts with five partners at the start, bringing Diverzum to the public and receiving numerous positive feedback on the first day.

How is Diverzum doing now, in terms of your plans and feelings, and actual effectiveness?

Currently, 200,000 students have registered on the platform, many of whom are active and can avail themselves of more than 80 different student discounts from various brands. In the past few months, students have spent an average of €766 000 per month through the platform, saving approximately €561 700- €638 275. They work with students over the age of 14, of which there are 672,000 in Hungary. Two-thirds of their users are university students, and approximately 60 percent are fem

How does registration work on your platform? How can students learn about you?

They are primarily active on social media platforms, especially on TikTok. They also notice that the network effect is strengthening, and they strive to appear at more offline events as well. They made the registration process as simple as possible. After downloading the app, you only need to provide your email address, and then you can confirm your student status with your student ID number. The platform is completely free for registered students.

Is it possible that you will reach the upper limits of the domestic student population?

“If not 100 percent of the market, we hope to capture at least 50 percent as registered students. Our main goal is to serve our existing users as broadly as possible, helping current and new students as much as we can and offering them better brands. The digital product should also be such that it’s worth using and something they open with excitement to see what’s available. We have made significant progress in this area in recent months. From October to February, we doubled the number of logins, now reaching or approaching a hundred thousand per month.”

The direction of their next step is not yet fully determined. They plan to start in the fintech, financial innovation sector, and also to expand their current service abroad. As a startup, it is important for them to find a business model and revenue source they can believe in and that doesn’t hinder their existing core business.

How can registered users take advantage of the discounts?

Upon entering the app, users click on the brand card of interest, and a student discount code appears, which can be used on the brand’s own website during purchase. Or a link opens up through which, if they make a purchase, the student discount is automatically deducted from their cart. They are increasingly trying to extend online-available discounts into the physical realm, as they know that consumption of experiences is one of the main drivers for Generation Z. Their partners include Líra, where the student discount can be redeemed in bookstores, and the entire Zing Burger network, where the discount is also available in person.

“We will soon announce a new app and a series of new types of partnership collaborations, which will extend our services more into the personal space and towards experiences. This is a very exciting new direction, and alongside the financial aspect, we consider it extremely important.”

What was the concept behind your collaboration with Gránit Bank?

Since the beginning, one of their most important themes has been financial awareness and passing this knowledge on to students. The banking sector is an area that, the sooner it is introduced into students’ lives, the sooner they experience and understand its operation and connections, the better. For this reason, they started working with Gránit Bank, creating a well-functioning concept and also strengthening a new communication direction to further introduce financial awareness into students’ lives. Currently, students who open an account at Gránit Bank through them can do so under very favorable conditions and credits, both in the form of a student account and a student loan package.

You mentioned earlier that seasonality is important for Diverzum. What exactly does that mean?

“We absolutely see that Generation Z shows quite surprising trends, which completely go against our intuitions and most marketers’. In their case, the peak consumption period is not the festive season in December, as they tend to buy fewer high-value gifts for each other, preferring to consume experiences together, and give symbolic gifts to their parents and older family members. On the other hand, November is an incredibly strong month. Of course, December is not bad, but we see the peak every year in November when the Black Friday or Cyber Monday period arrives.”

According to their experience, in winter, the most sought-after items are clothes, cosmetics, and electronic devices, while in summer, books, travel, and especially festivals are most popular. In terms of travel, students use exciting services provided by their partners like Flixbus or Omio. It’s not necessarily the airlines that dominate Generation Z’s travel habits, but shorter regional trips.

Where do you see Diverzum in 5 years?

“We see that Diverzum will increasingly play an important role in the daily lives of students. Precisely because there are still numerous untapped directions we can bring in, whether with the banking line or other directions.”

Their plan is to bring as many discounts, brands, and opportunities as possible to students, as well as offer new, extra services to help them transition into young adulthood, both financially and in other areas of life. They are open to continuous development and testing to realize their vision, primarily wanting to create value and build a well-functioning company. After achieving stability in Hungary, they also consider international expansion, but currently maintain mental freedom without thinking about a specific exit possibility.