Student startup simulator
See what your student startup would turn over, how many students you'd win and who you'd lose them to — month by month for two years — before you spend real money.
A campus idea, no money, and a few thousand students to win. This one opens as Campus Swap: A student-run business selling second-hand textbooks, kit and furniture to students on a few campuses, started with savings and spare time. Rename it, reprice it, or describe your own student startup and let Nova rewrite it to fit.
What a steady startup ends up with
Played steadily for all two years — quality first, then growth, a fair share of the bank spent each year — a steady startup here ends its last year on $27k of revenue and $3.3k of profit, with 168 students and 1.4% of the market (#5 of 5).
It starts from nothing: $5k in the bank and you, 15 hours a week, with no students yet.
People who play it well do better, and a bad plan runs out of money.
Revenue in the last year: $27k
Profit in the last year: $3.3k
Students at the end: 168
Share of the market: From nothing to 1.4%
Where it finishes: #5 of 5
Years and decisions: 2 years, monthly
What you'll decide each month
Each month you set your prices, decide how much stock and how many staff to carry, choose what to spend on being known in your campus, and whether to open in the next campus over.
Each decision shows on a forecast before you file it, and every period resolves against the rivals and the economy.
Who your students are
A local shop is won on being near and lost on price: the big-box store will always be cheaper, so the question is how many students will pay a little more for being served properly, close to home.
11,900 students in all, across your campus, the city's other university, a nearby college and a campus two hours away.
First-years kitting out: Households who pop in for the ordinary things and notice every price rise. About 6,190 of them, worth $105 a year each.
Students who want it nearly new: People who will pay more for the right thing and a proper answer. About 2,620 of them, worth $196 a year each.
Societies and clubs: Small businesses who buy often, in bulk, and expect an account. About 952 of them, worth $560 a year each.
Students leaving town: Passing trade and people who came because of a review. About 2,140 of them, worth $63 a year each.
Who you're up against
Three rivals are already in it, and they play to win: they cut prices, spend on marketing and answer what you do. Most of the market is theirs on day one.
The campus bookshop: The biggest, and slow to change — it has stopped listening to its smaller customers. Holds about 30% of the market.
The big resale app: Wins on price and little else; its customers leave the moment somebody is better. Holds about 20% of the market.
Facebook groups: Hasn't changed in years and is living off the customers it already has. Holds about 12% of the market.
How it works
Free until you start: building and previewing cost nothing, and starting is $10, once.
Build it — free: Press build and you get your own copy of this market: four kinds of student, three rivals and four campuses.
Make it yours: Change any number, describe your student startup in a sentence or two and let Nova fill it in, or upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history to fit it to your real figures.
Preview — free: See what a steady startup ends up with, and every warning worth reading, before you pay anything.
Start — $10: Pay once to start, your seat included. Then run it month by month for two years.
Also for
student · campus · society · side project · graduate
How much does the student startup simulator cost?
Building and previewing are free: make your own copy of this student startup market, change anything in it and see what a steady startup ends up with without paying. Starting the simulation is $10, once, and your own seat is included.
Can I make it match my own student startup?
Yes. Every number can be changed — the students and what they pay, the rivals, the campuses, the costs and the starting cash. Or describe your student startup in a sentence or two and Nova, SparkTower's AI, fills every section in for one Nova action. If you already trade, upload a profit and loss or a month-by-month sales history and the simulation is fitted to your real numbers, starting from where your business stands today.
Are the numbers realistic for a student startup?
The template is checked against what real ones do: played steadily, a believable one finishes year two turning over between $3k and $60k, with between 25 and 800 students. This one's preview comes to about $27k and 168. Your own prices, costs and figures change that, which is the point of trying it here first.
Can I use it to test a student startup business plan?
That is what it is for. Put your plan's prices, costs and starting cash in, play it forward month by month, and see whether the money lasts, how many students you would need and what a rival's price cut does to you — before you put real money in.
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